Prayer flower is not easy. Here are several varieties of calathea in the photo. Care at home answered all the inquiries of beautiful Tropicans. Of the 130 species of kalata, most are valued for the beauty of the leaves. Flowering varieties are decorative with bracts, the flowers themselves are homely. What you need to know about the flower
Calathea - a plant of the second tier of the tropical forest and refers to the Marant. Kalat leaves are oval and elliptical in length up to 30 cm. They are velvety and glossy, the back part always has red shades in color. Admire the complex pattern of the sheet plate can be infinite.
The leaves grow on the stem, but it is short, the internodes are millimeters apart, it seems the socket is growing out of the ground. The length of leaf stalks is different. Surprisingly, the flower loves classical music and cannot stand the swing of tobacco — an esthete!
Improper care for kalatas at home will destroy the plant, as seen in the photo of 
. Agrotechnical Calathei
Procedures must be carried out with the nature of the Prayer Flower in the care. So, the flower is called a prayer for the fact that it lifts the leaves higher and higher at sunset. In the morning the plates are in a horizontal position.
The reaction to the wrong care will be a change in the color of the leaves, their wilting, the appearance of various spots, the drying of the edges. In another way it is called the loss of decoration.
How to care for a calathea at home
Choose a flower according to the possibility of creating acceptable conditions for its maintenance. Each variety requires the use of special care operations that correspond to this particular plant. The most demanding are the flowering varieties of Calathea. The most unpretentious flower is Calathea Makoyana, depicted in the photo. Home care is easier for him than for other species.
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Consistently, on operations we will analyze how to care for a capricious plant.
Lighting
The total light day for calathea, regardless of location, is 15-16 hours. This can be a shaded area near the south window or additional lighting when placed at the north side. Need to focus on the color of the leaves. With a lack of light, the leaves are pale, with an excess - shrink and curl into a tube. If measures are not taken, after blanching the leaves will wither and fall off.
In the photo you can see how saffron flowers bloom with proper care at home, if the winter lighting duration control is observed. The flower is prompted to bloom, creating an adjustable day length by covering it with an opaque material from 6 pm to 8 am. With the appearance of rudiments of peduncles, the plant is introduced into the usual light regime.
Watering and Microclimate
Pour all varieties of calatheas only with soft settled water with a temperature of 2-3 degrees above room temperature. When watering is necessary to focus on the state of the plant. If the leaves begin to lose the snout, stop moistening, dry the ground 2-3 cm deep into the soil and wait for the results. If the leaves do not rise, care for Calathey requires replacing the soil and removing rotten roots.
To soften irrigation water, you need to throw two handfuls of peat in a bucket of tap water, stir and leave overnight. The filtered water will contain less calcium and magnesium.
The frequency of watering the calathea - as the coma of the earth and the type of leaves dries. In hot weather, 3 times a week, in the winter only once, checking the humidity of the coma.
Demanding to the microclimate, Kalatea does not like rough wetting of the leaves. Velvet leaves can not be moistened with spray, other varieties allow fog. From the drops after drying, there are ugly spots. Therefore, to create 50-70% humidity in an apartment with central heating is impossible. At home, care for calathea is associated with the use of special methods of air humidification.
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If you pour pebbles of a small cobblestone into a deep tray, on which a pot with calathea is installed, and overthrow it with sphagnum moss, the water in the pan will evaporate evenly. A special layer of air is created around the plant. But here it is impossible to allow the contact of the bottom of the pot with water, there will be a rotting of the roots.
Less radical will be the soaring from a wide plate with hot water, or use the neighborhood with large flowers like a canopy of tropical trees. Once or twice a day around the bush you need to make a small spray of the spray. Glossy leaves wipe with a damp cloth.
In the care of Calathean, a balance between excess and deficiency is constantly observed, and you should go along the sharp ridge.
Soil, transplant and temperature content of
Regardless of the season, the temperature should be 18-24 degrees, regardless of the season. In this case, an abrupt change in temperature and draft can lead to the death of the calathe.
Selection of soil - one of the requirements, how to properly care for calathea. Given that the roots of the plant are superficial, grow in breadth, you need to select the appropriate pots. In a deep bucket, a larger drainage layer is created so that the soil below does not turn sour.
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Substrate buy ready for Kalat, or Saintpaulia, but adding coarse sand. You can take the composition yourself:
- leaf humus - 6 parts;
- peat - 3 parts;
- sand - 1 part.
The composition of the soil should be slightly acidic, pH 6.
How to care for a calathea flower as it grows? It will require a transplant, by carefully separating the rhizome when seated. In addition, each delenka should have a flower bud.
Usually the bush is divided in two, cutting with a sharp knife and disinfecting the fresh cut. After planting the plant, it must be covered up, a microclimate must be created in the leaflets, but with airing. After the new leaves begin to appear, remove the shelter. It is important that the temperature at this time was about 250 C, and the plant was in the shade.
Fertilizing and pruning calatheas.
When you take care of calatheas at home, only flowering ornamental plants are fed. For them, a composition of soluble fertilizers is selected, in which there is little or no nitrogen and traces of calcium. Usually such formulations are sold for the care of indoor flowers.
The peculiarity of kalats is that their roots emit substances that change the composition of the soil and its acidity. The best feeding will be a timely update of the substrate. For young plants transplantation is carried out annually. After four years, the adult plant is transplanted once every two years.
For a start, you can grow a beautiful calathea in a florarium, a tall vessel with transparent walls. So, it is easier to maintain the microclimate.
Conditions for the maintenance of Calathea -
