The Prayer Plant TIPS + TRICKS I Wish I'd Known Sooner 🌱 How To Grow Big, Healthy Marantas

[@mkurpis82]

Thanks for taking the time to share this info. I LOVE prayer plants, but I've killed 2 so far. I just bought 2 more and praying I can keep them alive with your advice!

[@Jacobkryn]

I dident want to get a maranta when I started growing plants but then I decided I would and was amazed by how easy it was for me grow it. I couldent see how anyone would struggle with it and I live in a very dry climate and water it with tap water so I am just amazed why mine grew so well

[@elainequirke3857]

Maranta are such cool plants, they look like they're painted

[@ibinamensch]

Claire let me help you with your "humidifier problem". Get a Xiaomi humidifier. Xiaomi humidifiers have a temperature and humidity sensor. So it turns on and off when the humidity has reached a certain percentage (can be set individually). I got the Xiaomi smart humidifier 2 and I am very happy with it. It's very affordable and super quiet. Oh and it also infirms you when you have to refill the water tank ✌️✌️✌️ PS I love your videos

[@ThatRandom2f]

O my gosh I’ve been looking for a new one, the last one I had was like that but it broke and they don’t make them anymore. Thanks.

[@ibinamensch]

@@ThatRandom2f You're welcome. I'm glad I can help :D

[@PantsAreScary]

Hey! Thanks for the recommendation! I see two options from google- one from Amazon for $89 and one from Ali express for $17... could you tell me which one you have? Edit: I should've looked a little harder before commenting. You are talking about the smart humidifier from Amazon! It looks awesome!

[@JuanellHopper]

I love my marantas. I have 3 different kinds. I love watching them grow because of the way they put out a new leaf. It looks like a little rolled up piece of paper. They're so pretty 😊

[@JessicaWhite-dj4hm]

oh my gosh i absolutely agree, this is my fav thing about marantas, calatheas do very similar things so i'd recommend a calathea if you don't have ome

[@JuanellHopper]

@@JessicaWhite-dj4hm I do have calatheas. I love them

[@frankw9836]

Every time I look for advice on plants , your channel pops up 1st ,I guess KZbin knows that I am in love with you Claire 😊

[@emmarantaceae]

Yes! This is my moment!! I love these plants--a plain little 5-inch maranta red was my first ever houseplant 3 years ago and inspired me to start caring for and collecting plants 💚

[@hannahbridger8797]

So cute that your scrunchie and maranta pot match!🧡

[@demidron.]

I stopped this video halfway through and went to Bunnings (hardware/homewares store) to buy the lemon lime Maranta I saw there yesterday. I already had the black one and the red-veined one and, from pictures, I kind of thought this one just looks like the red one without the red, but seeing it in person, those veins really pop. I had never seen one in person before and there was only one in amongst all the variegated rabbits foot ones and across from the red, black and regular rabbits foot ones. I nearly bought it yesterday but ended up getting a big Heliconia instead, but then this video came up in my feed and you're just holding this gorgeous plant the whole time, so I had to go and get it. I think I'm going to put all my marantas in semi-hydro at some point because I don't like the peaty soil they're in and I've had the red one go from completely fine to completely dead within a couple of weeks before and I think it's the soil. I love that you mentioned hearing the sounds of the leaves slipping over each other. I used to have marantas and calatheas on a windowsill behind my couch and I used to tell them to stop fighting when they got noisy in the evenings. 🤣

[@wandashaw3551]

Hi Claire, I had to let you know that I found and purchased a Begonia Sinbad!!! YIIIPPPEEEE. Thank you for introducing her to me. And on the Maranta, I love them, too and right now have 3 in my collection, and I do find them to be a bit challenging, but I have put 2 of mine in Pon and the other is in potting mix. Pon is winning right now!!

[@Lady_Philosophy]

Such a beatiful plant. Prayer plants were my first love too and I still have several. I keep them all in a self watering situation. Most in pon and a couple in very chunky potting mix with lots of coco husk and fir bark etc. They absolutely love it because as you say they like to be consistently moist and self watering systems accomplish that for them.

