Light: Provide bright, indirect light. Low light levels can lead to dark leaf spots and plant decline.

Temperature: 60-80 F

Like its cousin peperomia, piper plants hate the cold! Avoid cool windowsills in winter months.

Humidity: medium

Water: While soggy is not the goal, piper plants prefer consistently moist soil conditions and can quickly show drought stress symptoms if allowed to stay dry and wilted too long. Place this plant in regular view so you can keep an eye on when it dries out.

Repotting: While consistent moisture is the goal, avoid upsizing containers too quickly. Piper plants have fine roots that can be swallowed up by too much potting mix. Repot every 1-2 years into a slightly larger container (1-2” increased diameter or depth). Use a general purpose potting mix.

Fertilizing: Either…

1. Water Application: Incorporate fertilizer into your watering cycle once per month March through September. Dilute an all purpose fertilizer (20-20-20) by half OR use your favorite fertilizer rated for houseplant use in your water.

2. Slow Release: Incorporate slow release fertilizer pellets into the top inch of potting soil every 6 months. Apply the rate indicated for indoor plants on the label. If no recommendation for houseplants is present, apply 1/4 to 1/2 the listed rate.

Even though piper is in the pepper family, the peppers we think of are not related at all. Instead, this plant’s most common relative is the peperomia (a.k.a. radiator plant).

Table pepper comes from this family, completely unrelated to Capsicum annuum, the vegetable.

Plants in the Piperaceae family all share a unique inflorescence that looks like a tentacle. (If you know you know…) There are microscopic florets along each stringy spike. When pollinated, they form “corns” (a.k.a. peppercorns)! Look it up!

(Listed in order of commonality…)

• Root decay caused by overwatering

• Crispy leaf edges and tips due to frequent dryness.

• Lack of growth or leaf loss due to low temperatures

• Physical damage

Are piper plants pet safe?

Yes