Goeppertia makoyana(syn.Calathea makoyana)
The peacock butterfly plant is a gorgeous sort of prayer plant life with beautifully model , vary leave . This houseplant provide texture and colouration to living distance , and including one in your collecting is an absolute must !
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To keep this calathea well-chosen indoors you ’ll need to meet a few specific need . But once you understand these requirement , caring for it is quite easy .
G. makoyanaduring the day.
I ’ll cover everything you need to know about growing and caring for peacock plant in this article . Here ’s everything that ’s up ahead :
What You’ll Learn
Before we get started , if you ’re take care for more general guidance on how to grow calatheas , be sure to translate ourcomplete template to growing and caring for entreaty plantstoo !
What Is a Peacock Plant?
Inachis io plant ( G. makoyana)is an evergreen plant , herbaceous perennial often uprise as a houseplant and have a go at it for its fascinating leafage patterns .
Each leaf is variegated with a emollient or wan green background . Contrasting against this are its leaf margins , veins , and great , alternating blotches radiating from the midvein – all of which are dark greenish .
The undersides of its leaves have the same pattern , but in purpleness and cream instead of light and dark greenness . The design on new leave is lighter coloured , gradually darken as they continue to grow .
The pale setting of this calathea ’s leaf pattern has a wispy , feather - comparable appearance , perhaps inspiring this specie ’ usual name “ Inachis io plant . ”
Unlikered - vein prayer plants , which have a matte foliage surface , this calathea has leaves that are glossy , and smooth leafage margins .
In addition to the intriguing tone of this specie ’ pattern , the approach pattern itself has a raise texture , providing even more optical involvement .
young leaves emerge rolled up , showing their purple sides . These slowly unfurl , revealing their greenish top sides .
The lighter - colored parts of the leaf ’s radiation pattern are somewhat translucent , and when backlit , you could see why these calatheas are also called “ cathedral window ” – the effect is similar to that of tripping filtering through varnished methamphetamine .
This calathea ’s leave are paper - lean and oval - shaped , develop to be four to eight inches long . Each leaf emerges from its own stem , rising from a clump of rhizome in the soil .
Peacock plant has a bushy , upright , propagate maturation drug abuse , reach up to four foundation tall and all-embracing , and organise new thud which can easy be divided .
Its flowers are small , white , and inconspicuous , seldom appear on specimen continue as houseplant .
Like its other prayer industrial plant relative , peacock plant has a fascinating daily habit known as “ nyctinastic movement . ”
When the sun is out , the leaf of these calatheas are held out either horizontally or at a down angle .
However , after night fall , the leaf are raised more vertically with the steer pointing upwards , reveal their purple undersides .
This feature makes appeal plants a more interactive part of the midland than most other houseplant .
And this calathea ’s raised leave can service as a command prompt to us busy mankind to locate down in the eventide and start to gear up for rest , if we need reminding !
G. makoyanaisn’t the only houseplant have a go at it as “ peacock butterfly plant ” – other species are sometimes ( though less often ) referred to with this vulgar name too , including supplicant plantsG. veitchiana , andG. elliptica , potentially make communication about this species somewhat confusing .
But the confusion does n’t end there !
There are other supplicant plants with similar leaf patterns , which houseplant connoisseurs sometimes mistakenly identify asG. makoyana , such as yet another member of the Marantaceae category , Ctenanthe burle - marxii .
C. burle - marxiiis a evenhandedly tightlipped look - likewise , but compare to the subject of our clause , the close of its leaf are squared off , giving each leaf a more orthogonal configuration compared toG. makoyana ’s oval - shape foliage .
C. burle - marxiialso lacks the wide , drear green gross profit of peacock industrial plant . It has a grayer desktop color , and more of a fishbone - style leafage pattern – which is why its common name is “ fishbone calathea . ”
Cultivation and History
G. makoyanais aboriginal to humid , tropic rain forest in southeastern Brazil where it grow as a terrestrial specie , protected by the canopy of the rain forest from sonorous rainwater and the full brunt of the sunlight .
This species is a member of the Marantaceae or arrowroot family , whose members are commonly called “ prayer plant . ”
Its congenator admit the species in theMaranta , Stromanthe , andCtenanthegenera , as well as other types ofGoeppertia , which includerattlesnake plantandpinstripe plant .
You might acknowledge this metal money as a fellow member of theCalatheagenus , the taxonomic grouping in which it was formerly classified , rather than theGoeppertiagenus .
But rest assured , neither of us are mistaken – it ’s just that there has been some taxonomic juggling get going on !
In 2012 , many calatheas werereclassified botanicallyto their current genus , Goeppertia .
Now formally classify asG. makoyana , this coinage is nevertheless still widely refer to asC. makoyana .
If you ’re talking to a scientist or science geek , go ahead and throw out theGoeppertiareference and watch your conversation married person ’s eyes fill with deep obedience .
On the other hand , if you ’re reckon for this mintage from a nursery or grower , the condition “ calathea ” may be more likely to get you what you want !
G. makoyanareceived the Royal Horticultural Society ’s Award of Garden Merit in 1993 , and while typically grown as a houseplant , it can also be grown outdoors inUSDA Hardiness Zones11 and 12 .
Propagation
Calatheas are propagated mainly via division and peacock plant is no dissimilar .
SinceG. makoyanagrows from clumps of rhizome , these can be separate to make new specimens .
When looking at your calathea , you may notice more than one thud of stem – if so , that means your specimen can easy be divide .
If potential , each clump should have at least three parting emerging from it .
If you determine that your peacock flora can be divided , here ’s what you ’ll need : one pot per chunk , big enough to contain the rhizome clustering , as well as some potting medium .
Remove the parent works from its pot and gently take out apart the unlike cluster you desire to separate .
sate in the parent plant ’s raft with rise medium to fill in the gap , and pot up the divided thump or clumps . you could refer to our potting instruction , come up a bit afterward in the article .
Depending on how tight your specimen is grow , it can be separate about every two years , rather in spring or early summertime .
How to Grow
peacock butterfly plants for sure do n’t need you to baby-sit and watch them all sidereal day long … unless that ’s your prerogative – they are dreadfully pretty ! But on the other hand , they are in spades not houseplants you ’ll want to “ go under and leave . ”
Here ’s everything you need to know :
Choosing a Plant
Your calathea - grow adventure is much more likely to be a felicitous one if you commence off with a healthy specimen .
Before choosing a peacock butterfly plant , check for signs of disease or gadfly , such as discolored folio or recognise . You ’ll learn more about what to look for later in the article .
And if you ’re purchase a houseplant online , be sure to ask the vendor for a heat pack during the cold wintertime months . You may also need a nerveless face pack during summertime heatwaves for good shipping .
Light
Rather than bulge out off by deciding where your calathea will look well , firstlook for sphere in your home where this metal money will be able to thrive .
You ’ll require to locate this specie in medium , collateral luminousness , or depressed , indirect light .
If a south - facing window is your main source of light , locate the peacock butterfly plant several base off from the window .
A bit of mottled , direct sun , such as Sunday separate out through deciduous trees , will be fine for your calathea , but avoid exposure to too much shining lighter which will make the patterns on the leaves fade , taking on a washed out appearing .
Temperature
Peacock plant will expand in temperatures between 60 and 85 ° F .
In temperature blistering than this , it will scramble a second , so you may want to reduce its light exposure from medium to broken illumination , as well as providing it with more water to help it contend .
I move my orison flora to the Union side of my un - melody - discipline dwelling house during summer , where it is significantly cool than on the south side of my abode .
On the other end of the spectrum , these calatheas can be damage by temperatures below 55 ° F , and can be kill by freezing temperatures , so be sure to protect this species during the winter .
In add-on to respecting these temperature needs , annul placement near any stale or hot draught of strain , such as one might feel near exterior door , window , or heat vents – G. makoyanaprefers a unwavering temperature instead of fluctuating extremum .
Water
Proper watering is also essential to keeping your peacock plant healthy over the long terminus .
entreaty plants tend to be sore to impurities in rap water supply , so it can be helpful to water them with rain , distilled H2O , or filtered water .
Overwatering lean to be a hazard for most houseplant , but that is less of a hazard with this metal money which does not care to dry out completely .
essay to keep the growing medium moist but not muddy – your plant should be watered when the Earth’s surface of the get medium is dry to the contact .
However , if you allow your houseplant go just a tad too long before watering it , that does n’t mean all is lose . Give it a longer soak than usual and render to be more attentive next fourth dimension .
In fact , this metal money is a good campaigner for bottom lacrimation . You canread more about this method acting of watering houseplants in our article .
If you struggle to keep your houseplant watered on a regular base , here ’s a wind : I find that set alarms on my on-line calendar or arrive at bank note in mygarden plannerhelp me stay on target area with my watering .
Humidity
Since they originate in tropical part , Inachis io plants demand a fair amount of humidity , specifically between 40 and 60 percentage .
When humidity is too low , you may find your calathea ’s leaf gratuity turning Robert Brown .
But if your industrial plant has brown foliage and you do n’t think lack of humidity is the culprit , be sure to read our article ontroubleshooting chocolate-brown leaves on prayer plant life .
If you do n’t bonk what your indoor humidity level are like , I highly recommend test them , which you could do with a round-eyed gadget call a humidity gauge or hygrometer .
Some thermometers also have a humidity gauge construct in , such as this small combination thermometer and hygrometeravailable from Tentop via Amazon – and it ’s analog so it does n’t require battery or electrical energy !
Small Analog Thermometer and Humidity Gauge
The relative humidity in your household may be lower at different times of the twelvemonth , such as winter when heating is used , so it ’s a proficient idea to supervise levels twelvemonth - round .
If you try your relative humidness and determine that conditions are a bit on the ironical side , there are several ways you’re able to make a more humid microclimate for your plant .
You may be able to simply aggroup your peacock butterfly plant together with other houseplant to serve increase humidness – but oh no , you might have to grease one’s palms more prayer plant ! ( Ha ha ! )
you could also mist their leave every morning , using the same gamey quality water reference that you use for water them – either rain , distilled weewee , or filtered water .
Another pick is to increase the wet in the melodic phrase around the plant by placing exposed mantrap , jars , or cups of water around the pot , or by placing it on a humidity tray .
A humidity tray is filled with weewee , then the container is pose either on rocks or a charge card grid above the water , so the plant life gets the welfare of evaporating water in the air without wicking up water through the drainage holes .
10.5″ x 13.5″ Black Plastic Humidity Tray
You ’ll find a 10.5 - by-13.5 – inch disgraceful credit card humidness tray available for purchase from the Humidi - Grow Storevia Amazon .
If your cathedral windows specimen is on the smallish sizing , another alternative is to acquire it in a mini greenhouse orterrarium , such as this family - shaped glass terrarium that’savailable via Amazon .
House - Shaped Glass Terrarium
in the end , if you have a larger specimen , running a humidifier nearby can help .
And keep in mind that you may desire to employ more than one of these methods to keep your calathea happy .
I grow prayer plants in an waterless desert localisation and have first-class resultant combining several of these tactic – I keep mine grouped togetherinside mini greenhouses , with teacup full of weewee enclosed with them . ( And in accession to holding in melody wet , the greenhouses also help protect my calatheas from my naughty cats ! )
Soil
Inachis io plant grows best in a well - drain pot medium that also has good piss memory , and a pH of 6.1 to 7.8 .
If you buy a potted calathea , it will most likely be grow in a culture medium contain a large amount of peat moss . But that does n’t meanpeat moss , which comes with an inauspicious ecological toll rag , is the only pick for these houseplant .
A growing mediumcontaining coconut coirand compost makes an excellent transposition .
That ’s why my preferable calathea pot medium is De La Tanks Soil Mix .
Quart Bag of De La Tanks Soil Mix
De La Tanks Soil Mix contains coconut coir , compost , insect castings , pumice stone , and constitutional fertilizer , and is uncommitted for purchase in one - quart bags from Tank ’s Green Stuffvia Amazon .
require to discover more about what makes a good houseplant potting soil?Read our article .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
Once you have your calathea ’s introductory grow requirements in hand , these plants do n’t require much upkeep . Here are a few simple upkeep tasks you ’ll want to love about :
Pruning
You wo n’t need to prune your peacock butterfly plant to check its emergence – these are middling slow cultivator .
However , old leave will finally call on brown , and if the calathea gets a bit too hot or dry at any point , you might go to mark brown tips on some of the leaves .
Any discolored leaves can be trimmed off .
Just utilise a brace of sterilizedgarden prunersor scissors grip and cut off the browned tip , or if the whole leaf has discolor , cut the shank back nigh to the soil cable to remove the entire leaf and its stem .
Fertilizing
petition plant such as cathedral windows benefit from a natural , gentle approach to fertilizing .
There are a few different pick available , and most fertiliser designed for tropical houseplants will work . But one method favour by many gardeners is to feed them with worm compost tea from your ownworm compost organisation .
If you are n’t yet keeping worms to avail compost your nutrient waste product , you may purchase sachets of dirt ball compost to expend when you irrigate your calatheas .
These sachets are soaked for several hours in room temperature H2O , and the infused water can be used to simultaneously irrigate and fertilize your peacock butterfly plant .
Teadrops All Purpose Houseplant Fertilizer
you’re able to buy constituent insect compost tea sachet from Earthworm Technologiesvia Amazon .
utilize plant food once a month during the grow time of year .
Repotting
Your peacock plant is not a dissipated agriculturalist , and will only need to be repotted once every two or three old age .
You ’ll know it ’s time to repot if your calathea starts drying out too quickly between waterings , or if you notice root word emerging from the soil surface or from the drain holes in the root of the pot .
The best clip to repot is in leaping when your peacock works is set on new ontogenesis .
Choose a pot that is just one size with child than your calathea ’s current pot , and make indisputable it has drainage mess . You ’ll also need a potting medium that connect with the requirements discourse in the soil section above .
When you ’re quick to repot , first gather your supplying . Placing some newspaper publisher or a enceinte baking sheet on your work surface will make cleanup easier .
Grab your raw pot and place a small stratum of the fresh growing medium in the bottom of it . Then remove your houseplant from its current pot .
Rub your hand along the tooth root orchis to loosen its stem up a bit .
If your calathea is not rootbound , judder some of its old grow medium loose and mix it with some of the young medium . By mixing some of the old potting medium with the new , you will encourage your plant life ’s radical to well spread into the new medium .
If the calathea is extremely rootbound , you may not be capable to free up any free dirt . In that case just focus on loosening up the roots at the verboten edge of the antecedent testis so the specimen can stretch its root into the new medium .
Place the specimen into the pot , situating it so that there is about a half an inch to an column inch of outer space between the top of the root Lucille Ball and the rim of the pot .
Backfill with growing medium , tapping the pot lightly on your work Earth’s surface to help the soil settle in , and adding more growing medium if needed .
H2O in your calathea and riposte it to its usual emplacement .
Where to Buy
Since Inachis io plants are fairly slow - develop houseplant , when you settle to buy one , you wo n’t have to worry about it quickly outgrow its container .
Here are a few options to consider , in different sizing :
Small
If your programme for your calathea is to place it in a terrarium or mini greenhouse , you will probably want to start with a diminutive specimen .
know Peacock Plant in 2 ” Pot
Starter specimen in two - inch nursery pots can be foundat California Tropicals via Amazon .
Medium
Specimens in four - inch pots will still fit in some terrariums and mini nursery , but these can also light up up a desk or be used as part of a houseplant group on a tabular array .
Live Peacock Plant in 4 ” Pot
you could purchase a alive plant in a four - in potfrom California Tropicals via Amazon .
Large
If you ’re look for a specimen to beautify an remainder tabular array , a big houseplant will make more of an impingement .
populate Peacock Plant in 6 ” Pot
Live plant life in six - in pots can be purchasedfrom Wekiva Foliage via Amazon .
Managing Pests and Disease
While peacock plant life remain low upkeep in the pest and disease section , there are a few issues you might require to keep on your radar – just in case .
Insects and Arachnids
Be indisputable to ensure newly buy specimens for sign of pests , and if you allow these calatheas to spend fourth dimension outdoors during the summer , check them again when you bring them back indoors in the gloam .
Mealybugs are little sucking insects that look like bits of white fluff . They might look innocuous enough , but they can sicken your calatheas as they slip valuable nutrients from them .
mealybug also leave sticky trails of honeydew in their backwash , which can cater a fine opportunity for fungous organisms to typeset up camp as well .
If you notice mealybugs on your calathea , your first step should be to keep apart the specimen from your other houseplants to forefend further bed cover .
Once that is convey care of , there are unlike ways you may divvy up with this case of plague .
My preferred treatment is to use non-poisonous neem rock oil . Or at least it ’s nontoxic to humans and favorite – it islethalto mealy bug .
Just spray down the calathea liberally with a preparation of quick - to - nebuliser neem oil , keep the houseplant out of lineal sun , and get going saying your adieus to those darn mealybugs .
You will probably need to reprise this handling a few times before the pests are gone for good .
16 oz Bottle of Theraneem Naturals Neem Oil
Considering buy a bottleful of neem oil to keep on hand , just in case ? That ’s a wise move , and you may find a 16 - Panthera uncia bottleful of Theraneem Naturals 100 % Neem Oil for purchasefrom Organix South via Amazon .
Be sure to follow the producer ’s recommendations when applying this product – it will need to be dilute .
And be trusted to register our article if you ’d like tolearn more about verify mealybugs .
Scale
Like mealybugs , scale leaf insects are pests that will suck nutrient from your houseplants , eventually get them to wither and die .
These worm can be specially tough to recognize – at first view , you may suppose you are encounter signs of a disease rather than pestilence . They latch onto stems or leave , and look like discolored protrusion .
As with mealybugs , weighing machine insects secrete honeydew as they feed on your calatheas , leading to an increase risk of infection of fungal disease .
Like the mealybug intervention mentioned above , neem petroleum will also take upkeep of plate . ( It ’s probably sounding even well to keep a bottle at the ready , is n’t it ? )
There are many dissimilar types of scale insects that have different appearances – you’re able to see and controlling scale insects in our clause .
Spider Mites
wanderer jot are another of the most common pesterer to show up on calatheas , and they can infest calatheas like cathedral window if given the opportunity .
count for signs of stippled leaves – foliage with many petite , discolored spots .
bend the leaves over and you might find extremely humble , cherry-red Department of Transportation on the leaf bottom – those are the wanderer mites – and if the plague is life-threatening , you may also see webbing .
In calatheas , wanderer touch are more of a risk if theplants are exposed to too much sun , so make certain to provide your calathea with the veracious amount of light .
you could learn and control wanderer soupcon in our clause .
Disease
Disease tends to be fairly infrequent in calatheas kept as houseplants , but if your plant life looks out of sort , here are some common flora disease you ’ll want to rule out :
As its name suggests , cucumber mosaic virus , like toturnip mosaic computer virus , creates a strange yellow design on the leaves of infected calatheas that may bet similar to a arial mosaic .
In accession to the telling mosaic shape , other signs of this disease can include yellow veins , stunted increase , bend leaves , and yellow spots on foliage .
Unfortunately , there is no therapeutic for this plant illness , so bar is imperative . Be sure to fix peter and wash your hand before handling different specimen .
And while damage may only be cosmetic , this disease can be spread from flora to implant through insects such as aphids , so the best refuge is to toss of infected specimens .
Have you noticed brown or tan lesion surrounded by a yellow halo on the leaf of your calathea ? If so , Helminthosporium leafage spot may be to blame .
This disease is due to fungal organisms such asBipolarisandDrechsleraspecies , and is a risk of exposure when temperature are mild in damp status .
To prevent this disease , only obnubilate the leaves of your calathea on sunny days and only in the morning , provide it plenty of clock time to dry out before Nox fall and temperature coolheaded .
for manage an existing infection , expend atoxic neem oil . The same product you’re able to use to control pest infections of spider mites , scale , and mealybugs is also a fungicide .
Is your calathea wilt despite having fuddled soil ? That ’s a impregnable foretoken that solution rotting is to fault .
Root bunk is belike the disease you are most likely to bump in your houseplants , but on the plus side , this is sluttish to prevent . Another possible foretoken of this illness is wilting , chicken leaves .
This disease commonly appears when calatheas are overwatered , or if drain is insufficient . industrial plant roots can waste if they miss oxygen , and their inability to function deprives the industrial plant of the water they want to come through .
Meanwhile , pathogenic organism such as fungi and piss molds can proliferate in the soggy conditions .
It can be gruelling to bring a flora back from root decomposition , so the practiced recourse is prevention – make certain the plant is potted in the right sized pot and in a well - drain growing medium .
Also , be sure there are drainage hole in your calathea ’s pot , and never allow it sit in a saucer of water for extended periods of time .
If your specimen hasfallen victim to rootle rotand you ’d like to endeavor to salve it , first identify the trouble so that it does n’t reoccur . You may need to repot into a belittled container , switch to a green goddess with more drain holes , or just go a little easy on the watering .
absent your calathea from its pot and inspect its root . They should be fast – if they are slushy , they are rotting . Trim back any rot beginning and repot the plant into a new pot ( small , if necessary ) with fresh growing medium .
Water the plant just enough for liquid to run out of the drain trap .
If you ’re dealing with yellow-bellied leaves on your calathea but theme bunkum does n’t seem like it ’s to pick , read our article abouttroubleshooting lily-livered leaves on prayer plants .
Best Uses
With good care and maintenance , you’re able to put your Inachis io plant to many unlike utilization .
This species is an excellent foliage plant , and with its just , shaggy increment wont , it can bring its good looks to your favoritepot or planter .
If you ’re concerned in make a grouping of houseplant , this calathea can be arranged with other species such asorchidsor begonias .
Since peacock plant is atoxic , it can safely be used in menage with small kids and pixilated darling .
And whileG. makoyanawill mature well in average light , it can also be used as alow - visible radiation houseplant .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Strut Your Peacock’s Stuff
With just a small care , your Inachis io plants will be so gorgeous your oculus will be pore to their leaves . Just remember to provide intermediate , indirect light , a water - retentive but well - draining potting medium , and a small superfluous humidity .
And if you ’d care to explore evenmore salmagundi of beautiful prayer plants , get quick to dive in good order in to the gorgeous leaf , right here :
picture by Kristina Hicks - Hamblin © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL right RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Cartesian product photos via Amazon , California Tropicals , Earthworm Technologies , Humidi - Grow , Organix South , Tank ’s Green Stuff , Tentop and Wekiva Foliage . Uncredited pic : Shutterstock .
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Kristina Hicks - Hamblin
