Calathea makoyana is a striking indoor houseplant aboriginal to Eastern Brazil . It is commonly called the Peacock Plant , due to the feathery form on its leaves that resemble the shadower of a peacock .
The leaves share many of the characteristic Calathea trait , with dark light-green outline and a waxy grain , but the makoyana distinguishes itself with a purplish - maroon coloration on the undersides of the leave .
The unseasoned leaves will appear entirely this colour when rolled up , before they mature and spread out . It is particularly popular in dwelling with children and ducky , as no part of the industrial plant are toxic .
Due to its tropic theme , the Calathea makoyana has specific tending demand that must be turn to for it to thrive . In its native environment the makoyana would mature in the understory of the rain forest in comparatively dark and damp conditions , so much of the maintenance for this plant involves simulating its instinctive environment in the patch that you choose for it .
When its needs are met , this Calathea will add a splash of color and vitality to your home and you wo n’t regret adding it to your indoor plant collection .
If you use the follow guide to supervise its care , propagation , and trouble-shoot any problems , then you should n’t have any problem keep this elegant plant in great health .
Calathea Makoyana Plant Care Basics
All You Need To Know AboutCalathea Makoyana
Calathea makoyana can be grown indoors anywhere , and can be turn alfresco in USDA growing zones above 10a if kept under the shade of larger industrial plant .
The makoyana is somewhat mediocre in sizing for the Calathea genus , with a acme and overspread of around 2 ft . The leaves grow in a turbinate pattern around the central shank , and the largest typically crown the plant at the top .
Because of its pauperism as a tropical plant , it is not well suited for beginner gardeners ( unless you enjoy a challenge ! ) . Make indisputable when purchasing to select a plant that is in upright health , and do not mix up the purple bottom of the leaves with unhealthy plants that have browning folio margins .
The topsides of the leaves will always have dark green radiation pattern but the other colour may vary between shades of lily-white , emollient or may be yellow . Calatheas are monocotyledon , meaning that they go to the same radical as most grasses and have a sinewy stem bodily structure underground .
Scientific Name
Calathea makoyana
Horticultural Classification
household : Marantaceae , Genus : Calathea
vulgar name
Peacock Plant
Native part
Eastern Brazil
Average size of it
industrial plant can be 2 ft tall & leave of absence develop 10 - 12 inches long .
Sunlight needs
Moderate and indirect
Temperature needs
60 - 75 ℉
body of water demand
grunge must be hold on moist but not soggy .
stain need
Slightly acidic ( pH of 6.5 ) , well - drain stain
peak time
Small flowers may seem throughout the year .
flower
whitened
How To Care For The Peacock Plant (Calathea Makoyana)
record on to better read the specific condition this plant needs to flourish , and trouble-shoot any issues you may run into .
1:PeacockPlants Thrives in Bright, But Not Direct Sunlight
The Calathea makoyana would turn wild in the understory of the tropic forest of Brazil . To assume this environment , place it in a brilliant room that gets indirect light ; not directly in the shade but not under a ray of sunlight either .
ANorth facing windowor beside a piece of piece of furniture that blocks direct visible radiation are often good spots . If you’re able to comfortably read in the choose spot then that is a good indicant of whether it is bright enough .
If bright beams of sunshine hit the leaves , those spots will become bleached or the tips may turn browned .
On the flip side , if the space is too dark the growth of your makoyana will be stunted with less leaf growing and more faded colors . If you notice either of these issues you may ask to move your plant to a more fitly light spot .
2: Calathea Makoyana Enjoys The Warmth
Chances are that your menage is already a suitable temperature for the Calathea makoyana , as they typically love temperature in the same range as humankind .
Between 60 and 75 degree Fahrenheit will beseem the Inachis io plant just o.k. , and attempt to avoid any sudden changes in temperature even within that range .
Also forbid keeping your flora near air conditioning units , vent , oven or anything else that may disrupt the temperature or humidness around the plant .
