Episcia cupreata ‘Pink Brocade’

Wet tropical forest in the Americas

‘Pink Brocade’ is a cultivar of Episcia cupreata, a species native from Nicaragua through northern South America to northern Brazil. Wild plants grow in sheltered places on the floor of wet tropical forest.

On the sheltered forest floor, ‘Pink Brocade’s’ wild relatives experience soft light, warm humid air and soil that stays lightly moist beneath a loose surface layer.

Growing a foliage plant indoors

• Propagation: Set a daughter rosette on lightly moist mix and leave the stolon attached until roots form, then separate it from the parent.
• Light: Give bright indirect light and avoid hot midday sun on the velvety leaves.
• Watering: Water as the surface begins to dry so the fine roots remain lightly moist, applying it beneath the foliage and draining the pot without chilling or wetting the leaf rosette.
• Temperature: Maintain steady warmth and avoid cold draughts.
• Humidity: Higher humidity is helpful, but keep the velvety crown dry and maintain airflow because wet foliage can spot or rot.
• Winter: Keep the plant warm and reduce watering only if growth clearly slows.

Common problems with Episcia cupreata ‘Pink Brocade’

• A soft crown: Cold, wet conditions can rot the centre of a rosette. Remove soft tissue with a disinfected blade, keep water out of the crown and root a healthy stolon as a backup before the damage spreads.
• Crisp or curled leaf edges: Check the root ball first. Dry substrate calls for a thorough watering, while suitable moisture with damage concentrated beside a heater points to hot, dry airflow. Restore steady moisture or move the plant according to what is visible, without misting the velvety leaves.
• Fine webbing or pale stippling: Inspect the undersides of the velvety leaves with a bright light. Fine webbing and many tiny pale dots indicate spider mites Isolate the plant and repeat a product labelled for mites as directed, avoiding prolonged wetness in the crown.
• Daughter rosettes failing to root: A stolon cannot root while its node hangs above the substrate or the surface repeatedly dries. Pin a healthy node onto lightly moist mix without burying the daughter crown.

Episcia cupreata ‘Pink Brocade’ is non-toxic to cats and dogs

• This plant is non-toxic to cats and dogs.
• Its effects on people are unclear, so keep it away from young children who may chew it.
• Eating a large amount can still cause an upset stomach. Seek medical or veterinary advice if symptoms continue.

Episcia cupreata: where the name comes from

Episcia comes from Greek episkios, meaning shady. Cupreata means copper-coloured.

Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius established the genus Episcia in 1829 in Nova Genera et Species Plantarum Brasiliensium, volume 3, page 39.

William Jackson Hooker first described it as Achimenes cupreata in 1847 in Botanical Magazine, volume 73, plate 4312. Johannes Ludwig Emil Robert von Hanstein later placed it in Episcia as Episcia cupreata in 1866 in Linnaea, volume 34, page 340.