Piper crocatum holds a special place in my heart, and I’m delighted to present it as a plant of the month. First of all, its colors are absolutely breathtaking: I challenge you to find another plant in nature that combines olive green with pink so well (perhaps a calathea cultivar?). This is also the first houseplant of mine that I didn’t find in Larry Hodgson’s Houseplant book (available only in French, sorry!): in fact, it’s a plant that has only recently come onto the market as a houseplant. There’s no mention of it on this blog. I therefore had the great privilege of attributing its difficulty to it myself: a great first!
Origin
Piper crocatum is native to Peru, but is also found in other parts of South America. It’s a species of the Piper genus, which contains between 1,000 and 2,000 species (that’s precise), some of which provide us with the highly prized aromatic spice: Piper nigra (black pepper) and Piper longum (long pepper). It does not, on the other hand, produce peppercorns.
Although not the subject of this article, it is possible to grow Piper nigrum, the vine that produces black pepper, as an indoor plant. You’ll find all the information you need, and much more about pepper, in the article Where Does Pepper Come From?
The Piper genus is part of the Piperaceae family, which also includes peperomias. In fact, the National Garden Bureau has named the peperomia the houseplant of the year 2022. When can we expect Piper crocatum?
Description
Like other pepper plants, P. crocatum is a flexible vine that climbs thanks to its adventitious roots. Stems and petioles are coppery-red; petioles bear alternate, cordate or deltoid leaves, with a pronounced apex (tip). Leaves are dark olive-green, with sharply contrasting lilac veins. Because the leaves are shiny, veins can appear silvery under bright light.
They don’t usually flower indoors, and I can find little information about them even in outdoor cultivation; the flowers probably resemble those of pepper, which frankly aren’t very ornamental, as a cluster set with tiny flowers with three or five petals.
A special feature of Piper crocatum can be seen beneath its beautiful burgundy leaves, which barely let in any light: new leaves are systematically covered with small crystals which, over time, become little black balls. This is the plant’s way of getting rid of calcium salts and excess sugars it doesn’t need, and it’s perfectly normal, even inevitable. Don’t be fooled into thinking that these are eggs or small insects!
Piper crocatum or Piper ornatum?
Both P. crocatum and P. ornatum are pretty vines in the Piperaceae family that can be grown as houseplants. They look so much alike that it’s hard to tell them apart; several sites list them as the same plant. It would appear, however, that P. ornatum is not native to Peru like its cousin, but endemic to Indonesia. One way of distinguishing them is the underside of their leaves, which is burgundy in P. crocatum and green in P. ornatum… but, while this information seems probable to me, I haven’t been able to verify it with other sources. It’s simple: almost nobody talks about these magnificent plants! What a shame!
Varieties
There is only one P. crocatum… for now!
On the other hand, you can grow other pipers indoors, such as P. porphyrophyllum, P. sylvaticum or P. methysticum. That said, if information on P. crocatum, a slightly more popular plant, is relatively scarce, I wish you good luck in finding cultivation tips for the others.
Growing Tips
Light
In the jungle, Celebes Pepper doesn’t grow very high and rarely goes beyond the canopy; while the milder morning sun can be beneficial, direct sun from the zenith should be avoided. In general, your Piper will do very well in medium to bright light.
Watering
Piper crocatum has little tolerance to lack of water. During the growing season, it’s best to keep the potting soil moist; during months of low light, the soil can be allowed to dry out very slightly, for short periods.
When it lacks water, its petioles bend and seem to support the leaves with greater difficulty. In the absence of moisture, it tends to lose several leaves at once.
Atmospheric Humidity
Piper crocatum needs relatively high atmospheric humidity. A minimum of 40% humidity in the air is necessary for its survival, which is easily obtained without too much effort, but it prefers 50% or more to thrive. On the other hand, it can suffer from lack of humidity, especially in winter when the central heating has gone. In this case, start the humidifier or simply surround it with other plants.
Potting Soil and Potting
A traditional potting soil for houseplants will do just fine.
