Description, History & Interesting Facts:
Marantas are grown indoors for their striking foliage in a range of colours, and are intricately patterned, looking like an artist’s brushstrokes. The undersides of the leaves are often an attractive dark red, which displays beautifully when they close up their leaves at night. Marantas are nicknamed "prayer plants" for this habit of closing up at night and opening up again at dawn. This daily movement is known as nyctinasty and is fascinating to witness.
Nyctinasty in biology is the circadian rhythm-based movement of plants in response to the onset of darkness, or a plant "sleeping". Most plants do not exhibit any nyctinastic movements, suggesting that this behaviour may serve a variety of evolutionary benefits. An example is the closing of the petals of a flower at dusk to reduce water loss from transpiration during the night.
Most living things have circadian rhythms, including humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms. Circadian rhythms are the physical, mental, and behavioural changes an organism experiences over a 24-hour cycle. Light and dark have the biggest influence, but food intake, stress, physical activity, social environment, and temperature also affect them. In humans, nearly every tissue and organ has its own circadian rhythm, and collectively they are tuned to the daily cycle of day and night.
Maranta is named in honour of Bartolomeo Maranta, an Italian physician and botanist of the 16th century who organized his knowledge of botanical pharmacology by nomenclature, species identification and medicinal properties.
Marantas belong to the Marantaceae family, which is known for its unique leaf patterns and movements. In their natural habitat these intricate patterns on their leaves are not for visual appeal, but rather serve the purpose of camouflaging the plant, making it harder for herbivores to spot and eat them.
Marantas are closely related to, and often confused with Calatheas, which are also often referred to as prayer plants as they also close at night. Being exposed to excessive light over a long period can cause these plants to stop moving their leaves, due to the disturbance of their diurnal cycle.
Marantas have a more sprawling growth habit than Calatheas, and in the wild they spread across the forest floor. Indoors they grow slowly but can eventually reach up 30cm in height, before they fan out sideways and eventually start to trail. Many species of Maranta produce rosmarinic acid, one of the active components of the herb Rosemary which give it that characteristic rosemary scent.
Click here to see Google Images of Calatheas
Although it’s not common for prayer plants to bloom indoors, flowering may occur in spring and summer. The tiny white and pinkish-purple flowers are held on slender stalks and are a sure sign your plant is happy with its growing conditions.
The genus Maranta contains around 50 species, but only 2 of them are regularly found in horticulture. One is the highly ornamental Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura), and the other one is its cousin Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), a large perennial herb found in rainforest habitats of the Americas, but also cultivated in tropical regions worldwide for its edible, starchy roots.
Click here to see Google Images of Arrowroot
Maranta leuconeura varieties:
There are many Maranta cultivars which have selectively bred by plant breeders. A few of the types you’re most likely to find for sale are described below.
Maranta ‘Red-veined’ (Maranta leuconeura var. erythroneura)
This cultivar goes by several names, including: Maranta ‘Tricolor’, and Maranta ‘Fascinator’. It produces beautiful emerald green leaves, with reddish-pink-red veins that appear almost luminous against a lime-green mid-rib.
Maranta ‘Lemon-Lime’ (Maranta leuconeura)
Lemon-Lime is remarkably striking with its neon-green stripes on a velvety background that ranges in colour from dark greens to blacks.
Maranta ‘Rabbit's Tracks’ (Maranta leuconeura var. kerchoveana)
Rabbit’s tracks has bright green leaves with darker green patches on either sides of the central vein, and the undersides of the leaves are a lovely silvery-green.
Black Maranta (Maranta leuconeura var. massangeana)
This variety has a darker leaf background with silvery blotches along the midrib, and white leaf veins.
Maranta Red-veined Picture courtesy Rusty Clark 100K PhotosFollowIn the Garden & Home:
Prayer plants are great houseplants that are fairly easy to grow and will add a splash of colour and style to any room. Because they love to sprawl, they are best appreciated from above, but they also look good spreading along and spilling over shelves, table tops, or hanging baskets.
Because they are slow growers, you don't need to worry about them growing out of bounds.
Cultivation:
Outdoors:
In tropical and subtropical gardens they can be grown outdoors in pots and shady woodland settings where there is also good air flow. They will need well-draining but nutrient-rich soil and regular fertilisation. Poorly drained soil can cause the plants to die from root rot or collapse.
