Calathea Roseopicta Care & Propagation Guide

Calathea roseopicta was originally born in the tropical rain forest. Like other plants belonging to the same genus as the colocasaceae, Calathea roseopicta has a common feature, that is, there is an obviously expanded joint at the connection between its leaf and petiole, commonly known as leaf pillow.
There are water storage cells in the leaf pillow, which can regulate the orientation of leaves. When the temperature is appropriate and the humidity is high, the water in the leaf pillow is full, and the leaves are obviously upright, showing a school of vitality, which leads to the "sleep movement" of the leaves of Calathea roseopicta, that is, at night, the leaves extend upward from the leaf sheath to the leaves, fold in the form of holding the stem, and unfold again after the next morning sunlight irradiation, which is very interesting.

Calathea Roseopicta Quick Info

Botanical/Scientific Name	Calathea Roseopicta
Common Name	Jungle Velvet
Varieties	Beauty Star,Corona,Dottie,Freddie,Medallion,Misto
Uses	Indoor office decoration purposes
Origin	Northwest Brazil
Light Care	Bright indirect light
Soil Care	Consistently moist soil
Temperature Care	64ºF (18ºC) to 75ºF (24°C)
Humidity Care	No less than 40% humidity
Watering	In moist soil at all times
Pruning Care	Prune out spent blooms and dead
Fertilizer Care	Basic houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength
Propagation	Division at repotting time in the spring
Toxic	Deliciously non-toxic for pets

Calathea Roseopicta Care in Detail

Calathea Roseopicta Watering

Calathea roseopicta is a wet loving plant. In spring and autumn, it needs to be watered after the soil becomes dry. It needs to be watered enough to keep the soil moist. During summer, we need to increase the amount of water. We also need to spray water around the stems, leaves and flower pots of Calathea roseopicta to cool and humidify. In winter, after Calathea roseopicta stops growing, it needs to control water and keep the soil dry.
Calathea roseopicta is a perennial evergreen herb, which is a common foliage plant in the family. Calathea roseopicta has broad leaves, is not resistant to drought, has high demand for water, and needs to grow in a warm and humid environment. During spring and autumn growth, proper watering is needed to ensure that the soil is wet enough and avoid too dry air.
During summer, the temperature is high and the evaporation capacity is large. It is necessary to increase the amount of water. Water can be poured 3 ~ 4 times a day. During the curing period, we also spray water to cool and humidify it. During summer, we can spray water to Calathea roseopicta in the morning, and spray water 1 ~ 3 times a day. When spraying water, pay attention not to spray water at night to avoid leaf decay.
In winter, the temperature is low, so it is necessary to move the rainbow taro to a warm room for maintenance. When the temperature is about 10 degrees in winter, after Calathea roseopicta stops growing, it needs to control water. During winter, it is necessary to control the amount of watering. Try to keep the soil dry. After the soil turns white, water it appropriately to avoid damaging the roots due to too much water.
During the growth period, Calathea roseopicta needs not only water, but also light and nutrients. During its growth, it can be moved to a place with sufficient light for maintenance. Sufficient light is conducive to the formation of chlorophyll and makes the leaves more bright and green. During the curing period, it is also necessary to apply an appropriate amount of compound fertilizer to it, which is conducive to the growth of stems and leaves.

Calathea Roseopicta Soil

Before raising Calathea roseopicta, we should prepare loose and fertile soil, mix Nihe soil and perlite in the ratio of 1:2, add appropriate base fertilizer into the soil, control the pH of the soil at about 6, and the soluble salt concentration should be less than 0.7 MS / cm. We should pay attention to that Calathea roseopicta soil should not be too viscous, but slightly dry.

Calathea Roseopicta Light

Calathea roseopicta doesn't have strict requirements on lighting. We can just put Calathea roseopicta in the astigmatism area. Too strong direct light will burn the leaves. If you put it in the dark, the leaves will become thin and dull. Generally, bright astigmatism is OK. In summer, we should pay attention to shade Calathea roseopicta.

Calathea Roseopicta Temperature

Calathea roseopicta likes high-temperature and humid environment, avoid sun exposure, heat resistance, high temperature and cold resistance. Avoid drought and grow at an appropriate temperature of 18 ~ 25 ℃. The plant is dwarf and clump like, with poor tillering ability. The petiole of Calathea roseopicta is directly attached to the underground stem without taproot. A shallow pot with a wide pot body should be selected for potting. Slightly acidic leaf rot soil as cultivation medium is most conducive to Rhizome Growth and form lush plants.
Calathea roseopicta likes warm, humid and semi overcast environment, is afraid of low temperature and dry wind, and likes slightly acidic soil. The soil is preferably well drained, fertile and loose rotten leaf soil or culture soil, and the temperature in winter is not lower than 15 ℃.
Calathea roseopicta should not be exposed to the sun. It should be shaded in summer and autumn. If the sun is too strong, the leaf color is easy to be old and dry; The light is too weak, the leaves become thin and dull, and lose their beauty. Calathea roseopicta likes well drained, fertile and loose slightly acidic rotten leaf soil or culture soil. (Find More Prayer Plant Varieties Here.)

