Peperomia caperata ‘Burbella’

Breeding background of ‘Burbella’

‘Burbella’ originated in the Eden Collection breeding programme of Obed Smit in Sappemeer, the Netherlands. It was bred from a planned 2014 cross between two unnamed Peperomia caperata cultivars and selected in 2017.

It was selected for its dense rosette and rounded, strongly puckered grey-green leaves with contrasting dark veins. Peperomia caperata is native to south-eastern Brazil.

How to keep ‘Burbella’ healthy

• Watering: Allow the upper layer of the substrate to dry and use the lighter weight of the pot as a second cue. Water evenly and drain completely.
• Humidity: Average indoor humidity normally works well. If you raise the humidity, keep some air moving around the plant and keep the puckered leaves and centre dry.
• Light: Give it bright indirect or medium filtered light. Harsh direct sun can mark the leaves.
• Substrate: Use an airy peat- or coir-based mix with perlite, pumice and fine bark so it drains well while still holding some moisture.
• Temperature: About 18–30 °C is suitable. Keep ‘Burbella’ above roughly 10 °C and away from cold draughts, particularly when the mix is moist.
• Feeding: Feed lightly with a complete fertiliser while new leaves are growing. Reduce or pause feeding when growth slows.
• Repotting: Repot when the roots have filled the container or the mix has compacted. Move up only one pot size, as an oversized pot can stay wet for too long.

Common issues with ‘Burbella’

• Small dark spots continue to enlarge: Leaf spotting can develop when moisture lingers in the dense rosette and air movement is poor. Remove the worst affected leaves with disinfected scissors, discard them, keep the centre of the plant dry and improve airflow through it.
• The rosette flops and leaf stalks feel soft: Stop watering until you have checked the substrate and roots. If roots are dark and mushy, remove only the rotten parts with clean, disinfected tools, discard the removed tissue and contaminated old mix, and repot in fresh airy mix. Use the root rot guide for confirmed rot.
• Grey-green leaves develop bleached tan areas: Check for strong direct sun or contact with hot glass. Shift the plant back into bright indirect light; damaged patches will remain, but new leaves should emerge cleanly.
• Cottony clusters hide deep in the rosette: Isolate the plant, separate the leaves gently and remove visible mealybugs. If they return, use a product specifically labelled for mealybugs on indoor ornamentals and follow the label's repeat interval.

Peperomia caperata ‘Burbella’ 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.

What does Peperomia caperata mean, and who first published it?

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.