How to Care for Calathea

Qalat home grown as ornamental foliage plants, which flower growers appreciated for the variety and beauty of the leaves. She is beautiful, but very capricious.

  • Lubbers Calathea. She has light green leaves are oval, slightly elongated shape and on each sheet of bright yellow spots.
    Calathea Lubbers
  • Decorated Calathea. Pale pink thread over the entire length of the leaves.
    Decorated Calathea
  • wonderful Calathea. The leaves grow up to 45 centimeters in length, the leaves are oval loom patterns.
    Wonderful Calathea
  • Calathea pink-colored. Round leaves with pink stripes in the middle.
    Calathea pink-colored
  • saffron Calathea. One of the oldest old. The leaves are dark on top and flowers on long stalks of bright orange.
    saffron Calathea (Krokata)

 

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Care and cultivation

Calathea – quite capricious plant, especially dekorativnotsvetuschie varieties. Properly caring for her, it is possible to avoid problems when growing.

lighting

Plants need good lighting and light partial shade to protect from direct sunlight. With a lack of light is lost decorative sheet: beautiful spots become green, merge on the general background of the sheet. The plant will not be thick and large. Most often suffer from it in the winter from lack of light exposure, so you need artificial supplementary lighting lamps.

In strong sunlight on the leaves appear burned, they become brown-red.

Additional informationKalat – heat-loving plants, but do not tolerate heat above 28 ° C. It does not tolerate drafts and sudden changes in temperature. Easily transferred night temperature to 13 ° C,

In the summer it is better to keep the open air – on the balcony, veranda. In dry hot days, they are better placed in the wide pallet of water. In the winter time the temperature should not drop below 17 degrees.

Watering

Watering comes from tropical soft spaced water abundantly in spring and summer, winter watering moderate.

Note!To determine whether you need to water Qalat, touch the top layer of soil. It should dry out to the next watering in the upper third of the pot.

Calathea likes high humidity, so it can be put in the bathroom. In winter, when central heating, air dry in the apartments, and it is necessary to take measures to flower feel comfortable. Hold regular spraying the leaves, but it facilitates the situation is not a short period, so those who have a house plant family marantaceae best to have a humidifier. If not, put the pot on a tray with moist sphagnum moss, or wet pebbles.

Important!The lack of humidity can not compensate for the increase in irrigation.

Feeding

Qalat sensitive to overfeeding or lack of fertilizers. Fertilize them only in the period of active growth. feeding liquid complex fertilizer for decorative foliage plants every two weeks.

How can plant?

There are several types of reproduction:

1. Divide the bush during the transplant. The easiest way. It is necessary to pull the plant from the pot, select the processes which will be a leaf and a few roots and divide.

2. Cuttings. To choose the length of the cuttings of 15 centimeters and more strengthened in the pot and the first time to keep the heat and humidity of the air around.

3. Planting seeds. This is the most difficult and tedious method. First you need to put a lot of seeds to the substrate, pin and cover glass. If luck is near, and the seeds germinate, then cover with a layer of soil in a 1 centimeter. After”erupt” the first shoots, the glass should be removed every day for 30 minutes to ventilate. Sit down separately will only be possible when the sprouts are high more than 3 centimeters.

Calathea not tolerate lime content in the soil, does not like heavy clay soil, so the soil mixture is added pieces of charcoal. Pick up the pot need not too large. The plastic pots make great holes in the bottom or poured drainage. Drainage is not necessary in a clay pot.

When transplanting, if the roots of the whole earth braided com, transplant the seedling into a pot and fill up a little more on top of fresh earth. If the surface of the earth in the pot appeared dry gray-white or red plaque deposition occurs salts. It may turn yellow foliage. It is necessary to replace the upper layer of soil, watered and subsequently filtered or boiled water.

Propagation Qalat dividing the bush during transplantation spring. Rhizomes are cut with a knife, slices sprinkled with powdered charcoal. Planted in large pots too, otherwise the plant will grow very slowly. After planting, in the first week, poured cautiously.

In addition to dividing the bush seed propagation is possible, but it is used in the home are very rare.

Signs of disease

For plant diseases steadily, but dry air may cause scale insects and spider mites. relieve plant against pests warm shower (35-40 ° C).

    1. If the brown tips of the leaves, so do not have enough moisture.
    2. If on the contrary too high humidity, the leaves are covered with dark spots.
    3. If the leaf stalks are too stretched, it means that the plant is not enough light.
    4. Leaf Curl occurs when excessive light, it is necessary to move the plant away from the light.

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Since the beginning of the heating season often it occurs dieback due to excessively dry air, but do not throw it away. It is necessary to reduce the watering and wait until spring, the roots of the remaining leaves can appear.

The house is cozy when blooming houseplants, but remember that you need to take care of them both for the living beings. They need light, food, water, the conditions to which they are accustomed. And for all this, they will delight in its beauty and refreshing air in the room.