Calathea Roseopicta Humidity

Calathea Roseopicta humid environment, in summer and autumn high temperature period should always keep basin soil moist, otherwise Calathea Roseopicta will appear leaf edge withered, growth is bad, every day except for watering once, should also strengthen spray, so that the relative humidity of air is maintained at 85 to 90%.

Calathea Roseopicta Fertilizer

You can apply thin fertilizer to Calathea roseopicta once a week during the growth period. The concentration is equivalent to adding 3 ~ 4 grams of urea per kilogram of water, and apply 3 grams of urea plus 1 gram of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, or a compound fertilizer of similar concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. You can also apply rotten diluted cake fertilizer and water to avoid applying nitrogen fertilizer alone. You should stop applying fertilizer to Calathea roseopicta in winter.
In the peak growing season of Calathea roseopicta, the mixed fertilizer or decomposed compost of peanut bran and compound fertilizer shall be applied every 2 weeks. The nutrient composition of Calathea roseopicta fertilizer should be mainly nitrogen fertilizer, followed by phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. As the bamboo taro is a foliage plant, appropriate application of nitrogen fertilizer can make the leaf color more beautiful. In addition, urea with nitrogen content of 46% can be prepared into 0.1% solution, and potassium dihydrogen phosphate with phosphorus content of more than 50% and potassium content of more than 30% can be prepared into 0.2% solution for topdressing outside the root. The effect is better when the dew is not dry in the morning or in the evening. When spraying Calathea Roseopicta, we should spray the positive and negative sides of the leaves with a small hole sprayer, spray 1 times a week, stop for 1 times after continuous spraying 3 times, then spray continuously. Special attention should be paid to the concentration of fertilization should not be too large, otherwise it is easy to cause leaf burns, fertilizer damage, and even plant death in serious cases. We have to stop fertilizing when it is too hot in winter and summer.

Calathea Roseopicta Pruning

Calathea roseopicta is an ornamental plant. The most important thing for pruning this plant is to make it beautiful. We cut off the thin branches and buds in Calathea roseopicta to make the plant look more robust and healthy. In addition, after cutting off the sick and weak branches and buds of the plant, the nutrient supply of those sick and weak branches and buds can be reduced, which is conducive to the growth of Calathea roseopicta.
If your Calathea roseopicta has been raised for several years, there must be very old branches and buds on the plant. Those aged branches and buds will be darker at night, and the branches and stems will be too thick, which will greatly affect the beauty. Moreover, this old branch absorbs a lot of nutrients. Only by cutting off this already very old branch and bud, Calathea roseopicta will have enough nutrients to transport to the new young leaves.
Many people will wonder how to trim calathea roseopicta. In fact, there is only one requirement for the trimming of Calathea roseopicta, that is, good-looking. In order to make the plant more ornamental, when pruning, just cut all the bad leaves inside. In particular, the yellow leaves, whether due to drying and dehydration or diseases, can only be cut off to make the plants more beautiful.

Calathea Roseopicta Repotting

We all want to replace the newly bought Calathea roseopicta with a larger and beautiful flowerpot, which can make the plant grow better. The flowerpot should be larger and deeper than the previous container, and the water permeability must be better, because Calathea roseopicta is generally placed in a dark place without sunshine, so if the water permeability of the flowerpot is not high, it is easy to cause root rot and death. So Calathea roseopicta pruning is very important.
We can use peat soil in the basin changing soil of Calathea roseopicta, because the organic matter content of peat soil is more than 30%, and the texture is very soft, which is easy to break up, and the peat soil is still acidic. Soft soil is easy to store water and has strong air permeability. Remember not to choose the soil that has agglomerated, otherwise the water and nutrients will not be absorbed into the roots of Calathea roseopicta due to poor water permeability. Bamboo taro prefers acidic soil, while peat soil is just acidic soil, so it is more suitable for planting bamboo taro.
When we were in Calathea roseopicta pruning, we first put 1 / 3 of the soil in the new flower pot, and then spread a thin layer of organic fertilizer on the surface of the soil. After slowly taking down the original flower pot, gently rake down the soil on the plant with a rake. We must remember not to hurt the roots of Calathea roseopicta. Then put the plant in a new flowerpot, straighten the plant and fill the flowerpot with soil.
Watering is very important for Calathea roseopicta. As long as we understand its growth habits, it is very simple to maintain, and it can also make them grow healthier. After planting, water thoroughly at one time. Bamboo taro likes shade. Calathea roseopicta, who has just changed the flowerpot, should ensure sufficient water. After watering, there will be many small holes on the surface of the soil. We just need to fill it with some hay charcoal soil.

