My office is giving away plants that aren’t doing well in our space. Can you help me identify this plant so that when I take it home I can give it the proper care it needs?
Hi Sofia,
Your plant is called a Calathea.
Here are some care tips & you can read more about the plant in the Popular Houseplant section of the website. The picture is of a different variety but the care is the same.
Light: A Calathea Plant requires bright indirect light but no direct sun. Direct sun burns the leaves and causes their vibrant colors to fade.
Water: The leaves of Calathea Plants are easily damaged by the quality of the water you use. Hard water or soft water, water with a high chemical content (fluoride, chlorine, or salt), or water of poor quality causes leaf burn. Water a Calathea Plant with distilled water, rain water, or allow your tap water to sit out over night before using it. Calathea Plants like moist but not soggy soil at all times, but never let a Calathea Plant to sit in water. Allow the top 2-3” of the soil in the pot to dry out before watering.
Fertilizer: Fertilize a Calathea Plant monthly in the spring, summer, and fall with a basic houseplant food at ½ the recommended strength. Never feed a Calathea Plant, or any houseplant, if it is not actively growing.
Temperature: Calathea Plants prefer temperatures between 65-80 degrees, and don’t do well in cold drafts or temperatures below 55-60 degrees. The leaves of a Calathea Plant curl when the temperature is too warm.
Humidity: Calathea Plants need high humidity. When the air is too dry, a Calathea Plant gets brown leaf edges. Increase the humidity by placing a Calathea Plant on a tray of wet pebbles (be sure the container is on the pebbles and not in the water), setting a humidifier nearby, or grouping plants together to create a greenhouse effect.