Calathea

According to The Plant List database, the genus includes 286 species (287 are listed on the site, but the species name is Calathea warszewiczii given twice) ^[2] . Some of them:

• Calathea crocata E. Morren & Joriss. - Saffron Calathea
• Calathea lancifolia Boom - Great Calathea
• Calathea makoyana E. Morren - Calathea Makoya
• Calathea orbifolia ( Linden ) HAKenn. - Calathea orbifolia
• Calathea roseopicta ( Linden ) Regel - Roseate Calathea
• Calathea warszewiczii ( L. Mathieu ex Planch. ) Planch. & Linden - Calathea Varshevich

Saffron Calathea ( Calathea crocata )

Saffron calathea is a compact beautifully flowering, but very moody plant. It can be grown only in a greenhouse or an aquarium, as it quickly discards leaves from dry air. The leaves are rather inconspicuous, it is appreciated for the spectacular orange-red bracts surrounding the inflorescences on straight peduncles.

Great Calathea ( Calathea lancifolia )

Wonderful calathea (or lanceolate) also has one leaf in the outlet. Its leaves are opaque, similar in shape to lanceolate, with wavy edges. On a light green background are regularly alternating small and large ovals. The underside of the leaf is purple, the petiole is green.

Calathea Makoyana

Thin oval leaves up to 30 cm long on long straight stalks. The leaves above are silvery with dark green edges, dark green spots of different sizes and vein ornaments. The leaves below are dark purple. Petioles are pubescent, lilac. Each rosette carries one photosynthetic leaf, surrounded at the base by several small scaly leaves.

Calathea orbifolia

Calathea orbifolia is a very beautiful plant 40-60 cm high. This plant is distinguished by round wide leaves with clear symmetrical stripes of approximately the same width of dark green and light green in color.

Calathea roseopicta

Roseate calathea is a rhizome perennial plant up to 80 cm high. The leaves are large, oval, varying in color from dark green to thick red or red-brown, with an original pattern consisting of bright spots and stripes. The lower part of the leaf is purple, petioles are long, also purple. Flowering occurs in inflorescences resembling an ear of various colors: white, purple, yellow-orange. In good conditions of keeping, it tends to raise leaves in the evening.

Temperature

Moderate, in winter not lower than 16 - 19 ^o C. A sudden change in temperature is not desirable. Calatheas cannot tolerate cold drafts. A sudden change in temperature can be fatal for the most delicate varieties, the leaves become sluggish and rot.

Lighting

Calathea should be shaded from direct sunlight, in bright light the color of the leaves fades. In winter, they are kept in a well-lit place away from direct sunlight. However, strong shading should also be avoided, since in the shade the leaves lose their decorative color. To solve this problem, for example, you can shade Calathea with a sheet of thin white paper mounted on a window so that it blocks the path of direct sunlight, creating diffuse lighting.

Watering

Watered with warm soft water in the summer abundantly, in winter, watering is reduced. Plants need moist air. The pot is placed in wet peat or kept in a terrarium.

Humidity

It requires regular spraying of the leaves, provided that the plant does not suffer from fungal diseases. Species with velvety leaves are not sprayed, but to moisten the air, use a household humidifier or keep the plant in a place where there is high humidity: a terrarium, wet pebbles or moss, or surrounded by other plants that require frequent watering. You should not put the flowerpot in a pan with water - Calathea does not like when “legs in the water”.

Some types of Calathea, for example Kalatei Varshevich , require constant high humidity in the surrounding air, in the region of 80-90%. Otherwise, the plant slowly degrades, the leaves dry out, the appearance of the plant noticeably worsens. This reason often causes failures in the breeding of the house of Kalatei Varshevich. Spraying the plant takes beneficially, however, it does not solve the problem. In winter, plants are particularly affected by dry air in heated rooms, where the humidity from vital 80-90% drops to 30-40%. For the purpose of some compensation, the plant can be placed on a wide tray filled with moist pebbles, expanded clay, dried sphagnum moss, sprayed, and an ultrasonic air humidifier is regularly used. To create ideal conditions for the maintenance of Kalatei Varshevich, a florarium is needed, in which high humidity, good ventilation and lighting will be constantly maintained.

Fertilizer

During the growth period, every two weeks, top dressing is needed with a weak (0.5 or less than normal) solution of mineral fertilizers with the largest proportion of potassium.

Pests

Calathea are affected by a red spider mite , scale insects, thrips, mealybug . Calathea Varshevich is most often affected by a spider mite. The tick is difficult to notice, and when the treatment is delayed, the plant dies. The treatment in each case is different: at home, ticks are used - acaricides , on an industrial scale they sometimes produce a very expensive special kind of tick on plants that destroys the previous one, and systemic insecticides combined with bioinsecticides such as Fitoverm are more effective for controlling scabies and mealybugs . The general rule for combating spider mites is to increase indoor air humidity.

Features

Some species of arrowroot , including a number of Kalatei (for example, Kalatei Roseopikt, Kalatey Varshevich), under good conditions, noticeably raise the leaves by night, for which they received the second name - “prayer plant”. The plant looks different in the morning and evening and it seems that its leaves are moving.

Transplanted every two years in the spring. Good drainage is required (up to 1/4 of the height of the pot). The soil is made up of leaf and humus land, peat and sand (1: 1: 1: 0.5). Can be grown hydroponically .

Propagated by division during transplantation. In this case, the rhizome cannot be cut with a knife. Pots are covered with plastic wrap and kept in a warm place until the plants take root. Reproduction by seeds is also possible.

Some species of Calathea breed well with rosettes formed on flower arrows. For example, Kalatei Varshevich forms arrows before flowering, on which small rosettes with leaves develop in the end. If you cut such a socket a little lower in the direction of the arrow and plant it in the ground in a greenhouse, then it will take root - this is one of the natural ways of propagating the species.

• Plants Belonging to the Genus 'Calathea'
• http://www.flower.vn.ua
• Indoor Plants - Calathea