Calathea Sanderiana

For more care advice about Julia, check out our complete guide to calathea care.

The calathea was given its common name, prayer plant, because its leaves fold together at night, like praying hands. If you’re up early enough you’ll see those leaves relax at sunrise, to collect all the day’s rays. 

Native to Brazilian rainforests, the prayer plant grows in a variety of different colours in the wild. We think this version is particularly spectacular. Its dark green, glossy leaves have a striking striped pattern on the top and dark purple underneath. 

In its natural habitat it will grow little white flowers. Those are very unlikely to appear in plant living indoors, but it hardly needs them. This plant is already an absolute showstopper. 

To keep a prayer plant happy, make sure you don’t let its soil dry out. Check it at least once a week and water it when the top two inches of soil feel dry. It will also benefit from feeding once a month in spring and summer. 

Did you know?

Too much sun can actually make this plant’s colours fade, so try to keep it away from very sunny windows.