Calathea rufibarba: care | Gardening On

There is no doubt that we like green plants inside homes and offices. These offer a more natural vision, give life to the rooms and achieve a pleasant effect. Therefore, choosing between all the indoor plants can be difficult. But if you want a striking one and whose care is not very difficult, you have to know the Calathea rufibarba.

How is it? How well do you care for the Calathea rufibarba? Are pests and diseases affecting you? Next we will talk about her.

Characteristics of the Calathea rufibarba

This plant, from the Marantaceae family, is considered an herb. It is evergreen and the most special thing about this is, without a doubt, the type of leaves it has. They are quite large, green in color but with a red underside and lanceolate, but with such an appearance that they appear to be wrinkled. They grow close to the stem and are grouped in clusters. You will realize that, especially if it grows a little, the leaves start out being red (it is how you will find them at the base) and as it grows they turn green.

If you’re lucky, Calathea rufibarba also blooms, with small white to yellow flowers. But we already tell you that it is a matter of luck since the normal thing is that, indoors, it does not flourish.

As for the stem, you should know that it is thick and purple-red in color, as well as having hair of the same very curious color.

There is one aspect to take into account and that may be why you choose this plant. And it is that it «moves». We explain it to you: the plant has two rhythms, one in the morning and one at night. When there is a lot of light, the leaves roll up on themselves so as not to catch so much; but, when there is no light at night, the leaves begin to open and rise as far as possible to spread them, at least horizontally. It is entertaining to see how the plant changes and at first it may even catch your attention, especially if you have children. Because, something that not many know is that sometimes with movement they also generate noise.

Es native to Central and South America, especially Brazil and it grows in areas of lakes and rivers, so you already sense that it is a plant that needs a lot of humidity around it.

Caring for the Calathea rufibarba

Among the indoor plants that you can have, the care of the Calathea rufibarba does not differ from other plant beings. It is quite easy to care for and if you learn what its needs are and keep them covered you can enjoy the plant for a long time.

But what care do you need? We tell you:

Lighting

From what we have told you before, it is convenient to put the plant in a place with moderate lighting (or semi-shadow). The reason is that, if there is a lot of light, the sheets will fold. Therefore, it is best to have it in a place where the sheets are placed horizontally.

Of course, if you put it in semi-shade it is best to rotate the plant so that all the leaves enjoy some light. Otherwise, these could change the formation of the plant (they would all rotate to one side of the pot, where the light is).

Temperature

As a tropical plant it is necessary that its environment is warm, and that temperatures do not drop below 15 degrees. As for the maximums, the ideal would be no more than 22, but it can withstand a few degrees more. In case of dry summers and with high temperatures, the humidity must be increased so that it does not suffer.

Earth

When transplanting, whether emergency or normal, you need a substrate that is light, somewhat acidic and porous. The best choice is a mixture of peat moss with sand and, if possible, decomposed leaves (which will give you some compost and keep moisture).

Irrigation and humidity

Because of the origin of this plant, you already know that both irrigation and humidity are two of the most important aspects.

In the case of irrigation, you must water it with soft water and not cold. It is watered in a moderate and high way from March to September and afterwards the waterings go from moderate to low.

In other words, from March you should start to water more abundantly and in the summer months in a high way (depending on where you live it will be watered more or less) and from September the rate is lowered so that in winter it does not water as much (because you don’t need it).

Now, the humidity must be present in the Calathea rufibarba. In fact, you will notice that there is a lack of this when the leaves have damaged edges. To be able to offer you that humidity, the best thing is place the plant in a tray with wet stones, in such a way that the steam keeps it healthy. Besides, especially in summer, you should vaporize it daily.

If you ever see that the plant is very bad, there is a little trick to recover it (actually to recover all those that require humidity). It is to open the shower tap with warm water and wet all the walls until you see that the characteristic steam is released. At that moment you close the tap, put the plant in the shower and close the doors. If you leave it there for a while, it will regain the texture of its leaves and make it feel better.

Fertilizer

The fertilization of this plant is necessary, since in a pot it has more needs than planted in the ground. In this case you have to Fertilize every 15 days with compost from green leafy plants. Add a little less than the amount the label tells you.

Pruning

Calathea rufibarba is not a plant that needs you to prune it. All you need is that remove the leaves that are damaged or diseased, cutting them as close to the stem as possible.

Plagues and diseases

Although it is a very resistant plant, do not forget that it can have some problems with pests and diseases.

With regard to the latter, it is usual that get sick if your temperature, humidity and watering needs are not met, or if there is an excess of them.

For its part, with the pests, the most common are cochineal or powdery mildew.

Now that you have all the information you need about its care, do you dare to have a Calathea rufibarba at home?