Silver Variegated Calathea

Silver Variegated Calathea Care

Calathea Picturata 'argentea'

Other names: Calathea

What is the plant

'Argentea' is a tender, evergreen, perennial suitable for indoor use. It has pale, silvery-green, ovate leaves with dark-green margins and red undersides that are held singly on tall stems. Flowers, if produced, are white, small and formed in spikes in summer. Calathea Plants are tropical plants, often grown as houseplants for their beautiful, brightly coloured, upright, oval leaves. There are over 300 different types of Calathea Plants, many being hybrids created by tissue cultures. They are not the easiest of the Marantas to care for. Indoors, a Calathea is a table plant or short bush that rarely gets bigger than 60cm tall and wide. 'Argentea' bears silvery white leaves, with dark green margins, and red-purple undersides. Spikes of small white flowers are sometimes borne

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Part Sun

Temperature

min 16°C

Hardiness zone

10 - 12

Difficulty

Medium

How to Care for the Plant

Water
Calathea Picturata need to be watered often and do not like being left to dry out. Of course this doesn’t mean you should be watering them daily and they won’t do well sitting in water logged soil but feel the top two inches of soil and as it starts to dry out give your plant a drink, do not wait for the for pot to have dried out.
Fertilizer
Calathea Picturata can be sensitive to fertiliser and if the mix is too strong it can cause burning on the leaves. To prevent this we would recommend diluting the fertiliser and using it on your plant approximately once a month during the growing season. If you find the fertiliser is still too strong then try watering your plant before adding fertiliser so that the plant sucks up the water first and the fertiliser gets diluted further. Do not fertilise during the winter months
Sunlight
Like most types of Calathea the Calathea Picturata needs to be kept out of direct sunlight to prevent leaf scorching. It will do well in medium to bright light conditions as long as it is protected from direct light. A common sign that your plant is receiving too much light is leaf curling. If the light is too intense for the Calathea then the leaves will start to curl in on themselves for protection. This is a method used to try and conserve water.

Disease diagnosis

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Soil
Calathea require a standard well balanced potting mix that drains easily. A good blend would be a generic potting mix with added perlite and orchid bark.
Temperature
Not Frost hardy
Popularity
162 people already have this plant 48 people have added this plant to their wishlists