Calathea Vittata
Calathea Vittata is particularly eye-catching as it appears almost hand-painted. Like most members of the Marantaceae, or "Prayer Plant" family, Calathea Vittata has a habit of opening and closing its leaves as day transitions to night. Its leaves are a stunning reminder of the beauty of the natural world.
They should not be in a position to see the sun directly, although early morning or late evening sun is fine. Filtered sunlight through a sheer curtain is best and most homes are comprised primarily of indirect sunlight. The best spot for them is where they do not see the sun during the majority of the day but still get bright, indirect light.
They will thrive in bright light, but also can tolerate medium light. A good medium-light place in your home would be in the middle of a room that has a regular size window. They can be placed anywhere between the middle of the room and the window. Remember that plants will grow based on how much light they receive.
They need to be watered when the top half of the soil is dry to the touch. That usually takes about 1 week in an average home environment. It will vary depending on the time of year, your environment and lighting conditions, but it's always safer to underwater or give the soil a check before you water again.
They like a high humidity environment, give them a mist daily or as often as possible. Alternatively, you can put them around a humidifier. Although they won't die if they don't receive enough humidity, their leaves may have some dry, crunchy, or yellow edges.
Although Calathea's are known as the divas of the plant world, once they are in the right environment, the payoff is phenomenal. No two leaves are alike and the colours that occur through all the varieties in the family are bold and beautiful. Keep in a highly humid environment with lots of bright, indirect light (no direct sun), watering only with distilled or rain water. Once this is achieved, you will sit and stare at your new plant for hours!
The plant comes with a default nursery pot. The nursery pot is usually 0.5" - 1" smaller than stated to fit into the same size decorative pot. Washable Paper Planter Bags are sold separately.
As with all living things, no two plants are alike. There is some natural variation in size, shape, and characteristics. We make every effort to bring you a plant that as closely as possible matches the plant as it appears on our website, in the size you have chosen, and have a good potential to happily grow in your home.