[@jw7122-x8z]

My mum is 85,she’s had her prayer plant for over 20 years,it sits directly in an outer pot with no drainage,it’s never had bugs or problems with the leaves or had fertiliser in it,it’s never even had soil change,and in her words she chucks a bit of water in it when she remembers! She wont let me even repot it in case it dies! How it’s survived all these years is beyond me!

[@frankarrastia8630]

First I would like to thank you for your dedication and sharing your journey with us I'm new at growing a green thumb sort a speaking..so my Q? Can I have my maranta red leaf grow on a moss pole ? I would love to see it grow in an upper dimension. Thank you .

[@Paula-sw2tt]

I have the varigated prayer plant, the lemon-lime and the silver band. All are growing like weeds and blooming. I didn't know about their susceptibility to mealie bugs, I will have to check closely for them. I use aquarium water conditioner for all my plants, since I also keep fish, this is easy to do.

[@Aawiss]

I was sad i'd just caught up on all your vids, and now i get a new video 🥳

[@JenLong-jo7nd]

Love this, thanks Claire! One thing I'd like to see included in plant care guides is "pot style." E.g. I've seen recommendations for low/wide pots for marantas, and tall/narrow pots for alocasias

[@plantswithkate]

Beautiful Maranta. Love mine. Also like how your hairband and the pot were colour coordinated! 😂

[@heathergreen6495]

Oh thank god I’m not the only one who has had mealy bugs in my prayer plant !! I was struggling and could not figure out what was going on !! They were in the stalks !! Sadly I lost that place t to them but I know check the stalks when checking the leaves over

[@becky9727]

Hard water has elements like calcium and magnesium at high levels. They are positively charged elements, so water softeners swap out a different cation(+ charge) for the Mg and Ca. The result is removal of the positive Mg and Ca and replacement of the positive charge with sodium (Na). Love your stuff! I'm a Science nerd teacher 😂

[@unfilthy]

Do you know if the same mechanism is used for fish tank water supplements? I know they have their own dedicated type of water conditioners (for whatever that means), and I doubt they'd just create a salty environment for fish that aren't salt water fish, right?

[@peacockandfig]

@@unfilthy water conditioners and water softeners aren't the same thing (and no, conditioners dechlorinate tap water and make it safe for fish to live in, they don't turn it into sea water). 😊

[@miguelinabnasr3719]

Thanks so much for providing the humidity and draft tips!!!! Have a prayer plant that hasn't been doing well, can only guess was in a draft-filled spot; but after your comment did a plant swap relocating it to a draft-free humid basement (90-95) and bringing up a philodendron; can only hope for the best!

[@annasflorafauna7133]

One of my favourite plants, ive passed so many cuttings on to friends and colleagues. Also Morrisons are selling lemon lime and silver band marantas for £5 each or 2 for £8. Thanks for sharing 🌿

[@natjoy22]

I have a water softener and my 175 plants (including several maranta) are, thankfully, perfectly fine! 💚

[@unfilthy]

I'm about to get my first ever Maranta. My mom used to have them when I was a kid and the nostalgia factor is huge with this one... I do wonder about using isopropyl alcohol for treating mealy bugs. What makes it better than other methods, and how is it used properly? Thanks for all the tips!

[@dora9368]

I love you and your plants 💞🌵 tfs

[@frankw9836]

Me 2 she has something special about her

[@jrviehland]

I've had mine for 3+yrs, one of my original 5 plants, when starting my collection.

[@2billferguson]

Thanks for the advice on mealy bugs. I've just ordered a bottle of ispropanol spray from Amazon. I'm thinking of spraying all the little crevices that you showed while holding the plant horizontal (so the liquid won't run down to the soil). Then after maybe 10 minutes, rinse it off with a water spray, keeping the plant horizontal. Does that sound like a reasonable way of treating? I'm pretty sure the pests are there: brown lesions on some leaves and tiny white specks that I can sometimes scrape off with a fingernail. And its getting more obvious, 2 weeks ago it was just one leaf now its 5 or 6 of the older leaves.