Calathea Roseopicta Pest & Disease Control

Calathea roseopicta has few diseases and insect pests, mainly including scale insects and whiteflies, which can be sprayed with 1000 times of 25% imithion emulsion or 1500 times of 40% Omethoate. The common diseases of Calathea roseopicta include leaf spot and rust, which can be sprayed with 200 times Bordeaux solution or 1000 times 50% carbendazim solution for 2 ~ 3 times.
We should keep the environment of Calathea roseopicta ventilated to keep the environmental humidity above 40%. Regular water spraying on the back of leaves can control the reproduction of starscreams. Since it is difficult for pesticides to kill insect eggs, they are generally controlled in the adult and nymph stage after egg hatching. They can be sprayed with 1000 times of 20% dicofol emulsion or 40% Omethoate emulsion.
Calathea roseopicta leaf spot mainly damages leaves and leaf sheaths. At the initial stage of onset, there were small water soaked spots with a diameter of less than 1mm, and then transformed into reddish brown spots with a diameter of about 2mm. There was no halo around the disease spots. This Calathea roseopicta disease can occur all year round, with two peaks from September to October and March of the next year. In the peak period of disease occurrence, a large number of leaves can be dried up. The planting land with poor management, poor ventilation, over dense cultivation, ponding, barren soil, insufficient shade and poor plant growth potential is seriously endangered. The diseased body is the source of the first infection of the disease.

Calathea Roseopicta Propagation

Calathea Roseopicta Cutting Propagation

Calathea roseopicta cutting propagation generally uses the top young shoot, the cuttings are 10 ~ 15cm long, and one-third or one-half of the leaves are reserved according to the leaf size. The cuttings are treated with 500ppm naiacetic acid for 2 ~ 3 seconds, or indole acetic acid, indole butyric acid and ABT rooting powder. After cuttings treatment, they were inserted into the seedbed with a row spacing of 5 × 10 cm is preferred. Covered with film bow shed, the management method is the same as ramet propagation. Cutting propagation can be carried out at any time when the temperature is not lower than 20 ℃. Cuttings have 30 ~ 50 natural roots, but the survival rate of cutting is not as high as that of ramet propagation, generally about 50%.

Calathea Roseopicta Division Propagation

Calathea roseopicta generally adopts Calathea roseopicta division propagation. The Propagation is ideal when the temperature is about 20 ℃ in spring, but it can also be carried out throughout the year as long as the temperature and humidity are appropriate. When Calathea roseopicta propagates, use a sharp knife to cut the root block with stem, leaf or leaf bud. For a small amount of propagation, the cut root block with stem, leaf and leaf bud can be directly placed in the mud basin. When Calathea roseopicta propagates in large numbers, it should be placed on the seedbed. If the temperature and humidity can not meet the requirements, it should be covered with thin film. You must make the temperature in the film reach 20 ~ 28 ℃ and the humidity above 80%.

Calathea Roseopicta Benefits

Calathea roseopicta is used for viewing. The leaves of Calathea roseopicta are rare and beautiful. It is an ideal decorative treasure for the family saloon. Placed in the children's room, the strange leaf color helps to cultivate children's interest in natural science.
Calathea roseopicta has bright leaves and is an excellent indoor shade loving foliage plant. It is green and pleasant. It is used to decorate bedrooms, living rooms, offices and other places. It looks quiet and solemn for long-term appreciation.
The leaves of Calathea roseopicta are dark green, smooth, pink or light green, with prominent midvein. The edges of the leaves are dotted with rose red rings. Its color is gorgeous. It is a good product of the same plant. It is suitable for potted indoor viewing and a fine leaf viewing product for decorating the room.

Calathea Roseopicta Dottie Care Tips

Next, I will introduce some calathea roseopicta dottie care tips. The phenomenon of leaf curling in Calathea roseopicta may be caused by too strong light and inappropriate temperature. The soil must be kept moist and the air humidity must be between 85% - 90%. Calathea roseopicta is not resistant to high and low temperatures. Temperature control measures shall be taken in summer and winter.

1. Too much light

Calathea roseopicta likes to grow in a semi shady environment. Rainbow taro is not resistant to strong light, so it cannot be exposed to strong light for a long time, otherwise the leaves will roll up. In this case, we need to move it to the semi shade environment for maintenance in time to make the Calathea roseopicta leaves expand slowly.

2. Humidity too low

Calathea roseopicta likes to grow in a humid environment. In addition to keeping the soil moist, it is also necessary to keep the humidity in the air between 85% and 90%. The leaves of Calathea roseopicta rolled up, which may be due to low humidity. Therefore, we need to often sprinkle water around Calathea roseopicta to make the leaves of Calathea roseopicta stand upright and bright.

3. Improper temperature

Calathea roseopicta likes to grow in a warm environment. The optimum growth temperature is between 20 and 25 ℃. Calathea roseopicta is not resistant to high and low temperatures. Temperatures below 18 ℃ and above 30 ℃ will curl the leaves of Calathea roseopicta. Therefore, temperature control measures should be taken in summer and winter. We can move the plants to a cool place for maintenance in summer and to a warm room for maintenance in winter.