From the Marantaceae family the most beautiful flower certainly is the Calathea. With beautiful flowers that come in various colors, and gorgeously shaped foliage the flower that originates from Hawaii comes in several shapes and with different patterns.
With flowers shaped like a small football the blue and white Calatheas are some of the easier flowers to grow that are considered to be tropical. In nature the flowers are generally pollinated by bees, while Hummingbirds eat the fruit and take care of distributing the seeds across the area ensuring survival of the species.
Calatheas are part of the Maranta family and the Calathea sort covers approximately 25 species. The flowers are native to the tropical parts of America and many of the species are popular to keep indoors. Calatheas are also called prayer or zebra plants. Similar to other tropical plants the Calathea needs increased humidity and plenty of shade. Immediate sunlight is harmful to the plant and damages the foliage. During the night time the leaves fold together as if they were human type hands engaged in prayer. In good condition the leaves of the Calathea are of a dark green color.
Other types of Calatheas are Calathea insignis (Rattle snake plant) and the Calathea makoyana (Peacock plant). Calathea insignis typically has narrow foliage that is light green, while Calathea makoyana has oval shaped leaves with opaque lines with a purple under side.
The Calathea was first noticed in Hawaii during the first half of the 70's. Originally Calatheas came from the Tropical rain forests of South America.
Calatheas help to clean the air by removing toxins from it that exist in the air due to our use of house cleaning products and other pollution created by mankind. For that reason the Calathea is the perfect plant to keep in any living room or other area where people reside for longer periods of time.
Calatheas are often mistaken for the very similar looking Ctenanthe, Maranta and Stromanthe. With its striped leaves and dark purple undersides the plant is often mistakenly sold as Sromanthe amabilis or Ctenanthe amabilis.
Calatheas are at their best in humid environments with temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, higher temperatures can be tolerated as long as the level of humidity is increased accordingly.
The growing period for Calatheas is from March to October in moist soil. The perfect condition for Calatheas to grow is to water it when the top soil is dry but a few inches below is still moist. Every year Calatheas must be checked if repotting is required.
