Plants
Prayer plant care: light, water & problems
Scientific name: Calathea orbifolia · Common name: Prayer plant
Houseplant with huge, rounded pale-green leaves, striking for their regular, silvery striped pattern.
Editorial revision:
Care at a glance
- Light
- Moderate indirect light. It is highly sensitive to direct sun, which bleaches and scorches the leaves.
- Watering
- Sensitive to drying out and tap water salts. Water with filtered or rested water when the top of the mix feels slightly dry.
How to identify it
Houseplant with huge, rounded pale-green leaves, striking for their regular, silvery striped pattern.
Light
Moderate indirect light. It is highly sensitive to direct sun, which bleaches and scorches the leaves.
Watering
Sensitive to drying out and tap water salts. Water with filtered or rested water when the top of the mix feels slightly dry.
Conditions vary with pot, season and location. Always check the mix and your plant's response.
Environment and placement
Demanding regarding humidity; cold draughts or dry heat from radiators will damage it quickly.
Potting mix and feeding
Use a draining mix that retains some moisture, matched to pot size and the drying rate in your home.
During active growth, follow a suitable feed label. First check light, water and roots if the plant is declining.
Problems to check
Crispy brown edges are the unmistakable sign of low humidity, thirst, or hard tap water.
How to assess brown tips and edgesCommon question
Why do the edges turn brown and crispy?
Because of excessively dry air, or the accumulation of salts from tap water in the potting mix.
