I recently purchased a watermelon pepperonis & it’s in a sawdust type soil. The little bugger just does not like it & is a limp noodle. I’m desperate to transplant the 2” but not sure if I should put in4” pot & best soil to help it stabilize. It was shipped to SE AK where I am & all other ones have stabilized nicely. HELP!
I always keep mine in just an indoor potting mix. I unfortunately lost mine to the cold, but I really want another one. I think mine was in a four inch pot with lots of bright indirect light and an indoor potting mix I get from Walmart and it was super happy
0 likes Thx- It should be hardy- but just isn’t recovering from trip.
1 likeI’ve found pepperonias are often hardy. I had one once that got terrible root rot. I chopped all the roots and put it back in dirt and it lived for probably another 4-6 months while establishing new roots. Unfortunately after that I just neglected it and it was my fault it died
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I bought two off of Etsy, watermelon Peperomia included. One sadly arrived with edema from the trip. Mine seem to like Espoma’s Organic All-Purpose mix, but I’m sure you have some limitations with what’s available or reasonably priced to ship to Alaska. I have to avoid Miracle Grow because of how much peat is in their soil, especially in a humid climate, but perhaps it wouldn’t be terrible in your climate. It’s a plant killer where I live (I’m in southeast PA), so I can’t recommend it from my experience, but if Miracle Grow is the only thing available where you live, check to make sure the water is draining from the pot during waterings (stick a wooden skewer into the soil to see if the soil is still wet), add extra perlite and orchid bark for better drainage, and if it takes more than a day or two for the soil to dry out, try a different brand. Essentially, you want a chunky, well draining, all-purpose mix. Hope this helps!
0 likes Definitely transplant it to a 4in pot once it’s recovered enough, but in the meantime, check the roots for rot, leaves for edema (it looks different than other leaves when edema is present, so look up “edema on peperomia” to compare. Mine had bumps and curled leaves when it had it). If there’s edema, DO NOT CHOP THE LEAVES OFF, it will only make it worse, but if it’s simply going through shock, place it in a place with enough humidity and a consistent temperature to recover, and make sure water is draining from the soil. If there’s no signs of edema, just shock, any far-gone/dead leaves are safe to chop off. It’ll give your plant less stuff to recover. Would you mind attaching some photos of the peperomia? That might help others with giving advice if it is more than just the trip and soil affecting the plant.
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