Plant profile
Prayer plant
Maranta leuconeura
Also known as Maranta, Maranta leuconeura, prayer plant indoor.
Prayer plant grows for its patterned leaves and the way they lift at night. Bright indirect light, steady moisture and warm sheltered conditions keep the leaves much cleaner than direct sun or dry potting mix.
- Grows well in
- Tropical, Subtropical, Temperate
- Lifecycle
- Evergreen rhizomatous tropical perennial
- Light
- Part shade, Shade
- Mature size
- Usually about 20–35 cm tall and 30–60 cm wide, depending on cultivar and container.
- Spacing
- About 30–45 cm apart in a warm shaded garden, or one clump per pot.
- Growth habit
- Low spreading rhizomatous plant with patterned leaves that change angle between day and night.
- Native range
- Central and eastern Brazil
- Natural habitat
- Wet tropical rainforest understorey and other humid shaded forest sites.
When to plant
Tropical
February–November
Subtropical
September–April
Temperate
October–March
Arid inland
September–April
Mediterranean
September–April
Repot or divide during warm active growth. Indoor plants can be managed year-round if the room stays warm and bright.
Planting
Use a quality free-draining potting mix in a pot with drainage. Outdoors, grow only in warm sheltered shade.
Position and light
Bright indirect light indoors or shaded filtered light outdoors. Direct hot sun bleaches and scorches the patterned leaves.
Soil
Use a fertile potting mix that holds even moisture but still drains freely.
Watering
Keep the mix consistently lightly moist during warm growth, but never leave the pot sitting in water. Reduce watering as growth slows in cooler conditions.
Feeding
Feed lightly every month during active warm growth with a balanced liquid fertiliser at the label rate.
Pruning
Trim brown leaf tips or fully damaged leaves with clean scissors. Cut leggy stems back above a node to encourage fresh shoots.
Propagation
Divide a mature clump or root stem cuttings with nodes in warm humid conditions.
Common problems
Brown tips follow dry air, irregular watering or salt build-up. Pale leaves can mean too much sun. Spider mites and mealybugs occur in dry indoor conditions. Brown leaf tips are often linked to low humidity, irregular watering or mineral build-up in potting mix. Flush container mix occasionally and avoid letting the pot sit in stagnant water.
Safety notes
Prayer plant is grown as an ornamental; do not confuse it with unrelated plants sold under similar common names.
Worth knowing
The leaves moving upward at night is normal behaviour, not wilting.
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