The Calathea plant is a very famous household plant used for office decoration purposes. This plant is commonly known as the cathedral, zebra, or peacock plant. The bright white veins against red, green, and cream leaves give it a unique and engrossing texture.
These plants move their leaves up at nighttime and lower them during the daytime. Because of this leave movement, these are also known as prayer-plants. This article gives you a brief overview of how to care for a calathea plants. Let’s get started…
Calathea Care | The Incredible Low-Light Plants
There are many varieties of this plant available for indoor use. Iancifolia, ornata, and rufibarba are some of the most popular species. They can be planted in different locations and environments. Below are some important pre and post-planting caring tips for these plants…
Indirect Bright Light
All species of calathea are famous for their wide, green, and colorful leaves. The wide leaves make them suitable for areas of low light. Because low light plants have wide leaves to absorb as much as the light they can get.
Therefore, for best calathea care we need to have bright sunlight to grow. That’s why they grow on the floor of forests where they get limited light. However, they don’t like direct sunlight. Because direct sunlight burns the leaves of this plant and affects its vibrant colors.
If you haven’t yet planted calathea, you should choose a place where they can get bright light instead of direct sunlight. Otherwise, you should move them to an appropriate area.
Limited Water
Like other household plants, it also doesn’t like frequent watering and soggy soil. Instead of soggy soil, they prefer moist soil or other planting substances. Excessive watering attracts pests and can be a cause of severe diseases. Use distilled water when watering the plants.
Further, the soil should have proper drainage. Watering the plants once a day in summer would be sufficient. In winter, water them once a week. Or, check the soil and if you feel it’s dry, you can water them.
Temperature
Calathea plants don’t like too cold temperatures because they belong to tropical areas of the world. The ideal temperature in which they thrive well is between 65 to 80o F. Similarly, the temperature above can also damage the plant. Droop in the leaves is the first evident if the temperature is too high.
Fertilize the Plants
This plant doesn’t require fertilizer at all so it can thrive without fertilizing. However, fertilizing doesn’t only speed up the growth but also increases flowering. So you can use fertilizer during summer, spring, and fall for these purposes.
Humidity
It is another essential factor for calathea care. These plants love humidity and prefer natural humid areas. You can also use a humidifier or pebble tray to increase humidity.
Pruning
These plants don’t require pruning at all except for the removal of brown or yellowed leaves. So this makes calathea care very easy.
Prevention Against Diseases
Sometimes you will find some spots on the Calathes’ leaves. It could be a fungal infection or mineral build-up from tap water. You should use distilled water to prevent such diseases.
Similarly, if leaves are getting yellowed or black, it indicates that you are overwatering the plants. So avoid frequent watering i.e. once or twice a week.