If her soil feels dry to the touch, give her a light drink. She likes to be watered little and often.
She’s happy in light shade or bright light. In the wild she lives under trees, so think ‘dappled light’.
She likes some moisture in the air. She doesn’t need high levels, but misting her every week or so will help.
Botanical name
Peperomia argyreia
Nickname
Watermelon peperomia; Watermelon begonia
Air purifying
Yes
Plant height
20-30cm
Pet/Baby safe
Yes
Nursery pot size
12cm
You probably don’t need telling that the watermelon peperomia is no relation to the watermelon. Don’t grow this expecting fruit. It gets its name because the leaves look like tiny watermelons.
In the wild, it’s found mainly in South America. It grows in moist areas, often on rotting wood. It’s a very compact plant, rarely growing taller than about 20cm. In the summer, you may see it flower but its blooms are not its finest feature, just teeny green spikes. The leaves are far prettier.
Outside South America, it’s primarily grown as a houseplant. It’s pretty low effort. It likes moist but not soggy soil and a good amount of indirect light. That’s all the effort required for this little beauty. You can also go the extra mile by giving it a feed with liquid fertiliser once per month in spring and summer, to help it grow big and strong.
Did you know?
There are almost 2,500 species of peperomia, in a huge variety of different shapes and colours.
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