[@christinedefriend8782]

What do you recommend doing if your plant is getting leggy? It's a few years old and has a lot of propagated children, but the original plant has 7-8 main trailing groups of leaves but the top of the plant is all stems or nodes, I'm not sure the proper term. So if you look at the plant from the top there are few to no leaves, but spilling over the sides of the pot are beautiful full healthy groupings of leaves

[@TheVioletfire75]

I have the same issue! Seeking advice

[@PantsAreScary]

I have a very small prayer plant compared to yours, but have you considered trying to propagate some from the long bits and sticking it back into the soil? That way the smaller bits cover the leggy bits from the trailing bit of the plant?

[@Pobodys_nerfect_]

Omg I didn’t know that Marantas were related to Calatheas- if they’re a bit more hardy than calatheas then that makes sense because all my calatheas have died and my maranta is circling the drain… are there any symptoms of mealy bugs (aside from seeing them on the plant)? Thanks so much for sharing your advice and knowledge with us all! 💚

[@daisymehlig9540]

Hi!! I'm new to prayer plants and how to care for them. I grew a pretty big one from a single propagated leaf and it's been doing so well BUT I noticed a tan spot in the middle of the leaves on only some of them. It doesn't look like it's a humidity issue I was wondering if it was fungus? How can I help prevent it or treat it? Thank you!

[@redshoes1987]

Thanks for your videos. Question regarding semi hydro... How do you fertilise your plants with it? With the liquid gold leaf still? Im worried that the liquid gold leaf may need the organic matter in soil for the nutrients to be absorbed by the plant. Im not sure if that's correct or where ive got that from. I like the idea of pon very much but also like the results of fertilising with liquid gold leaf. Please help! What do you feed your pon based plants?

[@sanny141mateo7]

Love your videos! What kind of soil mix would be best for these plants?

[@AliDawn]

@TheJungleHaven. I love my mantra. I didn't knowbit could flower! What can I do to promote it to flower, or do I just need to leave it alone and stop taking cuttings from it 😂?

[@peacockandfig]

Could be the level of light, I've seen a few other people talking about calatheas and marantas flowering when they were in the "brighter" end of the light spectrum they can tolerate. 😊

[@annettem6505]

Thank you for this video. I have 3 marantas that I love and want to keep happy. I’ve never used pon, but I want to. I think I’ll make my own though. Any suggestions on that?

[@margotb3634]

My plant has been healthy, grows quickly and is now quite large and blooms nearly all the time. I’ve noticed several small leaves turning yellow recently. After this video I will be checking for pests. The pot it is currently in seems small for such a large plant and I’m so tempted to repot it. How do I know when it is time to do this?

[@tinapomfrey5412]

Prayer plants are my absolute favorite. I have Maranta, Calathea, Ctenanthe, Stromathe; you name it, I've got it. My green maranta is about 20 years old. Sadly, I had a bad outbreak of thrips this past winter and lost about ten of them, mostly Calathea, because, as you mentioned, they are quite difficult. I lost my white fusion, which really upset me, but it was a true drama queen and one of my greatest challenges. Other than pests, I have never really had a problem growing them.

[@canadiyank]

Mine has thrips right now. 😢 Last time they had them I lost my huge, favourite one.

[@tinapomfrey5412]

@@canadiyank , yeah, thrips suck; they are the kiss of death.

