Prayer Plant
Oval leaves painted with red veins and dark green patches that fold up every evening like hands in prayer. Pet-safe, low-growing, and a little easier than its calathea cousins, though it wants the same humidity and filtered water.
The prayer plant moves. Each evening its leaves rise and fold together, and each morning they open flat again. Watch a time-lapse once and you will never see it as furniture again.
It is a low, spreading plant that works in a hanging basket or on a shelf, safe for pets, and slightly more forgiving than calathea. The red-veined type is the common one.
Light
Medium indirect light. A north window or a spot a few feet from an east one. It tolerates low light. Direct sun fades the patterns and scorches the leaves.
Water
Lightly moist, never soggy. Water when the top inch is dry, every five days or so in summer and every eight in winter. Filtered, distilled or rain water; tap water minerals brown the edges. Room temperature.
Soil and potting
A peat-based mix with some perlite. A wide, shallow pot suits its spreading roots. Repot every eighteen months in spring.
Feeding
A quarter-strength feed every six weeks in spring and summer. Easily over-fertilised.
Propagation
Stem cuttings with a node root in water within a few weeks. Division at repotting also works.
In a hot, dry home
It needs humidity around fifty percent, so treat it like calathea here: a bathroom spot, a cloche, or a humidifier in summer, and well away from vents. Filtered water is not optional.
Prayer Plant varieties
Same care, different look. These are the named forms you will see for sale.
- Red (Erythroneura)
Dark green leaves with bright red veins and a lime feathered centre. The classic prayer plant.
- Red Prayer (larger)
The same red-veined form in a bigger pot.
- Lemon Lime
The red form's veins in bright lime green instead. Same care.
- Kerchoveana (Rabbit's Foot)
Pale green leaves with two rows of dark brown blotches. Tougher than the red forms.
- Beauty Kim
Kerchoveana with cream variegation splashed across the leaves.
- Silver Band
Dark green leaves with a broad silver band down the centre.
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A cousin with pink, cream and magenta leaves. Has its own profile.
Full profile -
A tougher cousin with a fishbone pattern. Has its own profile.
Full profile
Problems and fixes
Brown, crispy edges
Likely cause: Tap water minerals or dry air
Fix: Switch to filtered water and raise humidity.
Leaves curling and not opening in the morning
Likely cause: Thirst or dry air
Fix: Water and check humidity.
Faded patterns
Likely cause: Too much light
Fix: Move further from the window.
Fine webbing
Likely cause: Spider mites
Fix: Shower the plant, treat with insecticidal soap, raise humidity.
Prayer Plant questions
Is the prayer plant safe for cats and dogs?
Yes. Maranta is non-toxic to pets and people.
Why do the leaves fold up at night?
A joint at the base of each leaf responds to light, raising the leaves in the dark. It is normal and a sign of a healthy plant.
Why are the edges of my prayer plant brown?
Tap water and dry air, almost always. Use filtered water and raise the humidity above fifty percent.
