The Calathea concinna known as the Calathea Freddie is a Brazilian native tropical plant. This is among the Prayer Plant Calatheas, which spread their leaves with the sunrise to absorb the sun. In the evening, the plants withdraw the stripped leaves to get a restful night.
You are surely going to enjoy the circadian rhythm of these plants. The leaves are shiny, elongated, and light-green in color with specific zebra strips and borders in a darker shade. This peep is a nice choice for growing in pots and containers for indoor plantation.
Mark my words! These eye-candy Calatheas are perfect to add the necessary ‘oomph’ and beautify the space of your home and office. Interesting? Let us learn more about the bold and attractive, Calathea concinna Freddie plant.
Calathea Freddie Classification
Family: Marantaceae.
Genus: Calathea.
Species: C. concinna.
Genus Calathea:
The name of this genus is derived from the term ‘Basket’. This is a Greek term and refers to the spacious flowers of the plants. Calathea is a genus comprising dozens of American native flowering plants. These perennials are popular for their bright and bold foliage. These peeps mark their space as popular indoor plants. However, they are suitable for indoor and outdoor plantations.
Calathea Freddie Common Name
The plant is commonly known as the ‘Zebra Plant’. This is in reference to the specific zebra-like stripes on the entire surface of the leaves.
Calathea Freddie Plant Features
- An average indoor plant gets about 2 to 3 feet in height.
- The elongated pointed leaves grow in alternate patterns around the stem. Each mature leaf is about 4 t 7 inches in length.
Flowers
The Calathea Freddie Flowers are white in color. Each flower blooms on a long stalk-like inflorescence that grows out from the centre of the plant base.
Calathea Freddie Toxicity
Calatheas are generally known to be non-toxic for cats, dogs, and horses. So, these plants are nice pet-friendly options for your homes. However, we always recommend keeping an eye on and don’t let kids and pets mingle with the domestic plants.
Calathea Freddie Care
These plants are tropical natives plants that are not that easy to grow. Be vigilant, as this attractive peep will not happily bear your forgetfulness.
Quick Guide:
Water: Keep the soil slightly moist.
Sunlight: Bright to the medium indirect sun.
Humidity: High.
Fertilizer: Mild fertilizer in spring and summer.
Let us have a deeper look at ‘how to grow and care for Calathea Freddy plant’.
Water Requirement:
Keeping the plant watered suitably is a little tricky. You have to avoid over-watering while keeping the soil moist. Water the soil generously and let the excess drain out from the bottom. Now, let the soil get about 70% dry before you water again. The plant dislikes drying out and is not drought tolerant.
However, it can withstand very little forgetfulness about watering. You need to check the soil by inserting your finger and observe the moisture content. Moreover, you can also use a humidity meter for getting an accurate measurement.
In beginning, you have to observe the soil regularly. This will help you to create a suitable watering schedule. The required watering frequency depends upon the weather and humidity in the atmosphere. About once to thrice is enough for spring and summer.
Whereas once a week is usually enough to keep the Calatheas alive in the cold weather. Soggy soil is very harmful to the plant. Moreover, it can result in issues like fungus and root rot. Thus, avoid over-watering at any cost.
Sunlight Requirement:
Medium to the bright indirect sun and dappled shade is suitable for the plant. Make sure the plant gets at least 6 hours of indirect light to grow healthy foliage. Ideal places for keeping your Freddy Prayer Plant are north, west, or an east-facing window. It is better to avoid South facing windows, as they usually face the sun directly.
Folks! Be careful about direct sunlight. It can dry out or even kill the delicate plant.
Soil Requirement:
Well-draining soil with large particles is ideal for the Concinna plant. The soil should be able to drain well along with them being able to hold the moisture for the plant. A peat-based mixture goes well with the Calathea Freddy plant. Whereas, in domestic mixing options, use 2 parts of peat with 1 part of perlite to do the job.
Pebbles are used at the base of the growing mixture and not at the top. This shows good results by holding moisture and providing aeration. Alternatively, any pebbles at the top of the soil can hinder aeration and suffocate the roots.
Temperature Requirement:
The optimum temperature range for Calatheas falls between 18 to 24 C. Just like other Calatheas, the Zebra Calathea shows poor tolerance for cold and frost. Additionally, a temperature below 15 C can freeze and even kill the plant. Make sure you transfer the outdoor peeps to some warm indoor spots before the temperature falls.
