Calathea, plant with wonderful leaves

Calathea zebrina

Calathea zebrina

Our protagonist today is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants native to the tropical and humid jungles of South America. Currently it is cultivated mainly as an indoor plant, having demonstrated its adaptability to the conditions it has in these places, due to the great beauty of its leaves.

Calathea is an exceptional plantwhich will give more life and color to your home.

Calathea triostar

Calathea Triostar

In habitat it can reach a height of one meter; However, in our latitudes and being in a pot, it is difficult that over 60cm. Calathea is a plant suitable for those who want to start in the world of plant caresince it tolerates low light better than others, and does not need to be watered very frequently. So much so that it can be watered about twice a week in summer, and the rest of the year it will be enough once every seven or ten days.

We can have it outside as long as the minimum temperature is 15 degrees or higher. We are facing a tropical plant, which is very sensitive to cold already frost. If we live in an area with cold-temperate winters, it will be necessary to protect it inside the home.

Calathea koyana

Calathea koyana

In return if we live in a warm climate we can have it in the garden in an area where it does not get direct sunalong with other plants with similar size, or growing between bushes or trees as you can see in the image above.

His main enemy is pondingFor this reason, when changing the pot, it is recommended to opt for a substrate that contains perlite in order to prevent it from compacting, and thus facilitating the roots to breathe better.

Lastly, don’t forget pay it every fifteen days -from spring to late summer- with a liquid fertilizer so that your plant has an exceptional growth and development.

Calathea, plant with wonderful leaves

Leave a Reply

Scroll to top

Discover more from DIY Gardens

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading