How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Calathea Orbifolia

Houseplants are a great way to bring a piece of nature into your home, and Calathea orbifolia, now technically classed as Goeppertia orbifolia, will surely stand out in your collection! When grown indoors, this calathea will stay rather small, although its leaves can grow to be pretty wide. The white and green stripes are mesmerizing, and it will quickly become your favorite houseplant!

Calathea orbifolia can be a bit tricky to care for at first as you try to find just the right spot for it in your home. It needs indirect light and a lot of humidity, but don’t let those roots stay wet for too long, or it will soon suffer from root rot! But, once you find the sweet spot in the balancing act, you’ll find that caring for it isn’t much different from other calatheas.

You can grow this variety outdoors if you live in a suitable climate. Perfect conditions will allow it to grow to huge sizes, but that will be hard to achieve unless you live somewhere tropical. This tropical is best grown as an indoor variety in the United States, so let’s take a look at how to care for it so you can add it to your collection.

What is Calathea Orbifolia?

Calatheas are tropical types from the Marantaceae family, or the prayer plant family. Calathea plants get the “prayer plant” nickname because they close their leaves up at night as if in prayer and open them up again in the morning. 

Calathea orbifolia is one of the many members of this family and it’ll demand your attention with its beauty and care requirements.

Native Area

Calathea orbifolia, also known as the peacock plant, is from Brazil. Its leaves can reach up to a whopping three feet wide in its native climate, but you’ll usually find them much smaller – usually under one foot – when grown indoors. Still, its green and silvery-white stripes are gorgeous to look at. When kept indoors, it’s a slow grower, so you probably won’t see it get much bigger than when you bought it unless you keep it for several years.

Characteristics

Like most tropical types that are kept indoors, you probably won’t see this one flower. However, it does have a pretty white flower it can grow in the right conditions. If you can mimic humid Brazil in your home or greenhouse, you just might get lucky!

Planting

Start by selecting a well-draining pot with drainage holes and filling it with a potting mix that has good drainage. Add extra drainage materials like perlite and compost if needed. Set the calathea at the same level it is in the nursery bag or pot, and press the soil around the roots as you backfill. Water in well, and add a layer of mulch on top of the soil to conserve water.

How to Grow

As you read through our Calathea orbifolia care guide, know that there’s a learning curve at the beginning, especially if you’re new to growing tropical types. Stay diligent and you’ll get used to its requirements and can join other houseplant enthusiasts who rave over their young ones!

Light

A key part of caring for houseplants is remembering the conditions of their native climate. Calathea orbifolia is a short type that grows in the jungles of Brazil. That means it doesn’t get much direct sunlight on the forest floor because towering trees cover it.

This calathea needs medium indirect light to be happy. Too much direct sunlight will burn the leaves and stress it out. It can even tolerate lower lighting conditions, but make sure it’s not in a dark room as it still needs enough light.

Water

Moisture is usually the most difficult part of keeping a Calathea orbifolia happy. Too little or too much will leave it stressed, and that’ll leave you stressed, too! 

The soil should be moist, but not wet. When you stick your finger into the soil, it should feel damp, but there shouldn’t be water puddling up around your finger. It will need regular watering to keep the soil moist, but you can let the top one to two inches of soil dry out before watering again to prevent overwatering. Excess water should be able to drain out the bottom of the pot easily.

The type of water you use matters, too. Never use tap water because this variety is sensitive to chemicals such as fluoride that’s often found in tap water. Distilled or filtered water will be the best option. Filtered tap water will work, too, if you have a filter you can use at home.

When it comes to humidity, it needs to be humid. 50% or more humidity, to be precise, as calatheas love high humidity! If your home does not currently have high humidity, you’ll need to make it that way. A bright bathroom will work well since the steam from hot showers will keep humidity levels pretty high. A humidifier will work wonders, too. The high humidity from your humidifier does not need to spray directly on the leaves, but it should be near it so it will have easy access to the moisture. 

Placing the pot on a pebble tray with water will work, too. Use about an inch of pebbles and fill the tray with half or three-fourths an inch of water and refill when it gets low. This creates a pocket of high humidity right around the calathea.

Soil

Use soil that can retain water while draining out excess. Remember, the soil needs to stay moist, but not wet, and well-draining soil is just the way to do this. 

Look for potting soil that contains perlite and peat moss for the best results. Perlite improves aeration and keeps the soil loose, allowing water to flow through. Peat moss retains moisture to keep the soil damp without overdoing it. Fertile potting soil will allow it to have the nutrition it needs.

Speaking of nutrition, calatheas aren’t too picky about nutrient content, but they’ll always appreciate fertile soil with compost. Try to keep the pH level around 6.5 since they like it neutral.

If you want to keep it simple, many calatheas are happy in potting soil designed for African violets, so the Calathea orbifolia will enjoy it, too. 

Temperature

To Calathea orbifolia, temperature is just as important as sunlight. For optimal care, aim for 75°F and don’t go below 70°F (between 21-24°C). Ideal USDA hardiness zones are 10-12, which is warm or hot for most of the year, so the room you keep it in will need to mimic those warm temperatures.

A good way to keep the temperature steady is to keep it away from doors, windows, and vents. It won’t fare well if the air conditioner or heater blows dry air right on it, and if there are cold drafts by a door or the temperature changes when you open the window, that will stress it out. Avoid sudden temperature changes.

Fertilizing

Calathea orbifolia will benefit from fertilizer, although it’s not necessary for it to stay healthy. Nitrogen will help its leaves stay shiny and green, so giving it a few boosts throughout the growing season will help it stay beautiful.

