Annie

Watermelon peperomia

Peperomia argyreia; Watermelon begonia

• 
  Most light conditions
• 
  Easy care

• Watermelon peperomia likes...
  • 
    Light watering

    If her soil feels dry to the touch, give her a light drink. She likes to be watered little and often.

  • 
    Medium light

    She’s happy in light shade or bright light. In the wild she lives under trees, so think ‘dappled light’.

  • 
    Humidity

    She likes some moisture in the air. She doesn’t need high levels, but misting her every week or so will help.

• Quick facts

  Botanical name

  Peperomia argyreia

  Nickname

  Watermelon peperomia; Watermelon begonia

  Air purifying

  Yes

  Plant height

  20-30cm

  Pet/Baby safe

  Yes

  Nursery pot size

  12cm

• About Watermelon peperomia

  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.