[@Catplanty]

I love marantas 😍 What I don’t get with all the plant people is how you don’t have mold all over the place? I’m genuinely asking bc mold starts to grow at 60% humidity. Rn my landlord is kind enough not to get my flat (and the whole house) dry so my humidity is between 65-80% (rather high than low) and I do have mold 🥲

[@amzyobrien98]

I feel you there! No one seems to talk about it or experience it for themselves but I've got loads of plants all in one flat and battle with mould in the winter. I don't notice so much in summer but the colder months are bad but I don't want to dehumidify the flat because it'll harm the plants🙄

[@Catplanty]

@@amzyobrien98 for me it’s spring and fall. When the air outside is high in humidity for a while, the walls of this house get wet and it needs a lot of heat or dry air for over a week to get to a humane level of humidity again 😕

[@ginagamel2412]

Hi Claire, perfect timing! I am struggling with mine, I am growing a few cutting in semi hydro but my red maranta keeps browning on me for some reason, lemon lime doing great! bought a big red maranta that I am considering moving to pon but I am terrified and not quite sure how to go about, any advice would begreatly appreciated! love your content!

[@KirstenSloan-m2w]

I have this exact plant and noticed it was damaged coming out of the soil. I have one leaf coming out of the soil that is healthy but the longer vine is damaged. I cut it and chopped off each leaf cluster below the node dipped in cinnamon and placed in water with a pothos and transcendia cutting for support. Is there anything else you would suggest?

[@DisturberOfThePeace]

Just got my first two of these. They’re doing ok. I don’t know how they close because when it goes super dark at night and lights are off they don’t seem to close. 🤔

[@debbiefrick4380]

I love my red maranta. New leaves are constantly unfurling and the plant is currently blooming. I am puzzled by the way multiple leaves (4 or 5) grow from each node, whether the stems are short or lanky. The leaves lay awkwardly and look like they are choking each other out. I prune the stems and prop nodes with all leaves attached. My current props produced several roots each in 3 days. Everything seems healthy but the plant just looks too compact and awkward. Is that normal to have that many leaves at one node?

[@riahawkins7181]

Hope you lovely can advise. I have a silver band and all the new growth is coming through really small. Well watered and well draining mix and kept not directly under but close to a grow light. Any suggestions? T.I.A

[@canadiyank]

My silver band is doing this, too!

[@demidron.]

Regarding watering, the main danger with using houseplants is if you're watering INTO the pot and never THROUGH the pot, and it's easy to do this when you have "evenly moist" in your mind because you might tend to think that tiny amounts of water regularly would be better, such as spraying the surface layer whenever it dries out. That is a very good way to keep soil evenly moist, but it brings a big problem if you're not using distilled water. Minerals in your tap water go into the soil and then the water evaporates. The minerals do not evaporate so they build up in higher and higher concentrations. To avoid this, you should flush water right through the pot every so often so that these soluable minerals can also exit the system.

[@ricardo1wils]

Mine has really long aerial roots. 10cm + long ones and then some have just randomly curled upwards at the ends of the roots and put new tiny leaves out. I presume in its natural habitat that is how it spreads and establishes new plants across a rainforest floor. Edit: mentioning because when researching I haven’t found much on aerial roots for this plant. I never even knew it grew them. Is it rare?

[@ixa.m9915]

Hw do u not get mold..specially in u.k weather where houses r so prone to mold nd having tropical plantz requiring high humidity

[@SparklinYoga]

I have 2 marantas, lemon lime and silver band. I put both in pon (they were doing great in soil), one got very happy the other one is still unhappy and lost quite some leaves :(

[@mormshaw]

I love all my Marantas. I had a tragedy the other day where the main stem of my lemon lime snapped due to the weight of all the leaves. Lost half the plant. Trying to propagate a bunch from the snapped off section.

[@debbiefrick4380]

I snapped off almost a whole long stem of my red maranta about 9 months ago. Cut the stem at the nodes and it propped nicely.

[@hannahbridger8797]

Was hoping you would cover soil

[@HighPlainsDrifter_2024]

New subscriber. Hi Claire Im having trouble with my maranta prayer plant. It keeps sacrificing a leaf i believe. And wont stop. Its my 2nd time owning one. HELP. lol P.S. it hasnt sprouted any white flowers yet. 4 months now. Repoted with miracle grow dirt cause outside soil turned to clay so i bought a $7 bag at home depot. 1st time i owned one i never had any problems. After 4 years it sprouted the little white flowers and surprised me. Any help or tips are appreciated.