Liquid fertilizer will be best for your calathea. Dilute it to a quarter strength since it’s a slow-grower. The fertilizer should have an emphasis on the nitrogen.

Apply fertilizer every two or three months or as the fertilizer label suggests while the weather is warm. It will go dormant in cooler temperatures, so there’s no need to fertilize in the winter months. Avoid giving it too much fertilizer, as this can cause damage.

If you don’t want to worry about using the right amount of fertilizer, opt for a fresh layer of compost every one or two months. Mix the compost with potting soil to keep it aerated and well-draining.

Maintenance

Pruning isn’t necessary, but it will help keep your calathea looking spiffy as the old leaves die. The old leaves will be on the outside since new growth forms in the middle. You can trim old leaves with sharp, sterile scissors or shears by cutting them at the base.

If you notice discolored or dying leaves toward the middle, or you suspect that the outer leaves might be too new to be considered “old”, it might be trying to tell you something is wrong! Try to identify any problems before you cut leaves. We’ll get into potential problems in just a bit.

Calathea orbifolia is a slow grower, but you should still plan on re-potting it every two years or so. You’ll need to repot sooner if you look into the container and see bare roots with very little soil.

These calatheas benefit from slightly confined spaces, so the new pot only needs to be one or two inches bigger in diameter than the current pot. Keeping the pot on the small side will prevent it from having too much water. The more soil in a container, the more water it can hold. While it needs water, it doesn’t need soggy soil, so a smaller pot will prevent that.

When you propagate your calathea, choose a small pot that’s just an inch bigger than the root ball. You can size it up as it grows. You may need to repot your mature ones into fresh soil every few years as the it will eventually break down any chunky bark or aeration additives in its mix.

Propagation

Rhizome division is the most reliable way to propagate Calathea orbifolia. Since flowers are hard to come by, seeds aren’t really an option, and cuttings don’t always survive.

This calathea will probably develop new sprouts, or “pups” in the spring. You can easily remove these from the mother through rhizome division. Divide the rhizomes and roots with sterile, sharp shears to separate the baby clump from the mature clump. Grow the pup in soil similar to that of the mother.

Common Problems

Since the Calathea orbifolia can be tricky to grow, it’s no surprise that there will be problems! Let’s take a look at some of the problems you might encounter and what you can do to correct them.

Growing Problems

If you see Calathea orbifolia leaves curling, it’s probably due to insufficient humidity. A humidifier, a tray with pebbles and water, or a sunny bathroom should be enough to correct the problem. Always keep the humidity level at 50% or higher.

If you have yellowing leaves, this is usually a sign that it doesn’t have enough water or fertilizer. Feeling the soil will be a good indicator that it doesn’t have enough water. If it’s dry beyond the top two inches of soil, increase how often you water it, and keep track on a calendar if you’re prone to forgetting to water. If you water frequently but don’t fertilize often, then fertilizer is probably the problem! Add some liquid fertilizer or compost to correct the problem.

Pale Calathea orbifolia leaves can also be a sign of not enough fertilizer. Nitrogen gives them their beautiful shine and deep colors, and a nitrogen boost will restore their spark.

Pests

Unfortunately, houseplants aren’t exempt from pests. If you find pests on your Calathea orbifolia, you should first figure out where they’re coming from! They may have jumped from another houseplant, been on the calathea when you bought it, or found another way into your home.

Aphids, whiteflies, thrips, and mealybugs are all common houseplant foes that suck up the sap from leaves and stems. Aphids are small and green, brown, yellow, and even red. Whiteflies are tiny but will fly when disturbed, so they’re easy to find. Mealybugs are bigger and white, so those are easy to identify, too. Thrips are longer and slender than the other three critters mentioned.

The easiest way to slow these down is to spray them off with water. However, since it’s in a pot in your home, this can be messy and doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll leave—they may just fall into the soil. You can take a damp cloth and wipe down the leaves as part of your care regimen, and that may help.

If water doesn’t prove to be effective, use neem oil. Spray it as a fine mist, being sure to cover both the tops and bottoms of leaves, and it will kill the bugs. Apply as per manufacturer’s directions. Insecticidal soap is also another good option.

Diseases

White soil mold is a common fungus when soil holds too much moisture. The best way to correct this is to remove the calathea from the infected soil, wash away all the soil from the roots, and repot it in a new pot with fresh, clean soil that will drain well. This mold usually forms on the top layer, so if you catch it early enough, you may be able to scoop the top layer off. A treatment of a third hydrogen peroxide mixed with two thirds water can be applied to the soil to reduce this fungus, although you’ll need to let the soil completely dry before application.

Powdery mildew is another fungus that will make leaves look powdery and often shows up in humid conditions. Prevent fungal maladies like this by treating it occasionally with neem oil. Severely-damaged leaves should be pruned off, but follow up with an immediate treatment to prevent any further spread.

Leaf spot will appear as brown spots on the leaves. The most common varieties that impact Calathea orbifolia are anthracnose or septoria leaf spot. Damaged leaves should be pruned and thrown away.

Root rot occurs when roots have too much water and not enough oxygen. These soggy conditions promote the growth of fungi that will cause the roots to decay. Heavy soil or a lack of drainage holes can cause this, even if you’re not overwatering. You’ll see yellow leaves with brown tips, and the roots will be soft and black. Remove the calathea from the soil, wash away all soil from the root ball, trim away damaged roots, and replant in suitable soil. Then, remove affected, yellowed, or drooping leaves. You may be able to save it if you get to it soon enough.

Frequently Asked Questions