Plants

The watermelon peperomia and the popular pilea pancake plants have similar shaped leaves growing on individual stems (petiole) but are not family of each other. The peperomia, with its big tear-drop shaped leaves and watermelon-like pattern, grows from a rosette, while the pilea pankcake petioles are attached to a woody stem.

They prefer lots of light with high humidity to keep the leaves hydrated. Use a fast-draining cactus soil and do not let the pot stand in water for longer than 10 minutes. They have a shallow root system and are fairly slow growers so prefer a shallow pot and allow the soil to dry out a bit before watering. Use liquid fertiliser the day after watering, during the growing period. Propagation is done best by placing a stem cutting in sphagnum moss or directly into soil.

Highly prone to root and stem rot, thrips and mealy bugs.