11 months ago, I walked into Walmart, and saw this beauty! 😍 It was love at 1st sight and I took it home, having zero clue what a prayer plant was (aside from what the tag said 😉) and knowing nothing about Calatheas’ bad rep!! 😂 This was one of my best purchases! Morgan truly is magical (as is Merlin, the money tree I bought on the same shopping trip!… 😏). It has been -by far- my easiest and least fussy plant ever!! 🤗🪴👍🏻
Calatheas have a reputation of being “divas” when, in fact, they just know what they want! 😆 A well draining soil that’s not too wet and not too dry, bright indirect light, and a bit of humidity. They don’t like the minerals and chemicals in tap water (they make the edge of their leaves turn brown), so they need to be watered with rain water or filtered water (mine is happy with the filtered water from my fridge door…)). Easy peasy! 😉
They’re part of the Prayer Plants family, which makes them really fun to have around: During the day, the leaves are facing down (pics 1 & 2), at night the leaves are facing up (pics 3 &4) making them look like hands in prayer 🙏🏻 (hence the name). As for why prayer plants “pray” 🤔, I’ve come across different explanations. One is that it’s a way to be less noticeable from animals who eat plants. Since the underside of Calatheas’ leaves is eggplant colored, they are less noticeable by night. Another explanation is that it’s a way to catch more rain. Calatheas grow in the rain forest, so they are under the canopy of trees, which blocks part of the downpour. When the plant is closed up, the rain isn’t bouncing off the leaves, and falls instead on the ground right above the roots… I’m choosing to believe both explanations are valid… 😉
This specific one is a Cathedral Windows (also called Peacock sometimes (as a side note, the Calathea family has recently been renamed Goeppertia -for whatever reason- so it also goes by Goeppertia Makoyana)). 🤪 From up close, the pattern on the leaves looks almost like fabric with embroidery! 🧵🪡
One of my first houseplants in years, and definitely one of my very faves!… 🤗😍🪴 Next goal: propagating it!… 🙂🪴🪴🪴👍🏻
Bee's Zen Garden 