If you subsist in a cooler climate , you’re able to keep your Inachis io plant outdoors in the summertime as long as the temperature quell above 50 ℉ day and nighttime . The same rules still hold for spectre and see below about humidness .
3:PeacockPlants Plants Enjoy A Humid Environment
Humidity is an important condition when living accommodations tropical plants , especially in the wintertime when indoor heating plant can significantly dry out out your home .
The Calathea makoyana call for humidness to be at least 60 % , which can be measure with a hygrometer . To increase humidity around the flora you’re able to mist it with a spray bottleful , put the quite a little on a tray of pebble , or localise it together with a mathematical group of other plant life .
If you have a nursery with good airflow it could be a good spot for this peacock industrial plant , but if you live in a metropolis flat , deal keeping it in your bathroom or your kitchen where humidity is usually the high .
4: Lightweight and Airy Potting Mixture Is Works Best For Calathea Makoyana
To head off root rot but keep the filth moist , verify to select a potting soil with good drainage or sum up some element to improve this factor .
Perlite , pumice stone , orchid barque , or fine gravel can all improve dirt drain , and peat moss and compost will bring home the bacon rich food for your Calathea to flow on .
orchidaceous plant bark will decompose over time and should be replaced when re - potting . When choosing a potting soil check the pH , as this plant life like slightly acidulous conditions at a pH of 6.5
5: Feed With General Houseplant Fertilizer Every Four Weeks During The Spring And Summer
you’re able to give your Calathea makoyana a dose of fertilizer every calendar month during the give and summer . During the winter the plant will enter a period of slow maturation and does n’t need the extra energy . Use a well balanced liquid plant food with equal parts Nitrogen , Phosphorus and Potassium .
All Calatheas are sensitive to synthetic fertilizers that have high salt content , as it can build up in the stain and damage their root systems .
irrigate the plant the 24-hour interval before fertilise so that the nutrient do n’t shock and burn the roots . If the tips of the leave of absence start to turn brownish it could be a planetary house of over - fertilizing .
6: Watering: Keep Your Calathea Peacock Moist Not Soggy!
The soil of your Calathea makoyana should retain some moisture but the plant should never be baby-sit in water . Many tropical potted plants are overwatered and develop root hogwash , which is when the root pose in boggy soil and begin to degenerate .
It ’s very unmanageable to remedy once it sets in , so in general air on the side of caution when watering your flora . irrigate your Calathea Peacock when the surface of the soil is dry a twosome of time per workweek .
Ensure your soil has salutary drain , and you could ascertain this by using your swallow hole to water it and allow the body of water run until it drain out of the gob at the bottom .
Once it has stop drop the soil should be dampish through but the roots wo n’t be model in stagnant water . If your Mary Jane becomes overweight with water and only a few drop are draining out , you may need toamend the soilmatter with perlite or add drain golf hole to your potty .
Another good tactic for lacrimation is by using a atomizer bottle to give the soil a unspoilt misting , which also increases humidness . Use a damp cloth to pass over leaves if they are take in dust .
7: Watch your Water
Calathea Peacock are are so tender when it comes to thetypeof water they receive . The fluoride and mineral often come up in tap water can be prejudicial to your Calathea makoyana and cause stain on the surface of the leaves .
To avoid yellow and browning leaves it ’s best to irrigate your Calathea Peacock with distilled or filtered water , or consider set up a rain collector . If you do n’t have the resources for any of these choice you could use tap water , just let it pose in a glass on the heel counter for a few day to allow the mineral to scatter before you use it for lachrymation .
How to Prune a Calathea
peacock butterfly plants do not need to be snip often , and the pruning cognitive operation is simple . Just call up not to do any pruning right after potting or re - potting when the plant is most stressed .
To dress your Calathea makoyana , just snip off any browning or discredited leaf at the bag of the stalk .
Any leaves that have been infected with disease or pests should be address as damaged .
put away off all pruned leaves as they can distribute disease if left on top of the land , and make indisputable to sterilize all your cutting shaft before using them on another works .
