The first time I seen a prayer plant in action, I was astounded. My prayer plant’s stunning variegated leaves started to fold upright as the sun set; it’s a gradual process, a little like watching paint dry, but it’s still fascinating to watch. Each leaf then delicately unfolded the following morning, appearing just as lovely as the day before.
A horizontal growing habit makes all varieties of prayer plants (Maranta spp.) perfect for hanging baskets, low bowls, or big dish gardens. Prayer plants can spread 15 to 18 inches across and grow 10 to 12 inches tall. Prayer plants are perfect “fillers” in a large mixed pot since their luxuriant foliage complement other houseplants. Additionally, prayer plants purify the air in your house by capturing toxins that are present there.
Prayer plants are resilient and colorful, and they thrive in all kinds of lighting, though it’s best to keep them out of direct sunlight. In order to ensure that your prayer plant grows well, water whenever the soil seems like it is about to start drying out. Incessantly damp soil will not support plant growth. During the summer, give your prayer plants a liquid houseplant fertilizer once or twice.
Prayer plants also prefer humid environments, so if the air in your home is dry during the winter, the edges of the leaves may turn brown. Increase the humidity surrounding the plant by placing it on a layer of pebbles in a tray filled with water to fix this.
The following prayer plant kinds are particularly vibrant: Red, Marisela, Kim, Green, and Black. All have vivid, noticeable veins in a range of hues and are either speckled or striped. Interesting, tightly curled new leaves gradually open as they age.
Also remember that prayer plants are wonderful presents for children. They will enjoy daily observations of the changing leaf patterns.
Does the prayer plant do well indoors?
A good houseplant is the prayer plant because it’s simple to cultivate, has interesting foliage, and can withstand indoor conditions. A low, spreading plant known as a “prayer plant” that may grow horizontally down a tabletop or other surface and is frequently planted in hanging baskets. Because it grows slowly, you don’t have to worry about the prayer plant spreading beyond its designated area.
The leaves of this tough indoor plant frequently fold together at night, resembling a pair of praying hands, giving rise to its common name. The foliage of most varieties of prayer plants is variegated, which heightens the plant’s visual appeal. Although prayer plant does produce blooms, they are not abundant or particularly attractive. For its leaves, this is a nice houseplant to grow.
Prayer Plant Growing Instructions
Grow the prayer plant in dim, moderate, or strong lighting. In high light, it’s ideal to use a sheer drape or other screen to shield the leaves from direct sunlight.
Just before the soil surface dries, water the prayer plant. This resilient houseplant like to remain largely damp (but not sopping wet all the time). If it dries out too much or too frequently, its leaves may begin to turn brown.
Only once or twice a year, ideally in the spring or summer, is sufficient to maintain the health of a prayer plant. If you’d like, you can fertilize it more frequently. Use any fertilizer designed for indoor plants and adhere to the instructions on the container.
Although prayer plant normally thrives in most houses, it prefers higher-than-average humidity levels. Increasing the humidity around your prayer plant will make it happier if the air in your home is very dry in the winter.
Include these types with your prayer plant:
The combination of banana and the prayer plant results in a stunningly striking, tropical appearance.
Forest Drum Use the prayer plant’s stunning contrast to the intriguing corrugated foliage of the jungle drum.
Purple Excellence The prayer plant’s variegated patterns look magnificent next to the deep purple of Purple Perfection.
Which plant is best at purifying the air?
These plants may be suitable for those who want to test their green thumb first. Although they don’t need daily attention, most of them will grow more successfully if they are fertilized once a month.
Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum)
Spider plants, also referred to as air plants, are quick-growing and look beautiful in hanging baskets, particularly in your workspace. They occasionally even produce beautiful white flowers.
There are more than 200 species of spider plants, and many of them can withstand our occasional carelessness.
Non-toxic: This plant is appropriate for use around children and animals who enjoy playing with swinging objects.
Dracaenas
A novice with a green thumb should grow dracaenas. These numerous indoor plants come in a wide variety of forms, dimensions, and hues. Choose between the rainbow plant, which is a vivid purple color, or the tall corn plant, which has unique patterning.
Maintain a moist but not saturated soil for the plant because too much water can kill it.
Animal toxicity: If your cat or dog eats dracaenas, they can vomit, salivate more, or get dilated pupils.
Golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
This plant, often known as devil’s ivy, may be the closest thing to an indestructible plant there is. It may grow up to 8 feet long and thrives in a range of environments. It is also regarded as one of the best domestic air purifiers for getting rid of typical contaminants.
Water your plants when the soil is dry. In case the plant becomes too large, you can clip the tendrils.
Areca palms (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)
It’s simpler to grow this tiny Madagascarian plant outside. However, if you have a room with plenty of brilliant filtered light, its gently arching leaves will be a lovely accent.
