Get The Resplendent Peacock Plant Growing In Your House With This Best Guide!
You may have never seen leaves as beautiful as that of the peacock plant as it flaunts one of the most magically designed leaves that look like manually painted motifs. It’s the divine beauty of this plant that has got it the Award of Garden Merit given by the Royal Horticultural Society. Now that you want to have an award-winning plant in your garden to make those neighbors of your wonder, here is the perfect peacock plant care guide to follow.
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About the peacock plant
Commonly know by the name of peacock plant, there are various other names associated with it like Calathea peacock, brain plant, and cathedral windows. The plant has been a native of the regions of Eastern Brazil where they can be found thriving in the wild tropical forests. It usually prefers locations like the shaded canopies of taller trees for growing.
This plant is a member of the plant family called Marantaceae and shares relation with many other evergreen perennial plants. The name of the genus to which the plant belongs is Calathea and the botanical name of this particular plant species is Calathea makoyana . There are many other synonyms of this plant-like Gorppertia makoyana that won the merit title and others like Calathea olivaris, Phyllodes mackoyana, Maranta olivaris, Maranta makoyana, and Maranta iconifera.
All the varieties of this houseplant are popular for the resplendent foliage they produce and are highly preferred for decorative purposes primarily. They can easily boost the charm of any outdoor or indoor space alike as their attractive foliage blends super well with any kind of surrounding. It can play the role of a lively showpiece, hanging charm for windows, and even a fuller groundcover.
Major physical characteristics of the peacock plant
This plant is one of a kind and possesses an extraordinary charm that surely attracts all the attention towards itself in one go. Such uniqueness of the plant owes it all to the morphological features and here the defining details to know:
The variegate foliage of this plant possesses all the attraction as it includes leaves that look like having other leaves painted on them. These oval-shaped leaves grow out from short stem clumps and can grow as long as 12 inches. There are very fine veins running on both sides of the leaves that give a defining texture to them.
The colors present on the leaves include light green with dark green patches on the upper side and maroonish-pink shades on the underside. The underside looks like a contrasting imprint of the details present on the upper side. The young leaves are pinkish-red and remain rolled up most of the time.
The calathea peacock plant shuts the leaves inwards once it gets dark and opens them up with the dawn. This feature is usually considered typical of the Prayer plants.
This plant grows from rhizomes which are straight stems that also have the roots of this plant growing from them.
The plant can bloom too with very subtle flowers of white color growing from sleek green leaf bracks. These flowers emerge in different periods of the year.
The plant can grow up to a height of 12 inches at max and becomes constant upon reaching maturity.
It takes around 5-10 years for this plant to reach maturity.
Guide to growing the peacock plant
As has been discussed above, you can choose to grow this plant in any container of your choice to decorate any space of your home or office. The plant does require some amount of care and attention but the task wouldn’t seem difficult if you carry out all the required steps in the right way. Here is all that you need to know about peacock plant care and growth.
Basic requirements of the plant
Here are some of the vital needs of this plant that help it to achieve better growth:
Choosing the right place to grow this plant depends upon the climatic conditions. Grow them indoors if you can’t manage sheltered, warm, and frost-free conditions outdoors.
The light requirements of this plant are moderate and you only need to provide the plant with adequate but indirect light. This plant does best in partially shaded locations and must not be kept under direct light to save foliage burn.
Humidity is one of the most important needs of this plant which requires you to maintain around 60% high humidity around it. You can use pebble trays, keep water bowls around the plant or use humidifiers for increasing the transpiration levels. Maintain constant humidity in the warmer months through mist spraying regularly.
The ideal temperature range for this plant is 60-70 degrees F and mustn’t be exposed to sudden temperature changes.
The soil medium apt for the plant can be any of loamy, sandy, or clayey soil amended with organic matter like ground bark or compost. The soil must drain well and retain moisture too.
Method of propagating the plant
The best method of starting this plant is via plant offshoots that can be derived from the division of dense clumps of leaves on any mature calathea peacock. The offshoots taken must have some roots intact.
Insert these offshoots in the prepared pot of soil directly and cover the pot with a plastic bag. Keep the pot in a moderately lit place. Uncover the pot when new tender roots emerge from the offshoot.
Caring for the peacock plant
After your plant sets on its growth journey, give it the right care with these best peacock plant care tips:
The transplantation of the young plants shall be done in the warmer months of spring or summer. Choose a size bigger plant every year as you repot the plants.
The soil of the plant must remain moist constantly. Irrigate the plant generously in the initial growth phase and cut down watering as the plant grows to let the soil dry out completely between successive watering sessions. Be more regular with the outdoor planted ones and use dip or hoses irrigation methods with them.
Make sure that the excess water drains out of the soil to avoid root rotting. Cut back on watering the plant during winters and irrigate them infrequently and moderately.
This plant is a heavy feeder and must be treated with a generous application of any balanced liquid fertilizer rich in iron or nitrogen content every alternate week during the active growth phase and then monthly during chiller seasons. This is important for the better coloration of leaves. Avoid over-application to save plant burns.
Pests and diseases are a problem with this plant that include scales, aphids, snails, slugs, leaf spots, fungal disease, root rot, spider mites, mosaic, burrowing, etc. Common treatments of these problems include spraying with mild insecticides, fungicide sprays, or manual removal of insects. Keep the leaves clean and avoid spraying water on them to prevent yellowing or withering.
Remove the withered, yellowed, and dead leaves to allow healthier foliage growth.
Conclusion
This was all about the amazing peacock plant that may have nothing to do with the peacocks exactly but the looks of the plant are surely mesmerizing. You will certainly need to put some effort into having a successful growth of the plant but rest assured, the results are worthy of everything.
