The prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura) is a tender evergreen perennial grown today as a popular cascading house plant. It’s one of the Western world’s top ten house plants, thanks to the foliage that continues to fascinate us and captivate our hearts.
How did the Prayer Plant Get its Name?
This variegated beauty doesn’t just capture attention for its striking foliage. It has a nighttime ritual of lifting and folding its leaves together as if in evening prayer—hence its common name. In daylight hours, the plant’s smooth, oval leaves revert to their horizontal position, until the next evening.
The prayer plant is part of the botanical Maranta family which currently contains around 50 different recognised species of diversely colored foliage plants. It was originally found in the tropical rainforests of Brazil, the West Indies, and throughout central to south america. The Maranta genus is named after the 16th Century Italian doctor and botanist Bartolomeo Maranta, who discovered this new plant life.
Although this family of plants do produce flowers, these are generally insignificant as compared to the plant’s foliage.
Prayer Plant Varieties
The Maranta leuconeura is the most popular variety. A low-growing perennial, it has patterned green, two-toned leaves that grow to form a large clump from rhizomes, or creeping root stalks. The leaf blotching pattern becomes more vivid with maturity, and the leaves grow up and outwards, overlapping each other.
Leaves’ undersides are a reddish color, and at maturity the Maranta leuconeura will grow to around 12 inches tall. If you look carefully in summertime, you may see the small white flowers that emerge on slender stems. The Latin term “leuconeura” means white-veined: the leaves also show this subtle characteristic.
The “Herringbone Plant”, otherwise known as “M. leuconeura erythroneura”, is another popular variety of this slow-growing evergreen. In this species, leaves have strong red veining on dark green leaves, with a pale yellow-green midrib. The undersides of the leaves are a brighter, deeper red which contrasts perfectly when folded up at night.
This is a really stunning variety, particularly effective when used in hanging baskets or planted en masse.
Another good variety is the Maranta “Rabbit’s Foot Plant”. This one is also known as “M. leuconeura kerchoveana”, which is bit of a mouthful. The mid-green leaves on this particular variety are marked with dark brown blotches spaced between deep green leaf veins. In summertime, intermittent white-mauve flowers appear on long slender stems.
There are numerous varieties of Maranta: I’ve only named the best few in this article. All of these varieties are distinguished by their leaf patterns and coloration, and each one has a distinct personality. If you’re aiming to add a few to your own space, it’s best to have a look for yourself and determine which are your favorites.
Planting your Prayer Plant
Prayer plants are particularly suitable for using in planters, hanging baskets (and containers), as an edging plant,(in more temperate zones) and especially good when planted in large groups. By using these methods, you’ll ensure that they provide a bright and diverse showcase of color, all year long.
When planting your prayer plants indoors, use a good, well-draining compost with added sand and vermiculite to give extra drainage.
All Maranta like to grow in rich soil with high humus content and a well-draining structure. They’ll tolerate acidic, clay, and loamy soils, but may not be as productive as they could be.
Planted these as a ground cover plant in moist and shaded areas if you live in a warm climate. They’ll perform brilliantly. If you’re in zones 10b – 11, 11 – 12, then you can plant these outside. Prayer plants will survive temps above 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
When planting your plants en masse or in a row, allow a spacing of 2 – 3 feet between plants. This will allow them to spread both roots and foliage.
Caring for your Prayer Plant
The prayer plant is one of those rare beauties which can be pretty neglected, yet still manage to thrive.
Their nighttime “prayer” ritual, (when the leaves lift upwards and close), allows plants in their natural rainforest habitat to collect rainfall in their folded leaves and carry it to their root systems. This is another clever example of plant adaptation when growing in trying conditions.
This is an important detail to keep in mind when it comes to giving your plants the care they need. They like to be kept moist throughout the growing season, with a highly humid environment. You can achieve higher humidity by misting the plants if the air is very dry.
Here’s a tip: keep a prayer plant in your bathroom, if it’s a large enough room. You can place one in a hanging planter, and see how well it thrives in the warm, post-shower humidity.
All of the Maranta family members are quite sensitive to added fluoride in tap water, so avoid using this if at all possible. Collected rainwater is the best option to use when watering all of your plants. Just avoid leaving excess water on the leaves, and water close to the roots instead.
Remember to always avoid standing your prayer plant in excess water, as this will cause root rot.
Feeds and Fertilizer
Throughout the growing season, your prayer plant will be happy when fed once a month with a diluted house plant feed. For the rest of the year, reduce the watering to keep the soil slightly drier and only feed around once every 2 to 3 months.
You will need to place your plant in quite bright, but indirect sunlight, and keep the temperature to between 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Too much light can cause leaves to bleach and fade, which will leave your plant very unhappy. If in doubt, think about replicating their natural rainforest environment where these plants had to fight for light.
On the other hand, a lack of light will cause your leaves to stay slightly curled in the daytime, which is also not good. Keep an eye on how the leaves react over the course of a full 24 hours, and then move your plant around to get the right spot for ideal light absorption.
Trim your stems back twice a year with a pair of sterile snips. This will improve its shape, keeping it bushy and compact.
You can propagate your stunning prayer plants by either dividing up your larger plants and potting them on, or by taking basal cuttings in the springtime.
To take cuttings, use sterile snips to take 10 cm of growth from your mother plant, with at least three leaf nodes per cutting. Pot up your cuttings in a good, well-draining compost and water them every couple of days. Should you have the facilities, provide your cuttings with some heat from below, which will promote speedy rooting.
Tip: If you don’t have a heat lamp for this kind of bottom heating, you can place the pots on an electric heating pad set on very low heat. Do so for a few hours every day for a week or two just to help the roots establish.
The prayer plant is one of the most beautiful foliage plants we can grow. When kept in preferred conditions, it should become a show-stopping fully grown specimen plant with large fleshy, patterned, cascading leaves. Sometimes, however, we don’t quite get the environment right for our plants and they can suffer as a result. Here are a few of the problems you could come across and how to solve them.
Low Humidity – When humidity is too low, the leaves on your prayer plant will turn brown.
Under-Watering – A sure sign is when there are yellow pigments or spotted marks on your plant’s leaves.
Over-Watering – This can cause root rot. Avoid standing your plant in water and prevent excess water from gathering on the leaves.
Leaf Spot, aka Cucumber Mosaic Virus – These are fungal and bacterial infections that are easy to spot, and need to be cleared by using a specific fungicide on your plants.
Spider Mites – Can be seen living on the undersides of your plants’ leaves, where they spin little silk webs. These can be eradicated by using an insecticide especially for house plants. Take a look in your local garden center for suitable sprays.
Mealy Bugs – These are insects that thrive in warm, moist conditions and feed on the plant juices of greenhouse plants. They attach themselves to the plant and secrete a powdery, white, fluffy substance that is easy to spot. Eradicate these using a suitable insecticide spray from your local garden center.
Keep enough space around your plants to allow sufficient airflow. This in itself can prevent many nasty infestations.
Companions for your Prayer Plant
There are many house plants with similar light, water and heat requirements as the prayer plant. Do a bit of research, and try to find those that work well together. This part does require a bit of homework, but will allow you to customize your ideal indoor garden display.
By contrasting leaf shapes, structures, and colors, you can create your own fabulous tropical oasis.