It’s almost impossible to pass calathea without noticing her. Stunning foliage in rich colors catch anyone’s eye.
main varieties
The most popular include the beautiful peacock plant (Goeppertia makoyana), which has large, oval, light green leaves, with dark green strokes on the upper surfaces and purple markings underneath, throwing color from all angles. The rattlesnake plant (Goeppertia lancifolia) is another eye-catching calathea. Tall sword-shaped leaves with pale and dark green pattern, purple-red underneath, resemble the patterns of the serpent that gives it its name.
There are other types as well that are grown both for their flowers and for their foliage.
The eternal flame (Goeppertia crocata) is one of the best known in this regard. Its bright orange flowers, resembling torches, appear from spring to summer among purple, dark green, wavy-edged leaves.
You can also find these plants listed under their new Latin name. Goeppertiasince they have been reclassified in recent years, but most people still know them as calatheas.
But before you get yours, make sure you can replicate the ideal heat and humidity for them. If you can care for calathea in the right conditions, they won’t take up much space, as they are all quite compact. They rarely grow more than 60 cm upwards or sideways.
3 top tips for caring for a calathea
Like many divas of the plant world, these stars are not the easiest to care for, but given the attention they deserve, they will grace your gardens for years to come. Just follow the tips below.
1. Find the right light conditions
Indoor plants with patterned leaves generally need a lot of filtered light and calatheas are no exception. The same care you would take with elephant ears, whose leaves are similar to those of calathea, must be taken. Place them in a sunny, humid room, such as a kitchen or bathroom, on a table or shelf away from the window so they are not in direct sunlight.
This will prevent your leaves from burning and drying out, which can lead to discoloration. They also prefer a constant warm temperature, above 16°C, all year round. Also keep your plants away from drafts and radiators.
2. Keep moisture in balance
Calathea plants like moisture and therefore make good bathroom plants. But don’t water them too much, as they will rot if the earth gets too wet. To achieve this delicate balance, plant your calathea in pots with drainage holes at the base, then you can tuck everything into a waterproof pot to display it.
Most indoor plants prefer to be watered with rainwater or distilled water – if using tap water, leave it in a pitcher for 24 hours first to allow the chlorine to dissipate – and water your plant from a sink. Then let it drain completely before returning it to its waterproof container.
Keep the compost moist from spring to fall and reduce the frequency in winter, applying moisture only when the soil surface is dry.
3. Add nutrients and increase moisture
add a diluted fertilizer by half every two weeks from spring to fall – plants do not need to be fed in winter.
To increase the humidity levels around your plants, spray them every few days with warm water, as you would when caring for air plants, or place your pots in shallow trays filled with pebbles and topped off with water. Some aficionados may even install humidifiers to keep these beauties happy.
Things That Can Kill a Calathea
- Overwatering: This can quickly lead to rot, which results in the discoloration and collapse of the stems and leaves, killing the plant. So make sure your potted plants offer good drainage and make sure they hold a lot of water.
- Too little water: This can also cause wilting, or the leaves can curl and turn brown, but this problem is easier to fix and is rarely fatal – just water your plant as described above and it should be fine.
- Dry air: Causes discoloration of the leaves, so make sure your plant is misted every few days or placed in a tray of damp pebbles, as you would with orchids.
calatheas propagation
Calatheas are easy to propagate by division. To do this, in early spring, just before the plants go into active growth, remove the plant from the pot and use a clean, sharp knife to cut the root ball into sections.
Remove old or bruised leaves from each section and check that all the roots look plump and creamy yellow, then repot them in individual containers filled with composted potting mix.
Can I put my calathea outside?
It depends where you live. If your local climate offers consistently hot temperatures, above 18˚C day and night, then the answer is yes, but for people who live in certain regions further south in the country or in higher altitude areas where the nights can they be colder, the answer is no. This is because these tropical plants need consistent heat and do not thrive outdoors in areas where the temperature fluctuates and can drop below 16°C.
Why do my calathea have brown tips?
A calathea’s leaves can turn brown if the plant is getting too much or too little water. Check to see if the soil is soggy, if so, pour the excess water out of the waterproof container and leave the plant in a colander for a few days to dry. If the compost is dry, water it thoroughly over the sink, making sure the moisture reaches the bottom of the pot and letting it drain.
Also make sure that the humidity around the plant is high enough by spraying it regularly. Remove the brown-tipped leaves at the base of your stems and healthy new shoots should appear after a few weeks.
Why do calathea leaves fold at night?
Calatheas belong to the same family of prayer plants (Marantaceae), whose leaves fold at night as if they were praying, hence the name. Calatheas leaves also move. They stand up at dusk and spread out during the day when the foliage needs to capture sunlight to carry out photosynthesis.
There are a few theories as to why they do this and one of the most likely ones is that it causes the moisture in the leaves to drain and thus prevents the development of fungal diseases. If the sheets don’t get up at night, it could be because your bedroom is too bright or too cold.
If your plant’s leaves curl during the day, they may be dehydrated or suffering from an attack by sap-sucking insects.
*Via Gardening Etc