Calathea Care Tips

While calatheas are a beautiful addition to your houseplant collection, they can also be a very unforgiving plant.  The key to understanding how to care for calatheas is knowing how they grow in their natural habitat.  Continue reading to learn Jane’s Calathea Care Tips!

Humidity and Light

Calatheas are native to South America. In this region, the conditions are warm and humid. It is important to understand their native growing conditions, as you must mimic these conditions inside your home. For optimal growth, be sure to keep the humidity around the calatheas between 50-60%. Additionally, calatheas will need bright, indirect light. Indirect light means that rays from the sun are not actually touching the plant. Direct sun can burn the leaves of calatheas.

How to Keep Humidity High

Having a higher relative humidity may seem counterintuitive. After all, in North Carolina, we want to keep the humidity out! However, there are ways to increase the humidity just around the calatheas and not throughout your home.

One of the most cost-efficient ways to increase humidity around your calatheas is to use saucers. Fill the saucers with tiny pebbles and water and place underneath your calathea or very close to the pot. This will increase the relative humidity around the calatheas.

Another way to increase relative humidity around calatheas is to use a humidifier! This is probably the easiest way, as humidifiers can be set to a specific humidity level. Be sure to use distilled water in your humidifier and clean it regularly.

 

Visit our events page! 

Click here to view our Facebook page!