All plants need nutrients to grow and support healthy physical functions. Peperomia plants are no different! Let’s talk about why plants need fertilizer and the best fertilizer for peperomia plants.
Why does my peperomia plant need fertilizer?
Fertilizer is often referred to as plant “food” (we even call our own fertilizer Indoor Plant Food!), but this isn’t the whole story. Think of the food you eat: food provides you with energy and nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Plants get all the energy they need from sunlight through the process of photosynthesis, but sunlight can’t provide essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, copper, etc., that a plant needs to grow robust roots, stems, and leaves.
In nature, plants get all the nutrients they need from soil, where organic matter is constantly breaking down and filling the soil with all kinds of minerals that help plants grow. But a potted plant, like your peperomia, only has access to the nutrients already present in its potting mix. The problem is, a growing peperomia plant can use up all the nutrients in its pot in just a few months!
Without the natural breakdown process to provide a steady stream of nutrients, houseplant owners must add nutrients to the potting mix in order for their plants to continue to grow and function optimally.
Think of fertilizer as a vitamin supplement for your plant!
When you fertilize your peperomia regularly and with the proper fertilizer, it will have all the nutrients it needs to grow a strong, healthy root system that absorbs water and nutrients efficiently. It will help your plant grow large leaves that not only look beautiful, but enact the process of photosynthesis to create energy for the plant, as well as sturdy stems to support those leaves!
Too many plant parents skip fertilizer, but this leads to health problems that may be very difficult to reverse down the line!
What is the best fertilizer for peperomia plants?
Peperomia plants like a well-balanced fertilizer. You can find fertilizers in dry-pellet form, called slow-release fertilizer, that release nutrients over a very long period. Most commercial potting mixes contain some of this to provide nutrients to the plant right away. (Have you ever wondered about those colored granules in the potting mix you got at Home Depot? That’s fertilizer!)
However, with slow-release fertilizer, it’s hard to actually control how many minerals your plant is getting at one time because you can’t control the rate at which the pellets break down. This means you could easily end up with an overfertilized OR undernourished peperomia. Not good!
That’s why we prefer liquid fertilizer that you can dilute by adding it to the water you give your plants. That way, you know exactly how much fertilizer your plant is getting! The only drawback here is that liquid fertilizers must often be administered on a specific schedule, which can be hard to remember.
I kept forgetting to fertilize my plants with liquid fertilizer, so I created my own!
Indoor Plant Food is well balanced with an NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) ratio of 3-1-2, which makes it perfect for peperomia and most of your other houseplants as well! The best part is, it’s gentle enough to use every time you water, so you can simply make it a part of your regular routine. I just add some to my watering can each week and all of my plants look great!
You can buy Indoor Plant Food on Amazon and use it for all your indoor plants except succulents (they have their own thing going on). Give it a try! You peperomias will look amazing and grow lots more of those stunning leaves!
For more information on caring for peperomia plants, check out our care guides below!
How to Care for Peperomia Plants