Plant maintenance: This thirsty plant requires a lot of water throughout its growing phase, but less during the winter.
Non-toxic: Neither cats nor dogs can be harmed by the tall plants or their leaves.
Benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, and other substances are eliminated.
Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
Mums, or florist’s chrysanthemums, are rated as the best air purifiers. They have been demonstrated to remove ammonia as well as common poisons.
Because this flower only blooms for roughly six weeks, reward yourself with a brand-new pot. Alternately, as new growth starts to show in the spring, fertilize the container once more. However, it won’t be able to filter the air without the flowers. You might want to just buy a new pot if you don’t want to wait.
Animal toxicity: Despite having a cute name, mums are poisonous to both cats and dogs.
Peace Lily for Peaceful Sleep (Spathiphyllum spp.)
The Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum spp.) is one of the greatest plants for your bedroom. What better plant to start with than one that has “peace in its name,” don’t you think? But in all seriousness, this NASA scientist powerhouse plant helps to filter out pollutants like benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde while also generating oxygen.
If that wasn’t enough, this plant also emits moisture that increases the humidity of a space by up to 5%. preventing the airborne bacteria that cause allergies and getting rid of the dry mouth and nose that could keep you up at night.
English Ivy: In a League of its Own (Hedera helix)
The adaptable houseplant Hedera helix, sometimes known as English ivy, can be cultivated in hanging baskets. Another NASA scientist is studying plants that purify the air. It works well for allergy sufferers who also need to sleep. An English Ivy plant reduced airborne fecal matter particles by an average of more than 94 percent over the course of 12 hours, according to a California research. Mold contamination in the air decreased by 78.5 percent.
Pets should not consume the plant, so keep it high in a corner and prune it sparingly. This Ivy League star does a great job of bringing some dazzling light and the odd spray of water to that dull part of the ceiling.
Say Your Prayers with the Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Prayer Tree The plant Maranta leuconeura sort of lives true to its name. The leaves appear to be saying a nocturnal prayer when they fold up at night. The best conditions for growing prayer plants are a room with dappled light and equally moist soil, about the consistency of a wrung-out dish sponge. They are among the greatest plants for your bedroom because of this.
They will assist in purifying the air of toxic gases and other pollutants, much like many other plants, and who doesn’t need a little additional prayer at night?
Areca Palm as a Bedroom Plant (Dypsis lutescens)
Areca PalmDypsis lutescens is a plant that is typically seen in office buildings and big box stores. This plant will be fine unless you have a tiny bedroom because it can grow to be rather enormous, up to 10 feet tall, but it is quite slow-growing.
Again, NASA opened the path for the discovery of this plant’s benefits for the bedroom, but it happened as they were examining another terrible phenomena that was soon connected to poor indoor air quality and was known as Sick Building Syndrome.
Since then, these palms have become a mainstay in treating conditions including allergies, asthma, headaches, and lack of concentration in people who work in these buildings. Imagine the advantages of experiencing at least some alleviation from such problems as you wake up.
Aloe Vera Has a Burning Desire for Sleep
One of my all-time favorite products is aloe vera. Except for too much water, it can withstand a lot of neglect. It could never be a bad thing to always have minor scratch or burn treatment on hand.
Aloe helps maintain your home free of benzene fumes, which are present in several household cleansers and paints, by producing oxygen at night. If that wasn’t enough of a reason to go out and buy a dozen of these plants, it has been claimed that they can also remove up to 90% of formaldehyde from the air, along with other dangerous germs and even dust.
Your aloe will be content if you give it as much bright light as you can, or even just a little dappled sunshine from the window.
Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata)
Tongue of the Mother-in-Law While having anything to do with a mother-in-law in the bedroom could be viewed negatively, Sansevieria trifasciata beats any MIL hands down. It is a very simple plant to take care of, can withstand a lot of abuse from external stimuli, emits oxygen at night, and removes many dangerous pollutants from the air.
It just need strong, diffused light, never direct sunshine. the infrequent sip of water since it is drought resistant. To get rid of any dust that collects on the long, thin leaves, it might be necessary to give it an occasional wipe down with a damp cloth. Read our plant care instructions.
How can I tell whether my prayer plant is content?
fresh growth During the spring and summer growing seasons, Maranta Leuconeura produces a lot of new growth, and the unfurling of a robust new leaf is a sign that your Maranta is happy.
Strong stems and richly hued leaves. Bold leaves with few brown or yellow marks should be present on this plant. Newly opened leaves will be lighter. The stems ought to be solid, not floppy.
shifting leaves. A Maranta in good health moves around a lot during the day. Try snapping photos of your plant at midday and again in the evening to compare if you’re having trouble determining whether the leaves are moving. The leaf locations between the two need to differ considerably.