Indoors:
Knowing that prayer plants hail from tropical rainforests gives us plenty of clues as to their care indoors.
How much light do prayer plants need?
Prayer plants have adapted to flourish on the forest floor in the dappled light of the rainforest canopy, therefore they will take lower light levels indoors than many other tropical plants.
Indoors they love a warm room, and a spot where they receive medium to bright indirect sunlight. Even near a sunny north facing window would be fine as long as the plants are not exposed to direct sun by sheer curtains. Too much direct sunlight will make the leaves look washed out, and they will develop brown patches.
Leggy growth and dull colouring on the leaves is an indication that the plant needs more light. If you don’t have good natural light, use an LED grow light.
What temperatures are best for prayer plants?
These tropical beauties love it warm, but will grow well in normal household temperatures between 15 and 26°C. It’s best not to let temperatures drop below 15°C.
In cold rooms the plants will tolerate the drop in temperatures over winter by going dormant (similar to a hibernating animal). As long as you water them sparingly with tepid water over the cooler months, and stop fertilising, they will survive the drop.
How much humidity do prayer plants need?
In the rainforests it’s very humid, so naturally prayer plants favour high humidity indoors. To increase humidity indoors you can place a small humidifier nearby. You can also place the pot on top of a drip tray filled with small stones and water, so the pot is not standing in water. As the water evaporates it creates humidity. Grouping several potted plants together in this way will create a small microclimate around the plants.
Do not place prayer plants near air conditioners or heaters which dry out the air and can cause the foliage to brown and crisp around the edges.
Why prayer plants need good air flow
Airflow is the counterbalance to humidity, and prayer plants need both. Disease, mould, fungus, and bacteria all have a harder time taking hold of your plant if there is a steady yet gentle airflow around them.
Simply opening a window may be sufficient, but a small fan is also perfect. Simply turn the fan to the lowest setting and face it away from the plants, as pointing it directly at the plants can be too drying.
How much water do prayer plants need?
Keep the soil of your prayer plant evenly moist, watering only once the top centimetre or two of soil has dried out completely. Depending on the size of the plant and how warm the room is, this will generally be once or twice a week through spring and summer. As autumn creeps in slowly reduce the frequency of watering, and through winter once every 7 to 10 days should suffice. Never use very cold water on your indoor pot plants.
These plants are very susceptible to drought and will not survive long if left un-watered. On the other hand, if overwatered, they are also susceptible to root rot and fungal problems, so avoid waterlogging the soil and never allow them to stand for long in a drip tray filled with water.
As mentioned, nyctinasty is the circadian rhythm-based movement of plants in response to the onset of darkness, but you will find that the leaves or your maranta also move around a lot during the day to ensure they are getting the best light possible, so be careful not to mistake this for drooping and overwater the plant!
If the leaves get wet while watering, dab them dry with a soft cloth, as wet drops can cause blemishes.
Is tap water safe for prayer plants?
Marantas can be sensitive to hard tap water, so try to use rainwater or filtered water on your pot plants.
How to fertilise prayer plants?
Fertilise your prayer plant every two weeks from spring through autumn. A liquid pot plant fertiliser diluted to half the recommended strength is advised as too much can burn the plant's roots. If you use too little fertiliser, your plant will grow slowly or not at all.
In winter, if the room is cold and the plant goes dormant, do not feed again until spring, but if it’s in a warm room, reduce feeding to once a month.
Pruning:
Prayer plants do not require regular pruning, however, since they are a low-growing, creeping plant by nature, potted plants can become unruly-looking over time with long stems. Pruning can help to encourage a more bushy appearance by removing leggy growth or leaves that have turned brown or yellow.
To prune your prayer plant use a pair of clean, sharp pruning shears or scissors and trim off sections of the stem, cutting just above the leaf nodes. While pruning can be done at any time of the year, spring and summer are the best times to prune your plant to encourage new growth.
What soil type is best for prayer plants?
Prayer plants love loose, well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. Typically, a traditional potting mix works well, but you can also make your own by combining two parts sphagnum peat moss or palm peat, one part potting soil, and one part perlite.