[@HighPlainsDrifter_2024]

Isopropyl alcohol'd the sus mealy bug i think. Used Qtip and dab'd the sus white spots. Fingers crossed. Scraped top of soil moldy spots roots look good. I will get a spray bottle to mist the leaves, i believe i did that with my 1st plant.

[@PantsAreScary]

SOS! Everytime I try to propagate it doesn't produce roots and dies! I am cutting below a node, putting it in water, and it just dies.. I've even tried propagating one of the Ariel roots in water and in soil and neither works! What could I be doing wrong? The mother plant is very happy, consistently putting out two leaves at a time. I don't have a humidifier, but I live in a place that is naturally humid. Going into the winter though I plan on getting a humidifier because I know it can get a bit less humid inside because of the heater going.. but anyways why does my propagation keep failing?

[@ematrill3008]

what fertiliser for the prayer plant

[@TheJungleHaven]

I use LGL (linked in the description of this video) 💚

[@elizabethestrada8268]

Im growing mine in water only…How do i transfer it to soil without killing it?

[@gardenfullofcolour]

Love love love marantas but I somehow always managed to kill mine... I feel selfwatering system would be an answer

[@Eddi.M.]

I have got three marantas, a fascinator tricolor, a kerkoviana, and an amabilis mint. They all are growing new leaves like weed and are flowering busily, but the fascinator tricolor never puts the leaves up, but rather has droopy leaves. Does anybody know if that is normal?

[@karinkunz7979]

Where does the "old" plant continue growing after you cut off a propagation?

[@debbiefrick4380]

I keep my old plant where it was. My biggest problem with my red maranta is when I try to move it -- even gradually. I put a prop back in to fill the top and gave away a little pot of the other props.

[@christhedoll]

I had one of those lemon limes that I loved to death, I just could not leave it alone. I have a red one now that is thriving.

[@loisito6189]

I just chop mine and not doing well in water. We have a heat wave in California.

[@meredithdavis5167]

I think I'll try one in semi-hydro. Next time I need to give her a trim, I'll plunk it in water so it'll be happy to keep growing in Pon later on. Great video, Claire 💚 I appreciated how color conscious you were. Also, your nails look amazing. I often find nails distracting, but yours flow to the right length with a classic curved end. You're always elegant, even when you're edgy or cute.

[@rebeccaparis6470]

💚💚💚

[@sydneyf9530]

Mine is blooming right now too! 😊 love my maranta have some props going to make it fuller

[@plantsinparadise]

I have the same Maranta plant, and it's beautiful.

[@FreakUsOut]

Mine sadly recently passed onto plant heaven 😭

[@daxnkira1]

Also prone to fungus gnats which are a nightmare.

[@TheJungleHaven]

Nematodes will be your best friend!

[@lovesyorkies3395]

Knock on wood, I’ve never had a mealy bug or spider mites on my maranta. I just found mealy bugs on a Hoya, not a bad infestation but it got dunked in insecticidal soap!

[@BrianRoberson-k7g]

I'm glad that woman know how grow the maranta for years I have although overlooked actually like time so should more.

[@tude17]

As a general rule, I never use distilled water for any of my plants, other than my carnivorous plants...it's literally pure water, it has no nutrients left in it whatsoever...spring water/rain water is a better option

[@HighPlainsDrifter_2024]

I use distilled water but i add miracle grow plant food. The blue stuff. I used tap water cause iam having issues thinking no nutrients and it got mold.

[@tubegoob1]

💚🪴🍃

[@PeteBemmer]

* acclimatise ☺

[@shaagarey469]

Babble, Babble, Babble, Loves to hear herself ramble …turned it off after four minutes because she couldn’t get to a point 🥵