Humidity Requirement:
These natives of tropical lands love humidity. A moisture level of more than 70% keeps the foliage lush. The dry days need you to maintain the moisture. You can follow measures like grouping them with other plants to enhance the overall humidity levels. Moreover, consider using a humidifier or a pebble-water tray under the pot.
Some plants like to be misted, but make sure you avoid misting the foliage directly. Always start from the bottom and avoid misting the compact new leaves. On a final note, we recommend avoiding frequent misting. Instead follow other ways to enhance the moisture level.
Fertilizer Requirement:
Use a common house plant fertilizer in moderate concentration. It is better to play safe and use about ¼ of the recommended dose. Fertilize monthly in the growing season of spring and summer. Just like the majority of plants, the Prayer Freddie plant doesn’t need any additional nutrition in the cold weather. Thus, avoid fertilizing in fall and winter.
Guys! Make sure you never over-fertilize the plant. Yellowing of leaf edges is a possible sign that you are over-feeding the plant. This situation may even burn the plant.
Potting and Repotting Requirements:
The pot should be medium in size with drainage holes. Repotting is not required for the initial 2 years. However, these plants like to stay in fresh soil. A yearly repotting in the early spring before the plant starts its growth period.
The plant will not object if you avoid the hassle by repotting once every two years.
Pruning Requirement:
Cutting a few unhealthy and older leaves is pretty helpful. This results in enhancing the health and appearance of the plant.
Grooming Requirement:
The stripped leaf structure of the majority of the Calatheas traps the dust particles. This can block the pores and affect the plant’s health. Groom weekly by mild misting and washcloth to clean any dust on the foliage.
Growth Zone:
The ideal USDA growth zones for the Freddie Calathea are 10 and 11. People of these zones can grow them outdoors without any hassle of shifting in the winter.
Calathea Freddie Propagation
The best way to propagate Calathea plants is by the ‘plant division’. These plants don’t grow in water, so don’t try rooting them in water.
Season:
The best practice is to propagate the plant while repotting. Whereas, the best time to repot this peep is the early days of the spring season.
Method:
- Select a well-grown and healthy plant. Loosen the soil around the base and take the plant. Folks! Don’t forget to be gentle.
- Now shake the plant to shed off any excess soil at the roots. Make sure you don’t damage the roots.
- Now, divide the roots with your hands and separate a 1/3rd part of the plant. Keep at least 3 shots at the divided portion to enhance the propagation.
- Plant the parent plant into fresh soil to complete the repotting process.
- Now, plant the divided portion is moist suitable soil. Place it at a warm spot with indirect light of low intensity.
- You can cover the pot with polythene or plastic to control moisture loss. Alternately, you can water the soil mildly to keep the soil moist.
- The new plant will settle down as an individual plant in a matter of about 3 to 4 weeks. You can now remove the plastic and let it grow freely.
- Keep misting the soil to avoid letting it get dry.
Timeline
Let us have a better understanding by having a look at an estimated growth pattern.
- Day 1 to Day 30: Let the newly planted stems stay in some warm spot with low indirect light. Keep it covered or mist the soil to keep the soil moist.
- Day 30 to Day 60: You can remove the cover at this stage. The development of a new shoot will be observed after the 5th week. This will show your success in making a new plant. Just follow Calathea Freddie Care as mentioned in the previous section and let the plant grow.
- Day 60 onward: You can finally transfer the growing plant to medium to bright indirect light. However, make sure you make the plant get used to brighter light by slowly increasing the light intensity. In addition, you can also introduce the plant by frequent episodes of exposure to its decided place.
Boom! Time to enjoy your new beautiful Freddie Calathea in your favorite place. Or get some love and appreciation by gifting it to your plant-loving friends J
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Summary
Calathea Freddie is a Brazilian native flowering plant. This belongs to the Calathea Prayer plants. It folds its leaves at the sunset and spreads them again at the sunrise. The leaves are greyish-green in color with dark-green stripes and borders.
Go ahead to grow these peeps in pots and containers for your home or office. Moreover, you can grow them outdoors throughout the year in zones 10 and 11. People of other regions need to shift them indoors before the fall.
Freddy needs moist soil, indirect sunlight and high humidity to strive. As far as requirements are concerned, we don’t recommend this peep for beginners. On the final note, the Calathea concinna Freddie is an interesting prayer plant to observe and an eye-candy to keep around. Besides, it is non-toxic and pet-friendly in nature. However, it is better to keep kids and pets away from chewing at the plants.
