By Maddy Hogan

Prayer plant is the common name for plants that belong to the genus Maranta and Calathea which have ornately decorated leaves that appear hand painted. These beautiful leaves rise and fall in accordance with a circadian rhythm that mimics the daylight hours and makes them appear to be ‘praying’. The process of the praying leaves is called nyctinasty and is believed to be an adaptation that allows for maximum light absorption by changing the pressure of the water in the leaves of the plant.

Native to tropical and humid climates, these plants provide more than just a scenic sprucing to a home, they serve functions. In Brazil, it is very common to see the wider and broad leafed calatheas used for wrapping food, while the more long and narrow leaves are used for basket weaving. Some of the species have edible nodes on the root systems as well, but for the purposes of your houseplants, we do not recommend taste testing them even though they are considered non-toxic and pet safe! 

Because these species originate in tropical regions and are below the canopy dweller, they can be particular when it comes to their light and watering requirements. Calatheas and Marantas have beautiful but sensitive leaves that can burn in direct or intense sunlight. A sign of burnt leaves is a yellow tint with the ornate patterns fading away. The great thing about calatheas and marantas is that while their leaves are sensitive to light exposure, they are resilient to trimming with snips. If you find your plant with brown or crispy edges, feel free to clean up the edges with your snips, the leaves will survive just fine.

They prefer a bright indirect to moderate light and a consistently moist, but never soggy, soil. The soil moisture levels can be what calathea and maranta owners find the most frustrating when starting out with these plants. If the plant is overwatered, resulting in a soggy dark soil, the leaves will begin to yellow and have the beautiful ornate patterns fade from them. If the plant is under watered, allowing the soil to dry out too much, the leaves will typically curl and become brown and crispy around the edges. Moisture meters can be a huge asset to those that are learning about what moisture level their plants need and we carry the Classy Casita ones in our downtown Napa location.

Another element that can assist with the retention of moisture in the soil is creating a humid environment for these species. Humidity can be achieved in a variety of ways, whether it is regular misting on the leaves and topsoil, putting multiple plants together in one area to increase water vapor expulsion, adding a humidifier to the room, or a pebble tray with water underneath the potted plant. While calatheas and marantas do love humidity, do not let this be a deterrent because it is not mandatory to create additional humidity. Our indoor environments naturally have sufficient humidity for these plants to live a happy and healthy life.

By Maddy Hogan

As the seasons change, your plant care will need to be adapted to take into consideration both dormancy in house plants and environmental changes.

Most indoor plants are native to tropical regions that enter dormancy during environmental changes, such as decreased rainfall or increased temperatures. Dormancy is a period of time when a plant’s growth cycle slows, or completely stops, to accommodate for these environmental changes. The tropical house plants we have indoors will enter a period of dormancy during the winter months as the temperatures cool and become inconsistent, there are fewer hours of daylight meaning there is less photosynthesizing going on, and the humidity in the air is lower, all requiring less water and no fertilization for your plants. 

Below we dive into the details that will help your plants thrive throughout their dormant period, even though their growth will be slowing down.  

Seasonal Environment Changes & Impact

Lighting - sunlight during winter months is less intense, lower in the sky, and daylight hours are decreased. This will mean that plants need to be moved closer to a window to gain similar sun exposure that they did during the summer months. With fewer hours of sunlight that is less intense, plants will also take longer to dry out between waterings.  

Watering - recommended watering for most tropical houseplants is when the top 1-3” of soil is dry to the touch or every 7-10 days. During the winter months when plant growth slows, the water requirements decrease to when the soil is nearly completely dry to the touch or every 21-30 days. While it is important to allow plants to dry out more during the winter months, it is important to keep an eye on furnace or fireplace use as this can pull moisture out of the soil faster, which will further stress a dormant tropical plant.

Boosting the humidity in your home can also benefit your tropical house plants during winter months. Humidity can be achieved in a number of ways. You can group multiple plants together or in a specific area of your home to increase water vapor exhalation, thus creating an overall more humid environment for your plants. You can place pebble trays with water underneath your potted plants, just ensure that the pot is not actively soaking in the water as this will lead to the root system absorbing too much water. Lastly, you can mist your plants with a spray bottle or use a humidifier. 

Drafts & Fluctuating Temperatures - the winter months can bring cool drafts near windows and doors, as well as the extended use of furnaces or fireplaces. Indoor plants are sensitive to drafts on either extreme and it is important to ensure that cold or hot drafts are not impacting them. If you live in climates where there can be severe cold weather, it is important to make sure that the environment for the indoor plants does not drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods of time.

Maintenance - similar to watering reduction, indoor tropical plants do not need fertilizer during the winter months. Because the plants have entered dormancy and are not actively growing, you can hold off on fertilizing or any soil boosting nutrients until the spring. We recommend fertilizing once a month from April - October. 

Pests tend to subside during the cooler months, however plant owners should never completely let their guard down when it comes to these pesky critters. Pests are completely natural and part of the plant owning process, similar to how fleas are part of the pet owning process. Preventative measures are the strongest measures, so make sure to continue to wipe your plants leaves clean to ensure they can absorb all the light they can and to remove any open invitations for pests to move in. 

If  you are moving your plants from outdoors to indoors for the winter months, we recommend thoroughly inspecting your plants, particularly focusing on the underside of leaves, at the base of the plant near the soil, and inspecting the soil for any larvae or adult pests. A solid spray down with a hose will ensure that any stragglers are taken care of and we suggest a preventative spritz with an all year round solution. We recommend the Espoma Insect Control Spray that we carry in our downtown Napa location. 

Mosquito bits are also useful during the winter months when plant owners tend to overwater as they try to gauge how much longer their plants take to dry out. With consistently moist soil comes fungus gnats, which can be combated with a small sprinkle of mosquito bits that are activated when you water over them, killing the mature fungus gnats and their larvae. 

We hope these tips serve you well during the dormant months ahead. If you have any questions you can always reach on social media, email, or in-person at the shop!