Prayer plant care: light, humidity and watering

Light

In the tropics this plant is used as a ground cover for shady areas, Missouri Botanical Garden notes, and indoors it wants light that is bright but filtered. The Illinois Extension recommends diffused sun or bright, indirect light, NC State says the plant tolerates low to medium light, and both NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden warn that strong direct sun bleaches out the leaf colors. In Illinois Extension terms that is low light at the bottom, around 75 foot-candles a few feet from a north window, and bright light, about 300 foot-candles, at the top, which you get right at an east or west window behind a sheer curtain.

The sweet spot for most homes is directly in front of a north window or a few feet back from an east or west one. Too little light shows as well: NC State notes that both leaf surfaces lose color in low light and low fertility, so a plant whose pattern looks dull and gray in a dark corner needs a brighter spot, not more water.

Water

During the growing season, keep the mix evenly moist, the instruction the Illinois Extension, NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden all give. Evenly moist means damp throughout like a wrung-out sponge, never sodden and never allowed to go bone dry. Water until it drains, empty the saucer, and check again when the surface just begins to feel dry.

Aim the spout at the soil, not into the cluster of stems. The Illinois Extension warns that water left standing on the crowns makes the stems rot easily, and NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden both list root rot in poorly drained soil. A pot with a drainage hole and a mix that does not stay waterlogged matter more than any schedule.

Two adjustments complete the routine. In winter, let the soil dry between waterings, as all three sources advise, because growth slows in short days. And watch the water itself: NC State says the leaves burn with high fluorides, so if brown tips appear despite good humidity, switch to rainwater or filtered water for a while.

Soil and pH

No exotic mix is needed. The Illinois Extension calls for regular potting mix, and Missouri Botanical Garden says the plant performs well in a soil-based potting mix. Choose one that stays moist without packing down; adding a handful of perlite to a dense bagged mix keeps air around the rhizomes. Because the plant spreads sideways, NC State notes, a wide pot or a hanging basket shows it off better than a deep, narrow one.

Humidity

Humidity is where most prayer plants struggle. NC State says the plant requires high humidity and is intolerant of low humidity, and Missouri Botanical Garden suggests a humidified room or a pot standing on a tray of wet pebbles. The Illinois Extension notes that most homes fall below 30 percent humidity in winter, adds grouping plants together as an easy boost, and cautions that misting lifts humidity only briefly and can encourage disease if overdone. Crispy, curled leaf edges are the first sign the air is too dry.

Temperature

Warmth is part of the recipe. Missouri Botanical Garden says the plant prefers temperatures that do not dip below 60°F, and NC State calls it intolerant of low temperatures and cold drafts. Keep it away from winter windowpanes at night, exterior doors, and the blast of an air conditioner in summer. It is hardy outdoors only in USDA Zones 11 and 12, so in most of the country it stays inside year-round.

Fertilizer

Missouri Botanical Garden recommends feeding monthly during the growing season, then substantially reducing fertilizer from autumn to late winter. Use a houseplant fertilizer at the label rate; the Illinois Extension suggests balanced (10-10-10) or 1:2:1 formulas and warns never to mix it stronger than directed. This plant punishes excess: NC State says over-fertilization burns the leaves, so a monthly feeding at label strength is the ceiling, not the starting point. If you also see white crust on the soil, flush the pot with plain water.

Work out the dose for your watering can with the fertilizer dilution calculator →

Repotting

Repot in spring or summer, while new leaves are unrolling from their rolled tubes, and only when the rhizomes have filled the surface or roots wind around the root ball. Clemson's general guidance is a pot just 1 or 2 inches wider than the old one. Set the plant at the same depth it grew before; burying the stems deeper invites the crown rot the Illinois Extension warns about. Overgrown clumps are better divided than moved into a much bigger pot.

• Rhizomes and stems crowd the surface right to the rim
• Roots wind in a solid mass around the root ball
• Water runs straight through and the mix dries out within a day or two

Propagation

NC State recommends propagating by dividing the rhizomes, and Missouri Botanical Garden adds stem cuttings. To divide, slide the plant out in spring, tease the clump apart so each section keeps several leaves and a piece of rhizome with roots, and pot the sections at their original depth in moist mix. For cuttings, take a stem just below a node, root it in water or damp mix in bright, indirect light, and keep humidity high around it while roots form.

Methods: Division of the rhizomes, Stem cuttings · Best season: spring to early summer.

Common problems

Prayer plant problems are mostly cosmetic and mostly environmental. NC State reports no serious pests or diseases, though spider mites and mealybugs turn up, and Missouri Botanical Garden adds thrips, leaf spot, tip browning and cucumber mosaic virus. Before reaching for a spray, check the basics: light that is too strong or too weak, dry air, fluoride in tap water, too much fertilizer, or water sitting around the crown. Fixing those clears up most symptoms on new growth.

Not sure which one it is? Try the plant problem diagnosis tool →

Is the prayer plant toxic to cats and dogs?

The ASPCA lists the prayer plant as non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses. Its entry carries the scientific name Calathea insignis rather than Maranta leuconeura, and the ASPCA's separate Maranta entry uses the same name, so both point to plants of the same family, all rated non-toxic. That makes the prayer plant a common choice for homes with pets. Non-toxic means no poisoning is expected, not that a pet should graze on it; call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center if a pet that ate some seems unwell.

Check any other plant against the ASPCA lists →