Plants Identification: Miniature Rose Plant & Calathea
Dear Judy,
Thank you for this service and great website. Please identify these plants.
I am a beginner grower who just purchased two plants and would like to identify them in order to care for them accordingly. Please find the pictures attached.
Kind Regards
Abdullah
Hi Abdullah,
Miniature Rose Plant
The first plant is a a miniature Rose Bush. These indoor houseplant roses look lovely when first purchased but are difficult to keep indoors on a permanent basis. Enjoy your Miniature Rose Bush plant your home and then plant it outside as soon as the weather permits. Miniature Roses grow much better outdoors in the fresh air and bright light. A Miniature Rose Bush plant produces small flowers about 1”-2” (2.5-5cm) in size in red, yellow, pink, white, peach, and orange. Since this plant is a hybrid of the regular rose, it needs the same type of care and attention. here are some care tips:
A Miniature Rose Plant needs very bright light in order to grow. If you don’t have a place where it gets several hours of direct sunlight, try moving it outdoors into the sun for a while each day once the danger of a frost is over. When there is insufficient light, Miniature Roses don’t bloom, the stems start to stretch, and the plant becomes thin.
Miniature Roses require a great deal of water, especially when they are flowering. Since these plants are usually purchased in a small pot, be sure to check the soil every few days. Allow the top 1” (2.5cm) of soil in a Miniature Rose Plant to dry out before watering. During the winter, when the plant is resting, keep the soil barely moist. Be careful not to get water on the leaves of a Miniature Rose Plant since this causes a fungus called Black Spot.
Feed a Miniature Rose Plant every two weeks in the spring and summer when it is actively growing. Use a fertilizer that is high in phosphorous (5-10-5) at ½ the recommended strength.
Miniature Rose Plants do well in temperatures between 60-75 degrees (16-24 degrees C). Roses planted in containers are very susceptible to frost.
Miniature Rose Plants need moderate to high humidity. If your home is dry, especially in the winter, place a Miniature Rose Plant on a tray of wet pebbles. Be sure the plant is sitting on the pebbles and not in the water.
Remove dead blooms from a Miniature Rose Plant as soon as they appear, this helps the plant bloom for a longer period of time. Always use a sharp pruner or scissors to cut the flowers off a Miniature Rose Plant, never just pull them off with your fingers. Tearing the stems of a Miniature Rose Plant, rather than cutting them at a 45-degree angle, damages the stem and encourages diseases. Once the plant finishes blooming and the weather warms up, move your Miniature Rose outdoors. Be sure to bring a Miniature Rose Plant back inside once the temperature goes below freezing.
This is a Calathea Plant. All Calathea Plants are treasured for their large, oval, distinctly patterned, and vibrantly colored leaves. These are not easy plants to care for. Here are some care tips that might help.
A Calathea Plant requires bright indirect light but no direct sun. Direct sun burns the leaves of most houseplants and causes their vibrant colors to fade.
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 on a Calathea Plant. 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 allow a Calathea Plant to sit in water. Allow the top 2-3” of the soil in the pot to dry out before watering.
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.
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.
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 near- by, or by grouping plants together to create a greenhouse effect.
You can read more about Calathea in the Popular Houseplant section of the website.
