Calathea Makoyana

Description

Calathea makoyana, also known as peacock plant or cathedral windows, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Calathea in the family Marantaceae, native to eastern Brazil. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Calathea makoyana is an evergreen perennial, growing to 45 cm (18 in), with round pale green leaves, the upper surfaces marked with dark green blotches along the veins, and the lower surfaces coloured deep purple, with leaf shafts that are very thin. When new leaves grow they are rolled up and display their pinkish-red undersides. Like others in the genus, it has a horizontal soil stem, rhizome, from which the plants grow up and the roots develop. It requires a minimum temperature of 16 °C (61 °F), and in temperate areas is often cultivated as a houseplant. Like other "prayer plants", this plant also raises and closes its leaves at night and opens them up again as dawn breaks. It grows in high humidity with temperature range between 22 to 24°C. An ornamental plant, it should be used a substrate of coarse mulch of leaves, peat and sand, with soil that should be kept moist and misted throughout the summer months. Liquid fertiliser must be added every 15 days. It would also need shade or semi-shade as it cannot tolerate direct sunlight, as its leaves will become dulled and less vibrant, and it must not be watered with cold water. In a dry environment, it can be frequently attacked by the red spider mite that dries the tip of the leaves.[