About
Calathea 'Elger Grass' is a perennial plant that thrives as a houseplant. This evergreen species produces elongated, leathery leaves that are dark green on the top and have a purple hue underneath. The leaves feature unique wavy margins, and their behavior changes with the time of day: they extend outward during daylight hours and fold upright at night, revealing their purple undersides.
About the genus
Calathea consists of evergreen perennials that grow from rhizomes, creating clusters of elongated leaves with distinctive patterns. In cultivated settings, they rarely produce spikes of small flowers.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full shade, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Loam
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- East-facing, North-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H1A
Plant details
- Plant type
- Conservatory Greenhouse, Houseplants
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Height
- 0.5-1 metres
- Spread
- 0.5-1 metres
- Time to full height
- 2-5 years
- Suggested uses
- Houseplants, Sub-tropical
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow indoors in a peat-free houseplant compost with added perlite, in bright, indirect light. Water to keep the compost moist but not soggy, and apply a general liquid fertiliser monthly from spring to autumn. Provide high humidity by placing the container on a tray of moist gravel or pebbles. Reduce watering to a minimum in winter, and keep above 15°C. See Calathea cultivation for further information
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Propagate by division of clumps in late spring
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to aphids, glasshouse whitefly and glasshouse red spider mite
- Disease resistance
- Generally disease-free, but sun or overly bright light may cause leaf scorch and dry air may turn leaf edges brittle and brown