When to repot prayer plants
Prayer plants grow slowly and don’t need repotting very often, but if its outgrown its pot you can simply lift it out, gently shake off some of the old, loose soil before placing it directly into a slightly bigger pot and filling in with fresh potting soil.
Maranta 'Rabbit's Tracks' Picture courtesy Olive Titus from flickrPropagation:
There are several methods used to propagate prayer plants, by division, by cuttings, or by seed.
Division:
An easy way to propagate prayer plants is to divide the plants while repotting. Remove your plant from its pot and gently shake of the soil so you can see where to divide the plant. Carefully tease the plant roots apart, and each new plant should have a good mass of roots and several stems. Pot these sections into small pots to grow on, using a well-draining potting mix.
Water thoroughly, allowing the excess water to drain from the pot, and place them in a warm, humid location that receives bright to medium, indirect light. Ensure that your baby plants stay warm and the soil remains evenly moist at all times.
Cuttings:
The simplest method of propagation is to simply snip off a piece of stem, making sure it has a few nodes, and cutting just below a node. Nodes are locations on the stems where leaves and buds grow. Because they are capable of generating a great deal of metabolic activity, nodes help to promote the growth of leaves, secondary stems, and flowers.
Put the cuttings into a glass of water and place in a warm, bright place. Change the water every week, and once the cuttings form roots, usually in a couple of weeks, plant them into pots in damp potting mix. For a fuller appearance you can plant several cuttings in the same pot.
If you prefer, you can plant your cuttings directly into pots with moist soil.
Problems, Pests & Diseases:
Curling leaves with brown tips
Not enough humidity. Place a humidifier near them or place them on trays filled with pebbles and water.
Brown edges on the leaves or brown tips
Brown edges or tips can be caused by dry air, boost humidity around the plant. These symptoms could also indicate overfeeding, or watering with hard water.
Washed out colouring or brown blotches on leaves
Faded leaf colouring and brown blotches are usually caused by sunburn. Move your plant to a shadier spot out of direct sunlight.
Brown spots on the leaves
Brown spots on the leaves can also be caused by leaf spot. To avoid this don’t splash the leaves when you water, and if you mist spray the plant down, dab the excess water from the leaves with a soft cloth. Also, avoid using hard tap water.
Yellowing leaves and rotting stems
Yellow leaves on a prayer plant are often the result of improper watering, but could also indicate a lack of sunlight, or on the other hand, too much sunlight.
Watering issues can include both overwatering and under watering. Prayer plants like moisture but do not like continually soggy soil which can cause the roots to start rotting, and yellow leaves can be an early warning sign of root rot. If you examine the plant carefully you may also notice that the base of the plant is blackened. If not corrected root rot can eventually cause death from dehydration since the plant no longer has roots to absorb water.
Allow the potting soil to completely dry out before watering again, and when you do resume watering, ensure that excess water drains away and the pot is not standing in a drip tray filled with runoff water.
A lack of sunlight will also result in yellow leaves as the plant sacrifices leaves to preserve its energy. Similarly, plants that are exposed to too much sunlight can also develop yellow leaves, although the leaves will usually look more bleached and faded than truly yellow.
Dropping leaves
If your prayer plant suddenly begins to drop leaves there can be a few potential culprits. Extreme changes in temperature or humidity, pest infestations, drought and excessive fertilisation are the most common causes. These issues cause your plant to go into shock and drop leaves.
Red spider mites
Spider mites can affect prayer plants and because they are so tiny, often the first indication of their presence is fine spider webbing on the leaves, and the upper surface of the leaf becomes mottled. If you look carefully using a magnifying glass, you will see red mites and their eggs on the undersides of the leaves.
Red spider mites are most active during hot and dry periods, so boosting humidity and improving air circulation around the plant will help prevent outbreaks. If you only have one or two plants you can simply give the whole plant ‘a bath’. Using lukewarm water, with a few drops of dishwashing liquid, wipe away the mites and their eggs using a soft cloth, paying special attention to the undersides of the leaves.
If you have several potted plants you can treat your plants with a natural insecticide such as neem oil or an insecticidal soap.
Members can click here to read more about spider mites
Toxicity:
Those looking for a safe houseplant will be happy to hear that prayer plants are considered non-toxic to both pets and humans. However, any plant can cause GI distress if ingested in large enough quantities, so it’s always best to keep plants out of reach of small children and pets.
