--- title: "Hey guys I rescued this beautiful watermelon pepperomia from PR…" description: "Hey guys I rescued this beautiful watermelon pepperomia from PR because as you see she is not doing too good😭. I have never owned a pepperomia so if anyone…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/lE4zlVBBHrwTpDNooBGGOo" community: "Anything about plants" author: "Katm3281" published: "2025-06-26T15:07:01.796158Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/fthoHmHqSCrbpImDF2RZscDbgtgSCqJfzyC1AGfu8Lw/5fkZ-8_rSn2344LKY-sTJw.webp?size=large" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Anything about plants](https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg.md) # Hey guys I rescued this beautiful watermelon pepperomia from PR… _Posted by Katm3281 on 2025-06-26_ Hey guys I rescued this beautiful watermelon pepperomia from PR because as you see she is not doing too good😭. I have never owned a pepperomia so if anyone has tips/advice that would be greatly appreciated 🥲 ![Attachment 1 of 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/fthoHmHqSCrbpImDF2RZscDbgtgSCqJfzyC1AGfu8Lw/5fkZ-8_rSn2344LKY-sTJw.webp?size=large) ![Attachment 2 of 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/fthoHmHqSCrbpImDF2RZscDbgtgSCqJfzyC1AGfu8Lw/YnPVNH8IRNafEdKJpeHGcA.webp?size=large) ## 6 comments ### happysoxdonkey commented on 2025-06-26 Adrian is a peperomia pro. If you read his comments they have excellent tips. #### Adrian replied on 2025-06-26 Aww, thank you! ☺️ I didn’t see your comment until after I was done typing 😂 I do love my peperomias, so I’m happy to help if I can. ### Adrian commented on 2025-06-26 Hi there! I can try to run through a couple of possible causes for what’s troubling your peperomia to help you narrow down what could be upsetting it. \- has it recently been repotted? I’ve found the watermelon variety of peperomia is prone to shock from repotting. If that’s the case, I’d remove some of the soil and check the roots for any signs of distress, and if they look good, get some Bonide’s Rooting Hormone Powder and put a liberal amount of it all over the roots. It’ll help the plant recover from the shock faster and grow new roots if need be. \- how many days do you wait before watering it? I wait at least 11-14 days for my peperomias and let them completely or almost completely dry out. \- do you know what kind of soil it’s in, or brand of the soil? If it’s a very peat moss heavy mix that takes a long time to dry out, or Miracle Grow brand, it might be that the soil isn’t well-draining enough and leaving the roots sitting in moist water too long, leading to overwatering and possible root rot. If that’s the case, I’d check the roots for rot, remove the old soil, and repot it with a chunky, well-draining soil mix. Avoid Miracle Grow’s brand as they aren’t well-draining and their soil can quickly lead to rot, especially if you live in a hot/humid climate in the summer months. I swear by Espoma’s Organic Cactus and Succulent mix for my peperomias, but any all-purpose mix with some added perlite and orchid bark, or cactus and succulent mix should work just fine. Cactus mix might sound a little silly, but peperomias are epiphytic, which means they don’t naturally live in soil in the wild. In order for them to survive as houseplants, they need a very well-draining soil. I’ve found they’re often potted in peat moss-heavy soils that take longer to dry out, and while such soil might be fine in a nursery’s greenhouse where the conditions are very specific for the plant to thrive, it isn’t always suitable when said plant is brought home in such a soil. My best bet is that it’s going through shock from being repotted or the soil isn’t well-draining enough, or the possibility that if it’s recently entered your home or been moved, that it’s going through a shock from the change in environment. Hope this helps. #### Katm3281 replied on 2025-06-26 Hi thank you so much for the amazing information!! I don’t know to much about it. I bought it in a Walgreens at Puerto Rico two days ago and just brought it back to NYC today. I had to repot it as it was in a hug hanging pot that I couldn’t take. The roots were pretty small and dangly so I removed some that looked dead and I put it in a smaller put to help it grow. I also watered it with fertilizer however I am unsure what soil it is in. I normally use Miracle grow for my other plants but I have noticed draining issues you mentioned and switched over to another soil that doesn’t seem to retain the water or moisture and dries out faster. Would you recommend I put it in the new soil I got or leave it alone for now since I just repotted and it can be undergoing stress right now?🙁 #### Adrian replied on 2025-06-26 I’d recommend taking the plant out of the soil to at least see if any more of the roots are rotted or distressed, and treat the rotted roots with hydrogen peroxide. If the roots don’t look rotted, but still look distressed, or look alright, add some rooting powder to the roots. That should help it recover faster. It sounds like it probably went through shock from the environment change of going from PR to NY, as well as a recent repot, even if it was needed. This type of peperomia doesn’t tend to enjoy repottings, so the next time you ever need to repot it or bring a watermelon peperomia home, give it at least a week or two to acclimate to your new home before repotting, and always add rooting powder to the roots during repottings to reduce the risk of shock ### Nunyabzwx commented on 2025-06-26 I wish i could tell you something about this species but unfortunately mine ALWAYS die 😭 --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_