Question
Hi there,
One of my peperomia plants just died.  It was fairly quick - it had just begun dropping green healthy looking leaves before I went away on a 10 vacation.  When I returned, it was completely dead - all the leaves had turned dark purple and fallen off and the stalk had shriveled.  The plant was among several others (including a few other peperomias) in a west facing bay window.  All plants were receiving the same watering schedule and roughly the same amount of light.  I did recently move house, but moved the plants myself and was not aware of any physical trauma/accidents.        
Can you tell me what may have happened?
Thank you very much,
Melissa

Answer
Melissa,

Peperomias are succulent plants and need to dry out totally between waterings.  They can stand to be dry for several days to a week without a lot of damage. They cannot stand too much water. They do not survive long with water being left in the drain tray. They cannot stand being in a pot with no drain hole. Being too wet causes them to turn black or purple and shrivel as though they were dry. They shrivel because the roots rot easily when they are constantly wet and when that happens the plant gets no moisture and shrivels. Especially during the short days of winter cut back on your watering on peperomias so they dry out well between waterings. They also need plenty of sun. If you have more questions write again. Good luck.

Darlene