Now, don’t confuse the Calathea Medallion with prayer-plants. While it does the same as the prayer plant, it’s not a Maranta. Yes, it does fold up its leaves as if in prayer at night. But what it does in the day is what’s more interesting. When kept indoors, it presents you with beauty. Depending on how much light it gets, the leaves start to move down or upwards. Interesting, right? So, how do you care for this exotic plant?
Please keep reading to find out as we have all the inside news here.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
The Calathea medallion or Calathea Medallion plant is native to Ecuador, where it grows at elevations from 400 to 1200 meters in the understory of tropical rainforests. It was first described by plant explorers in 1865.
However, it’s long been known by the indigenous peoples of the equatorial region of the Andes, who use the leaves to make baskets.
Calathea medallion plants are prized for their large, extravagantly patterned leaves that will brighten up any indoor space.
Growing Calathea medallion can be a bit challenging for a beginner, but once you’ve mastered its requirements, you can expect years of enjoying its beauty.
The Calathea medallion appearance is lush and colorful, adding an exciting tropical look to wherever it is used.
The large, gorgeously colored leaves grow in profusion on the short, bushy plant, and will sometimes fold up slightly at night to display their brilliant underside.
Even though they very rarely bloom, the flowers will not be missed.
- Foliage
The foliage of Calathea medallion looks like an impressionist painting.
Each leaf has varying shades of green, cream and silver that look like they’re brushed on in irregular bands radiating out from the center rib.
Underneath they are bright purple, creating a vibrant contrast. The thin stems are also a deep pink-purple.
Leaves emerge as a rolled up tube from the center of the plant. After they unfurl they can grow to a length of between 5 and 10 inches, in a rounded shape with smooth margins.
They have a leathery texture and a glossy surface. Wipe them down periodically to keep them looking their best.
- Flowering
It is very rare to see a medallion plant flower on a Calathea medallion grown indoors as a potted plant, no matter how hard you try.
Calathea medallion flowering usually only occurs on plants grown outdoors year-round in tropical climates similar to its rainforest home.
However, you are not missing much by not having a blooming Calathea medallion plant growing in your home.
The light green star-shaped flowers that appear in summer are small and inconspicuous, and have no fragrance.
Compared to magnificent year-round display of the evergreen Calathea medallion leaves, the very slight chance of insignificant blooms is hardly worth making an effort for.
- Size and Growth
You can expect the mature size of Calathea medallion to be between 2 and 3 feet, with about a 2 foot spread.
It has a moderate growth rate, but may take up to 10 years to reach its full size, depending on factors such as heat, light, and humidity.
Calathea medallion grows from rhizomes, with individual stems emerging from under the soil. New leaves emerge tightly furled, looking like purple tubes.
It does not require any staking to grow upright, but because it is very sensitive to light, you should rotate it a quarter turn once a week to keep it growing evenly.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Your Medallion Calathea needs similar lighting as that of their natural habitat in the tropics. Keep your Calathea in medium to low light without direct sunlight. If placed in the sun, it can suffer leaf burn causing brown edges.
While they can grow in low indirect light, they would thrive best in bright indirect light. So, the most desirable place for your Calathea veitchiana is a place with enough light. If you have a variegated plant, it needs more sunlight to keep the patterns vibrant on the leaves.
A north-facing room or a shaded corner is also a good place for your medallion plant. If you notice dead or brown leaves, you can prune them to help improve your plant’s appearance.
Temperature
The ideal temperature for your Calathea Medallion is 65°F – 80°F (18°C – 27°C.)
As an indoor plant, the average room temperature is suitable as well. So keep it protected by placing your plant away from cold drafts and hot sunlight.
The plant is delicate to temperature changes. When they get hot, the leaves curl, and the leaf droops or wilts when too cold.
It’s best to keep your tropical plant away from cold temperatures. When temperatures drop to 60°F (15°C), bring it inside if grown outdoors.
Humidity
Most Calathea plants enjoy high humidity levels. Still, you may find the air in your home too dry for your Calathea Medallion plants. If you do notice the leaves drooping or curling, you can follow these tips:
- Group your Calathea plant with your other indoor plants. It helps create additional moisture for the plant.
- Another great way is to do misting using distilled water instead of tap water. But do not spray directly onto the leaves to avoid the growth of fungi.
- Place your Calathea plants on a deep pebble tray. Fill halfway with water to prevent the plant from sitting in it.
- Using a humidifier with your indoor plants helps keep the air moisture right around 50%.
Watering
In the rainforests of the Andes, it rains at least every other day, so Calathea veitchiana is acclimated to consistent soil moisture.
However, the soil drains the rainwater away fairly quickly, so when you water medallion plant you want to ensure that the soil never stays soaking wet.
The best approach for Calathea medallion watering is to check the soil every few days, and when the top few inches are dry, top up the soil moisture.
Calathea veitchiana’s watering needs are best met with rainwater. If you must use tap water, let it sit in an uncovered container overnight to let chemicals such as fluoride dissipate.
Soil
In the Andean rainforests, the soil is spongy and loose, and full of decaying plant material.
