Virtues: Calathea are bold-looking houseplants thanks to their large leaves, which are often colorfully marked. These slow-growing beauties can be a little picky about growing conditions, but their care is easily mastered and they’re well worth the effort.
Common name: Calathea
Botanical name:Calathea species and cultivars
Exposure: Bright or low light, but never direct sun
Season: Year-round as a tropical foliage houseplant
Foliage: Details vary among the many named cultivars, but in general they boast broad, wavy-edged leaves with stripes, splotches or other markings in shade of green or white. The underside of the leaf may be pink or purple in some varieties.
Habit: These are generally upright, bushy growers that suit a table while they’re young and can mature into a floor plant three feet tall.
Origins: The floor of tropical rain forests
How to grow calathea: Site in a location with bright to low light but not direct sun, which can scorch the leaves. Provide high humidity by standing the pot on a tray of moist gravel and/or clustering your calathea amid other houseplants. Water regularly, never allowing the soil to dry out but instead keeping it evenly moist. Be sure that the soil drains well; this plant likes even moisture but not sogginess. Brown leaf edges indicate the plant is not getting enough water and/or humidity, while curling leaves suggest the plant is being kept too cold. Calathea prefer warm temperatures, ideally between 65 and 80 degrees F.
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