Peperomia orba 'Pixie'

A Species First Described from Cultivation

Botanist George Sydney Bunting described Peperomia orba from a cultivated plant received from Gothenburg, Sweden. He chose the name orba, meaning “orphaned”, to reflect this unusual botanical history.

Care for compact trailing Peperomia

• Light: Give Peperomia ‘Pixie’ bright, indirect light to maintain dense growth. Soft morning or evening sun is normally suitable, while intense direct sun can leave pale or dry marks.
• Water: Water after the surface and upper layer have dried and the pot feels lighter. Wet the root ball completely, then let the excess drain.
• Substrate and pot: Use a small container with drainage and a loose blend of houseplant substrate, fine bark and perlite or pumice. Avoid placing the fine roots in a large pot.
• Humidity: Average indoor humidity is suitable, with air movement useful around dense stems.
• Feeding: Apply a weak balanced fertiliser while new growth is appearing. Stop feeding when the plant is inactive.

Helping Peperomia ‘Pixie’ Recover

• Widespread yellowing or wilting above wet mix: Peperomia orba can develop root disease, while simple waterlogging can produce similar symptoms. Unpot the plant and inspect the roots. If the roots are firm, give them a looser mix with more air. Remove brown, soft roots or any whose outer layer rubs away, discard the old substrate and isolate the plant.
• Soft stems at the substrate: Remove localized mushy sections with a clean tool and keep only firm growth. If softness continues to advance through apparently healthy stems, discard the affected plant; do not root its tips.
• Leaves curling inward: Water a dry, light pot thoroughly and let it drain. When the substrate is damp, inspect the roots because root loss can cause the same curling.
• Open growth or widely spaced leaves: Increase bright indirect light and pinch healthy tips above a leaf joint. New branches should grow more closely spaced, while old stretched stems remain open.
• Bare lower stems: Check that the stems are firm and alive, then cut back above healthy leaf joints. Root and replant only healthy, firm tips from a parent plant with no spreading decay, rings, patchy colouring or repeated distortion.
• Faded, crisp or black local patches: Compare the damage with direct sun, cold glass, bruising and recent sprays. Move it out of direct sun and away from cold glass. Stop using any spray that may have caused the mark. Isolate it if a spot keeps enlarging or becomes wet-looking.
• Fine webbing or pale stippling: Use a hand lens to confirm mites. Isolate the plant and use a mite treatment approved for indoor plants, testing it first on the small leaves.
• Silvered or distorted tips with black specks: Inspect for thrips among the newest leaves. Remove badly affected tips and follow a thrips treatment label; do not assume that a product for mites controls thrips.

Peperomia orba ‘Pixie’ 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 orba mean, and who first published it?

Peperomia combines Greek peperi, “pepper”, with homoios, “resembling”, and means “pepper-like”. The Latin word orba means “orphaned”, “bereft” or “without parents”.

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

George Sydney Bunting first described Peperomia orba in 1966 in Baileya, volume 14, page 65.