Your Calathea medallion soil should be similar. It must drain well, while at the same time retaining an adequate amount of moisture.
The preferred pH level for medallion plant is 6, or mildly acidic.
You do not have to make your own soil for medallion, as an African Violet soil mix has all the essentials for your Calathea veitchiana.
However, you can also blend equal parts of peat moss, perlite, and potting soil. A handful of orchid bark or charcoal would improve drainage even more.
Fertilizing
During the growing season (spring and summer), feed your houseplant fertilizer every four weeks to your calathea plant. Dilute it to half strength to avoid overfeeding as it can become leggy or suffer from root burn.
Do not feed your Calathea in the winter months as your plant becomes dormant and needs no feeding. Instead, you can flush the soil to get rid of the mineral salt buildup. You can take your plant to the sink and pour water through the soil for three minutes.
Leave your plant to drain out the water and place it back where you keep your Medallion. Then, you can resume feeding after a couple of weeks.
Pruning
Calathea medallion pruning is not recommended in general.
The only time you should remove leaves is when the oldest ones start to die off in the natural process. These will be the outermost leaves.
The only other reason for cutting medallion plant leaves is if they’ve developed brown edges or tips. Once you’ve solved the reason for those brown bits, don’t cut off the whole leaf; instead just trim away the browned edges with small, sharp scissors.
The trimmed leaf will continue to grow normally, and will look much better.
Always use sharp, sterilized tools for pruning your Calathea veitchiana.
Propagation
The great thing about these tropical plants is you can multiply them. You do this by dividing the Calathea plants’ roots (rhizomes) early in their growing season.
You can use a cutting or seeds for propagation, but these methods aren’t the easy way.
- Remove your Calathea plant from the container.
- Take a sharp, sterilized knife and cut the tuber, leaving one or two stems with roots attached.
- Use the appropriate potting mix and repot them in a new plant pot separated.
- Keep your plant warm with the soil moist, closing it with plastic.
- Do not place it in direct sunlight and mist daily until you notice new growth.
Potting & Repotting
Calathea medallion repotting should be done every 2 years, or whenever you notice that it has become rootbound. If you can see roots, it’s time.
You may not need to increase the pot size when repotting medallion plant if you decrease its size by dividing the plant.
If you do need to move to a bigger pot, only go up one pot size. Too much extra soil will stay wet too long and increase the chance of disease.
Use a glazed or plastic pot to reduce the loss of soil moisture, and ensure that it has drainage holes.
Always use fresh potting soil, as the old soil may have become compacted and is not draining well, as well as harboring pathogens.
Pests and Diseases
Most Calathea medallion problems are avoidable, as long as you pay close attention to its requirements and perform routine maintenance.
However, if problems with medallion plant do arise, you should be able to solve them without too much trouble.
The leaves will let you know if there’s something amiss, and then all you have to do is diagnose the cause.
Common Pests
Calathea medallion pests include most of the regular indoor plant culprits.
You should be able to keep bugs away from your medallion plant by wiping down the leaves every month with an insecticidal soap or neem oil solution. It’s always best to use an organic insecticide.
Spider mites spin their webs and leave yellow bumps. Thrips are tiny thin insects. For both, spray down the leaves in the shower or sink.
Fungus gnats are little black flies that love damp soil. Use yellow sticky traps and drench the soil with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water.
Mealybugs gather under the leaves in cottony masses. Use a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol to kill them.
Common Diseases
Most Calathea medallion diseases can be prevented by careful watering practices. Never get the leaves wet, and always let excess water drain out of the pot.
Your medallion plant leaves may start to turn yellow, and the stems soften. If the roots have turned black with a bad smell, that’s root rot.
Cut out all affected parts and replant what’s left in fresh soil in a new pot.
Leaf spot can be caused by several different fungal or bacterial diseases, but the treatment is the same for most of them.
Move your diseased Calathea veitchiana away from all other plants, and remove all infected leaves and stems.
Improve the air circulation around the foliage, and observe it for a couple of weeks. In a severe case you will have to discard the plant.
Growing Problems
If your Calathea veitchiana has growing problems, curing your sick plant might be a simple matter of improving its growing conditions.
Brown edges on the leaves might indicate too much fertilizer usage, or using tap water with chlorine and fluoride. Trim off the edges and adjust your watering or feeding methods.
Curling leaves can mean low humidity, dry soil, or too much direct sun. Evaluate the soil moisture and location and make the required changes.
Brown tips are usually a sign that humidity levels are too low for this rainforest native. You may need to invest in a humidifier, as misting will not usually be enough.
III. Uses and Benefits
Because of its moderate size, non-toxic nature, and gorgeous foliage, there are many options for using Calathea medallion indoors.
If you have room in your bathroom, it won’t mind the lower light levels, and will love the extra humidity.
It’s also a perfect choice to fill in a rather shady corner in a living room where other plants might not thrive.
As either a stand-alone specimen plant, or as a part of a larger indoor garden, its brilliantly patterned leaves will make it a star.
Outdoors, a couple of Calathea medallion plants will go a long way to creating a tropical oasis on a shady patio or balcony.
