The Peperomia Ruby Cascade is a wonderful, easy-going plant that belongs to the pepper family of plants and origins from the tropical regions of south and Central America (typically found in Ecuador & Peru).
This succulent-like plant boasts large fleshy leaves and dark red stems that contrast to give these plants the beauty they are popular for. If you’re looking for simple, elegant, and easy-going plants that effortlessly beautify home gardens, this is the plant for you.
The Main Characteristics of a Peperomia Ruby Cascade
Growth & Size
These plants are generally considered slow growers; on average, they only grow 3 to 4 inches in a year. So, you will only need to report them about once every two years.
Foliage and Flowers
The two-color leaves of the Ruby Cascade are the most remarkable characteristic of this plant. The upper surface of mature plants’ leaves is a rich ruby hue, while the underside is a rich, glossy dark green.
The stems may reach a length of several feet. During springtime, some plants may develop little pinkish blooms. These plants, though, are not well known for their flowers.
How to take care of your Peperomia Ruby Cascade- Top 5 tips
Lighting Needs
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade plants require a lot of sunlight to grow healthy. However, please don’t make the mistake of putting this plant under the burning heat of the sun, or its leaves will scorch and die away.
The recommended way to meet this plant’s lighting needs is to expose it to bright, indirect sunlight. If you are growing this plant indoors, a good way to meet this requirement is to place this plant near a large window with a light-permeable curtain.
If, however, you end up housing this plant outdoors, you might want to place it next to tall trees that would act as a shade for your ruby cascade plant such that it is protected from direct exposure to the sun, but not so much that your plan remains in utter darkness.
Watering Needs
Appropriate watering is arguably one of the most important aspects of a plant’s care. Thankfully, there is not much you need to do to meet the water requirements of the Ruby Cascade plant.
The Ruby Cascade plant only needs to be watered sparingly to grow healthy. Typically, you will only need to water it once every 7 to 10 days. However, your plant’s actual optimal watering frequency might be slightly different. So, it is important always to keep listening to what your plant is telling you.
Soil Needs
As mentioned earlier, The Ruby Cascade is an easy-going plant. This, however, does not mean that it doesn’t hold any preferences. In fact, the kind of soil you place this plant in will make the difference between a healthy Ruby Cascade and a Ruby Cascade plant with stunted growth.
For optimal growth, this plant’s soil must possess two important qualities: proper drainage and high nutritional composition. An easy way to help your soil meet these properties is to mix equal proportions of peat and compost with your standard potting soil.
This will help boost both the nutritional and drainage properties of your soil, and your Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant will thank you for it.
Temperature Requirements
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade is pretty fragile when it comes to handling extreme temperatures. Ideally, the temperature range that you should keep this plant in must remain within 18°C – 26°C.
If the surrounding temperature of your region lies outside of this range, you must make use of artificial means of bringing your plant’s surrounding temperature into this limit; your plant’s health and proper growth will depend on it.
Humidity Requirements
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade does well when it is kept in relatively humid environments. For optimal growth, you should ensure that you keep your plant’s surrounding humidity level above 90%. One way you can do this is by making use of humidifiers.
Whatever you do, though, ensure that your plant’s surrounding humidity levels do not go below 60%. The Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant performs poorly under dry conditions.
How to propagate a Peperomia Ruby Cascade indoors
Now let’s discuss the steps you need to follow to successfully propagate a Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant inside your home garden. For this discussion, we will only focus on the stem-cutting method of this plant’s propagation.
Here is what you need to do:
- First, you should know that it is best to propagate these plants towards the end of fall. So, if you’re patient enough to wait till that time, we advise that you do so; the results will be worth it.
- Start by picking a healthy, established Ruby Cascade plant and slice off a healthy vine of your choice. This vine should be at least 5 inches in length, and the cutting should be right below the lowest joint where the leaves meet the stem.
- Now, pluck out any excess leaves from the lower portion of your cutting.
- Once you have done so, keep your cuttings to the side and let them dry out for a bit. Typically, you will only have to wait an hour for this.
- Now, your cutting is ready to be buried into a pot with a nourishing soil mix.
- We recommend you make use of peat-based soil to improve your soil’s drainage properties.
- Now make sure you keep your cutting under relatively high temperatures. A good temperature range to keep your cutting in would be 21 – 24 degrees Celsius. If you live in cold regions, make sure you use artificial sources of heat to meet this requirement.
- Now, all you need to do is wait 30 days before you replant your cutting into a large, permanent pot. The one-month-long waiting period is so that your cutting can start developing roots. That’s about it; if you carefully follow these steps, your new Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant should be out and ready in no time.
Bottom Line
The Ruby Cascade plant would truly make for an invaluable addition to any home garden. It gives off a tropical atmosphere without necessitating the same level of maintenance as these plants.
These plants flourish in bright, indirect sunshine, strong levels of humidity, and occasional trimming – especially when its stems begin to die out.
To Successfully propagate this plant indoors, we recommend you use the stem cutting method of propagation. This method is straightforward and easy to execute – follow the steps we have outlined in the section above, and your brand new Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant will grow out in no time.