About the Calathea:
Calathea plant are very diverse and beautifully figured leaves. Combined with their capability to grow in lower light conditions, these make very popular house and office plants. Approaching from the jungle floors of South America and Africa, Calathea plant are flexible with their light source but are in need of high damp. Luckily, grouping Calathea’s together increases humidity and gives you an excuse to buy more.
One of my favorite things about Calatheas is their every night movement. Named ‘Prayer Plant’ for a reason, Calathea plant leaves move up at nighttime and down in the daytime as they follow the path of the sun. Called nyctinasty, this is done by change the water pressure in their stalk. Many see this and fright thinking their plants are drying out as they appear to shut down but never horror, they will be back to normal in the morning.

Types of Calathea plant:
There are so many types of Calathea and I recommend them all,
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Medallion – The Medallion is one of the larger-leafed members of this genus. With great, round leaves in a “medallion” pattern and a dark magenta bottom to the leaves, this one is truly a looker. Although indoors it may only reach 24 inches tall and wide, my mom’s spends its summers outside and has become quite larger than expected.
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Rattlesnake – The Rattlesnake has long wavy green leaves across them and a purple underside, eerily like some snaking friends of ours. The Rattlesnake needs lower light but very humidity and, if you are lucky, can reach 30 inches tall. This one is a great example of the nightly movement that takes place.
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Rabbit’s Foot – A softer textured leaf, the Rabbit’s Foot is a lighter green with a greyish underside. It has dark green splotches across the top on either side of the vein which mimics rabbit tracks. This variety doesn’t get that large, max 18 inches but can start to trail slightly and with some pruning, can get very dense.
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Musaica Network – This extremely, special Calathea has tiny pixel strokes that looks like a painter took hours covering each leaf. It does not have the velvet underside that is common amongst Calatheas instead it stands out through its matrix-like variability that covers its thin and rippled leaves.
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Orbifolia – One of the more common type of Calathea, the Orbifolia has a large, round, medium green leaf with stripes of silver green running edge. It can reach heights of 30 inches and is quite a showstopper, giving the optical of a dense, luscious area.

How to Care for your Calathea:
LIGHT: A Calathea plant can grow many places in your home with very few anomaly. They do not do well in direct sun as it can bleach the leaves and turn them to crumbly. Place your calathea in a part of a room that has low to indirect light. If it has to be a window, North surface should do just fine.
HUMIDITY: Now this is the part I fight with the most, keeping wetness in the air. So much of this depends on where you live, the type of heating and cooling you have, and how your old your house is.
WATER: Because Calathea’s can be a little fussy, I like to give them dechlorinated water or if you are blessed with a house, fresh water from your rain barrel. For easy bleach out water, I leave my water jugs out overnight which gives time for the chlorine to vaporize. Make sure to have a pot with gush holes because if it sits in water it will get root rot. Keep an eye on the dry ness of the soil and water when you feel it start to dry out.
TEMPERATURE: They want temperatures over 60°F (15°C) in your home. If you have drafty windows, warm vents, radiators, fans etc. you need to make sure your Calatheas remain clear. Drafts can not only suck humidity out of the air but also provide rough temperatures resulting in an unhappy Calathea.

Common Questions:
Curling leaves:
wrap leaves are a very common issue with Calatheas. If your plant is sitting in too much light it will start to burn and wave inward. Move it farther away from the light. The other, most likely, reason is that it is drying out and in an attempt to jam water, it is curling up. Water it immediately and you will see it open soon.
Terracotta, Plastic or Ceramic:
You may think that terracotta would not be ideal as it dries out soil faster, it can be powerful for you. Because the pot is breathable it allows the soil to stay dank but not wet; however, if you tend to under-water or live in a dry place, keep with pots or plastic.
Conclusion:
Calathea plant are very diverse and beautifully figured leaves. One of my favorite things about Calatheas is their every night movement. A Calathea plant can grow many places in your home with very few anomaly. They want temperatures over 60°F (15°C) in your home.