Peperomia caperata ‘Abricos’

Background of ‘Abricos’

‘Abricos’ is a cultivated form of Peperomia caperata. Peperomia caperata comes from south-eastern Brazil and grows naturally in wet tropical habitat.

Keeping ‘Abricos’ healthy

• Light: Give it bright filtered or indirect light for compact growth. Strong direct sun can scorch the leaves.
• Humidity: Average room humidity is usually adequate. If dry air repeatedly causes crisp margins, use slightly higher room humidity and keep the dense centre dry.
• Watering: Let the upper layer of substrate dry and wait until the pot feels lighter before watering again. Water thoroughly and let the excess drain.
• Substrate: Use a light, airy houseplant mix that holds some moisture, with perlite, pumice or fine bark for good drainage.
• Temperature: A range of about 18–30 °C suits it. Keep temperatures above roughly 10 °C in a stable warm position, clear of cold draughts, air-conditioning outlets and chilled glass.
• Feeding: Use a complete fertiliser at a low dose while new leaves are growing. Feed less often whenever growth slows.
• Repotting: Repot when roots are crowded or the mix has become dense and slow to dry. Increase the pot size gradually; an oversized pot can stay wet for too long.
• Propagation: Propagate from leaf cuttings, stem-tip cuttings or by dividing a plant with several rooted clumps.

‘Abricos’ problems and solutions

• Pink and apricot areas become pale and papery: If the damage is mainly on the window-facing leaves, check for strong sun or hot glass. Move the plant into bright indirect light and increase the light gradually in future.
• The mound suddenly droops: Check moisture before reacting. Water a genuinely dry, light pot thoroughly; if the substrate is still damp, let the mix dry further and inspect the roots if the plant fails to recover.
• Lower leaves turn yellow and soft: Let the substrate dry further and check drainage. If roots are black, brown and mushy, remove the decayed tissue with clean, disinfected tools, discard it with the contaminated old mix and repot into fresh airy substrate. The root rot guide covers the next steps.
• Cottony white clusters collect in the leaf folds: Isolate the plant and remove visible mealybugs from the centre of the plant, bases of the leaf stalks and leaf undersides. If they persist, use only a product labelled for mealybugs on indoor ornamentals and repeat it at the interval stated on the label.

Peperomia caperata ‘Abricos’ is non-toxic to people and pets

• This plant is non-toxic to people, cats and dogs.
• Chewing a large amount can still cause an upset stomach.
• If a large amount is eaten and symptoms continue, contact a veterinarian or medical professional.

Who first published Peperomia caperata, and what does the name mean?

Peperomia combines Greek peperi, “pepper”, with homoios, “resembling”, and means “pepper-like”. Caperata comes from the Latin caperatus, meaning wrinkled or corrugated, and refers to the deeply folded leaf surface.

Hipólito Ruiz López and José Antonio Pavon established the genus Peperomia in 1794 in Flora Peruvianae et Chilensis Prodromus, page 8.

Truman George Yuncker first described Peperomia caperata in 1958 in Kew Bulletin, volume 12, page 421.