What are the precautions for growing Calathea makoyana at home

Precautions for growing Calathea makoyana at home

Calathea makoyana: also known as blue-flowered banana, small in size and beautiful in form, with gorgeous leaf color, and patterns on the leaf surface like a lifelike peacock displaying its tail. Calathea makoyana is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the Marantaceae family. It likes high temperature, high humidity and a semi-shady environment, and has strong shade tolerance. It grows well under bright scattered light indoors. The suitable growth temperature is 18---22 degrees, and it requires loose and fertile potting soil. In summer, avoid direct strong light, otherwise it is easy to cause scorched leaf edges. The ambient air must circulate, and clean water should often be sprayed on the leaves. The cultivation of other Calathea species is basically the same.

What are the benefits of growing Calathea makoyana at home (feng shui effect) What to do if Calathea makoyana does not grow tall

You are probably all fairly familiar with Calathea makoyana, named because its leaves are very similar to the beautiful feathers of a peacock. It likes a warm and humid environment and is very suitable for home cultivation. Its ornamental value is very high. Like lucky bamboo, it is evergreen in all four seasons, with thick and bright leaves. Not only that, it also has a very good feng shui effect.

What are the benefits of growing Calathea makoyana at home (feng shui effect)

Calathea makoyana is a shade plant. It can be placed in the bathroom at home. It not only purifies the air, but can also bring wealth.

What to do if Calathea makoyana does not grow tall

1. Cause: unsuitable temperature, too high or too low, or insufficient light.

As far as the habits of Calathea makoyana are concerned, it likes a warm, humid and cool environment, does not like low temperature conditions or windy conditions, and especially should not be exposed to strong sunlight. Therefore, in the high-temperature summer season, the plant should be moved to a cool place. In addition, be sure to avoid a high-temperature environment, keep the ambient temperature below 30 degrees, and often spray water and ventilate to cool down and maintain humidity, so as to avoid situations such as yellowing leaves. Of course, in winter, light should be appropriately increased and the temperature raised.

2. Cause: insufficient nutrient supply in the potting soil.

Because Calathea makoyana likes fertile, loose soil with good drainage, preferably slightly acidic leaf mold, or a potting soil mixed from decomposed base fertilizer, leaf mold, peat and river sand.

Cause: insufficient water supply. As mentioned earlier, Calathea makoyana likes humidity, especially during its growing season when its water demand is high, so the amount of watering should be appropriately increased, and water should be sprayed at the right time to keep the environment humid. In winter, however, the amount of watering should be controlled; as long as the potting soil is not dry, it is fine, and by early spring the amount of watering can be gradually increased. 3. Cause: improper fertilizing methods leading to poor nutrition in the plant.

During the growing period of Calathea makoyana, apply liquid fertilizer once a month, so as to ensure the nutrients needed for plant growth and promote its healthy growth. As for the types of fertilizer, mainly phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer should be used, and too much nitrogen fertilizer is not suitable. If fertilizing is improper, it will lead to the problem of stunted plants. In addition to applying fertilizer, liquid fertilizer can also be sprayed on the leaves, then rinsed with water. Special attention must be paid to stopping fertilizing after winter arrives.

Propagation methods for Calathea makoyana

1. Division

Division propagation is carried out in early summer each year when the daily temperature is around 20°C. After digging out the dense old plants, divide them along the underground rhizomes, preferably leaving 2 to 3 buds on each section. After cutting, immediately pot them, place them in a cool place for one week, and then gradually move them to a place with sufficient light. In the early stage after division planting, water should be controlled, and only after new roots develop should they be watered thoroughly.

2. Cuttings

Cuttings propagation usually involves selecting in summer young branches with 2 to 3 leaves at the base as cuttings, or using the stolons of some species for cuttings. A half-and-half mixture of peat soil and river sand, or vermiculite and perlite, can be used as the substrate. Keep it moist, and roots will form in about 5 weeks, after which they can be divided and potted.

Control methods for leaf spot disease in Calathea makoyana

1. Harm

The greatest ornamental value of Calathea makoyana lies in its leaves, so it can be said that leaf spots are fatal to it. When leaf spot disease occurs, the leaves gradually dry up, shrivel, and may even gradually fall off and die.

2. Symptoms

The leaves of Calathea makoyana originally have white and light green markings. In the early stage of leaf spot disease, nothing can be seen without careful observation, but as the pathogen spreads, many yellow-brown nearly round lesions appear on the leaves. These lesions gradually connect with one another, with a halo on the outer edge. In the later stage, the lesions expand, and the entire leaf turns yellow and withers.

3. Disease occurrence pattern

The occurrence of leaf spot disease is mainly related to the environment, such as high temperature and high humidity, poor air circulation, excessively dense planting, or more weeds and rotten leaves in the pot, or heavy fertilizing with too much nitrogen fertilizer.

4. Control methods

Strengthen cultivation management and control the temperature. During the growing season, water fully to keep the potting soil moist, but it must not be overly wet or waterlogged, otherwise it is easy to rot the roots and even cause the whole plant to die. Although it likes to grow under low light or shade, it should not be placed indoors in too shady a place without sunlight for a long time. In autumn and winter, it should receive sunlight to maintain the unique luster of the leaves. In winter, keep it on the drier side; if too wet, it is easy for the roots to rot or the basal leaves to turn yellow. During the growing period, apply dilute liquid fertilizer once every half month to strengthen its disease resistance.

Once diseased leaves are found, remove them immediately to prevent infection of other leaves. In the early stage of the disease, spray 25% prochloraz emulsifiable concentrate (such as Guoguang Bixian) at 500-600 times dilution, or 50% mancozeb wettable powder (such as Guoguang Yingna) at 400-600 times dilution. Use 2-3 times consecutively, with an interval of 7-10 days.

Calathea makoyana likes a semi-shady growing environment, so it will also grow very well when cultivated indoors. Everyone grows it at home to beautify the home environment, but during care it is still necessary to learn more about its growth habits and master some techniques.

Causes of yellowing leaves in home-grown Calathea makoyana and their solutions

Calathea makoyana is a common ornamental flower. It has extremely high ornamental value and a certain decorative effect, and is often used to decorate living rooms, studies and offices. Many flower lovers have also had experience growing Calathea makoyana. So, do you know what causes the leaves to turn yellow during the process of growing Calathea makoyana? Today, the editor will introduce it to you in detail.

Calathea makoyana likes semi-shade and is not tolerant of direct sunlight. It adapts to growing in a warm, humid environment. Too much or too little water, too strong or too weak sunlight, and too much or too little fertilizer can all cause leaves to turn yellow, but the yellowing conditions differ. The causes should be carefully observed and analyzed, and then corrected. Water yellowing: young leaves are dark yellow and lack luster, old leaves show no obvious change, stems are thin and yellow-green, and new shoots shrink and stop growing, indicating overwatering. Take the plant out of the pot, place it in a ventilated and cool place to let the soil ball dry naturally, then put it back into the pot.

Drought yellowing: the yellowing from lack of water is different from the yellowing from too much water. The yellowing from lack of water shows dried and withered leaf tips or edges, and old leaves turn yellow from the bottom upward and fall off, but new leaves grow relatively normally. Just pay attention to watering enough and watering thoroughly.

Scorch yellowing: strong direct sunlight shining on some shade-loving flowers (such as spider plant, Calathea makoyana, hosta, etc.) easily causes the leaf tips and leaf edges to dry up, and yellow spots appear on the parts of the leaves facing the sun. Moving them to a shady place is enough.

Light-deficiency yellowing: being placed in a shady environment for a long time, the leaves cannot get enough sunlight and cannot form chlorophyll, so the whole plant's leaves turn yellow and then fall off. Supplementing light can prevent this problem.

Fertilizer yellowing: yellowing of flowers caused by too much fertilizer or too high concentration, shown by dry brown tips on new leaves, generally thick and lusterless leaf surfaces that are uneven and not smooth, and scorched yellow old leaves that fall off. Stop fertilizing immediately; in severe cases, use a large amount of clean water to rinse out part of the fertilizer.

Nutrient-deficiency yellowing: shown by the color of young leaves becoming lighter, yellow or light green, while old leaves remain relatively normal or gradually turn from green to yellow. Check the potting soil. If there is caking, change the soil. Usually apply thin fertilizer frequently and water with some alum water at the right time ("Calathea makoyana" is a foliage plant and should be given fertilizer mainly based on nitrogen fertilizer).

The above is all the content I have learned today about Calathea makoyana. I hope flower lovers will find this article helpful after reading it. If you want to learn more about Calathea makoyana, please continue to follow Duorou Huapu, and we will provide you with more related knowledge!