Fertilizers
Although several sites (always a more or less reliable source) say that it can be fertilized during the growing season at the recommended rate, I’d be more cautious. After all, the plant gets rid of excess salt and sugar under its leaves, which could mean that it needs less fertilizer. Since it’s rare for a plant to die from lack of fertilizer, I’d shamelessly use half the recommended dose!
Temperature
It’s best to keep the plant between 15°C (59?) and 35°C (95?) at all times.
Multiplication
This pepper plant can be propagated by taking stem cuttings. Some sources suggest that the success rate is limited (greenhouse conditions are then absolutely necessary). Since soil cuttings are more effective, why not try it? Personally, I’ve only tested cuttings in water, and everything went off without a hitch. However, when moving from water to soil, I put the cuttings in a plastic bag to increase humidity.
Care
No maintenance is really necessary for P. crocatum. It loses its leaves rather slowly and can be washed once in a while (I wouldn’t wash the underside of the leaves because of the crystals).
It grows lengthwise, with no real branching. To give the plant a bushier, bushier appearance, cuttings must be taken and several pepper plants planted in the same pot.
Toxicity
No definitive answer! Some sites say Piper crocatum is safe, others that it can cause irritation. Caution prevails in this case.
Problems
- Drooping petioles: if the soil is slightly dry, the plant is lacking water. If it doesn’t recover quickly after watering, its roots have rotted: it’s better to take cuttings.
- Dry leaf tips: lack of atmospheric humidity. This often happens in winter.
- Small black spots on the underside of leaves: this is perfectly normal, see above. Small white crystals are also normal.
- Insects: mealybugs, spider mites. On a positive note: during the great thrips invasion of 2020 that disrupted my plant nation, my piper was never affected. (I’m not saying it’s impossible for thrips to be interested, but they seem to be less interested than in other plants).
- Many sales sites warn that the plant doesn’t travel well; it’s possible that drastic changes (of light, location, draughts) cause leaf drop, as is the case with ficus and croton.
How to assess the difficulty of a houseplant?
The difficulty of the plants is relatively subjective, with a few constants.
“Very easy” plants are those that tolerate abuse: you can forget to water them and they’ll get over it, you can neglect them and they’ll stay beautiful… in short, carefree plants! Here are a few examples: Dracaena, Epipremnum aureum, etc.
The “easy” plants are also not too problematic and their needs are generally very reasonable, but can cause slightly more trouble. A good example is the peace lily, whose watering needs to be supervised, but which has no other growing quirks.
“Medium” plants are those that will generally survive in the house with a little care, but which we wouldn’t recommend to a novice. Aeschynanthus represents this category well: care is standard, but the margin for error is much narrower than with Dracaena!
This category also includes plants that require very special care, but which are easy to look after once you know how, such as papyrus and orchids.
Demanding” plants are those that can’t be kept indoors without a humidifier, or that are particularly temperamental. Example: calatheas
Finally, “very demanding” plants are quite impossible to keep alive indoors, except for experts. One example is those very expensive carnivorous plants that often die… even before being presented for sale!
So where should we classify the Celebes Pepper? Well, in my experience, it’s an easy plant. It lost several leaves when I forgot to water it for a few days, which was ultimately the price I had to pay for my mistake. Once the fall was over, it resumed its growth without further damage.
However, I know I do well with plants that need to be kept constantly moist: I have no problem with peace lilies, African violets and my huge Radermachera sinica, whereas many people find these plants, which are much less forgiving of forgetfulness, difficult to keep alive.
I’ve seen a lot of people online, during my research, talking about their problems with P. crocatum and calling it “temperamental”. That’s certainly not my case, but I’ll honor their experience. That’s why I’m thinking that P. crocatum could be of “medium” difficulty: it’s not the easiest plant, especially for watering, but for the rest it does very well and isn’t too demanding in terms of light, repotting or cuttings.
Conclusion
Piper crocatum is a beautiful houseplant that’s a bit temperamental. But if you avoid moving it and water it regularly, it shouldn’t cause any problems. I hope you’ll have as much success with this new houseplant collector as I have!
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