Propagate YourCalathea Peacock Is Through Division
Inachis io plants are most efficaciously reproduced by variance . Here are the key step to keep up when propagating your Calathea makoyana :
Pests and Diseases
Although this Calathea Peacock plant life is fairly resistant to most pestis , aphids , spider mites , and scale leaf can invade your Calathea makoyana . Often these pest are very small and can only be detected by signs such as small webs around the stem or discolour dapple on the bottom of leaves that are a yellowy chocolate-brown color .
Aphids will latch onto the industrial plant and suck out the sap , but they can be easily removed with a damp cloth or a garlic and piss solution . wanderer mites are tiny and will be on the undersides of leaves , also take up on the plant ’s nutrient .
They leave modest webs around the plant and can have quite a lot of damage if the universe puzzle too bounteous . Use diluted neem oil and apply where you see the webs and under leaves .
Neem oil is also a adept tactic for scale , whose presence can be notice by yellow blot appearing on the crown of leaves . Pests will often put down bollock in the dirt , so if you have treat an infestation it can be a in effect idea to repot with novel soil .
Pseudomonas leaf spot is a bacterial disease that can originate from supererogatory moisture on the leaf of your makoyana . It creates rust colored spots on the leaves that can distort them .
Treat by withdraw affected leaves and apply a baking soda and water solution , or if the problem persist an constitutional cop establish antibacterial .
I don’t have a humidifier, how do I keep my Calathea in a humid environment?
Many will opt to keep their Calathea makoyana in a bathroom or kitchen , where activity like raging showers and cooking keep humidity high . You could even keep it inside your exhibitioner where it will get a light mist over , if firing is decent .
Otherwise , you may keep multipletropical indoor plantstogether in a grouping and place the green goddess above a tray of piddle and pebbles to increase dehydration and create local humidity .
set some plastic sheeting around the plant can also make this effect for a lower price than buying a humidifier or a miniature greenhouse .
Help! My Calathea’s leaves are turning brown, what do I do?
unequal humidity or too little weewee are often the culprits of browning folio crest on Calathea Peacock , and you may need to place your plant in a upright spot and piddle it more frequently .
A well way to curb whether it postulate water is to cohere your power digit in up to the first metacarpophalangeal joint , and if it is dry at that depth you’re able to assume it needs urine .
Your plant may also be starve more light , or if it is near a window or a door that opens oft that may be disturbing it .
If you have eliminated all of these campaign , try change your piddle beginning to something unfiltered and lay off the plant food for a while .
Why are the leaves of my Calathea makoyana curling?
Underwatering is typically the perpetrator , so make certain to give you Calathea a honorable soakage and have any excess weewee drain out . folio curling can also be due to too cool temperatures , so try increasing your thermostat by a degree or two .
When should I re-pot my Calathea makoyana?
Like most Calatheas , the makoyana does not care to be unnecessarily agitate or messed with . Re - great deal every one or two years unless there are specific circumstances like a major pest intrusion or root decomposition that require you to do sooner .
Make trusted to refresh the soil with more organic matter and peat moss , as well as supplements to improve drain like orchidaceous plant bark or perlite . Re - pot in the spring when the industrial plant can reverberate back more easily .
What size pot should I use?
get going modest with new propagated Calathea Peacock plants and potbelly up as needed . If you notice the plant is becoming stem - bound that is a foretoken it needs a bigger plenty . Containers that are 8 - 10 inches in diameter should serve for a matured Calathea makoyana .
What kind of pot should I use?
Plastic grass at bottom of a decorative ceramic mess are ideal , as if ceramic or terra - cotta pots are in tangency with the soil their porous grain can cause it to rapidly dry out .
The out mint is used to collect drain water and a drainage tray work for this purpose as well .
Written By
bear in northern Wisconsin , Emily has always had a passion for plant . This passionateness has led her to act upon in greenhouses , landscape gardening , and pedantic plant research at multiple university ’s . She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with a BS in conservation and environmental skill . When she is n’t caring for her plants or spell you’re able to find her traveling , cooking , at alive medicine shows , and spending time in nature .
