Maranta leuconeura ‘Lemon Lime’ — red-veined leaves with a lime feather pattern that rise and fold every evening. A low, spreading plant for a hanging basket, with the same humidity habits as calathea.
The maranta is the plant that gave the whole prayer-plant family its name: every evening the oval, boldly patterned leaves fold upward like hands, and every morning they open flat again. ‘Lemon Lime’ is the brightest form, with lime-green feathering along the veins on a darker green leaf and red undersides. It grows low and spreading rather than upright, so it suits a hanging basket or a wide, shallow pot on a shelf.
Care is calathea care: humidity, filtered water, bright shade and no vents. It is slightly more forgiving than a calathea and recovers faster from a lapse. The rest of the bench is on our Houseplants page.
This is the prayer plant we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
Oval leaves with a lime-green feather pattern along red veins, deep green between, red-purple beneath. Low and spreading to about a foot tall and wider. Bright indirect light, humidity, filtered water.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Medium to bright indirect light: a north window, a few feet from an east window, or filtered south light. The pattern is strongest in bright shade and fades in a dim room; direct sun through glass bleaches and scorches it. If the leaves stop folding at night, it usually wants more light.
Marantas want 50 percent humidity or more. In an Arizona house that means a pebble tray, grouping with other plants, a humidifier, or a bathroom or kitchen window — and staying out of the airflow from vents. Crisp brown edges and tips are the dry-air complaint. The monsoon months are the easy season.
Spider mites in dry air — rinse the leaves in the shower every couple of weeks and treat early with insecticidal soap. Trim brown edges with scissors and remove spent leaves at the base. Cut back leggy stems in spring; the cuttings root in water.
Water when the top half-inch to inch of mix is dry — every four to six days in summer indoors, weekly in winter — with filtered, distilled or rain water at room temperature. Hard tap water browns the leaf edges. Keep it evenly moist but never sitting in water; a light, well-draining mix in a basket with drainage.
A peat- or coir-based mix with perlite in a shallow, wide pot or basket; marantas root shallowly and spread sideways. Repot or divide every two years in spring. Feed a balanced liquid fertilizer at quarter strength every three to four weeks from March through September.
Non-toxic to cats and dogs. Outdoors, deep shade and still air on a covered patio in the mild months only; it cannot take sun, wind, summer heat or cold nights, and most people keep it indoors year-round here.
Yellowing, spots, no new growth — snap a photo of the plant and its window and we’ll diagnose it at the bench. Advice is free.
We stock indoor potting mix, orchid bark and perlite for the chunky blends aroids and epiphytes want, balanced houseplant fertilizers, insecticidal soap and neem for the usual mealybug and mite visits, and moss poles, hoops and saucers. The pottery yard has terracotta, glazed and lightweight pots from 4-inch up, plus hanging baskets and cache pots.
Dry air and hard water, the same as calathea. Raise the humidity, move it away from vents, and water with filtered or distilled water.
Yes — marantas are non-toxic to pets.
When the top half-inch to inch is dry — every four to six days in summer indoors, weekly in winter. Keep it evenly moist with filtered water.
Usually too little light, sometimes thirst. Move it to brighter indirect light and check the soil. The movement resumes within a few days once it is comfortable.
Bright indirect light or bright shade — a north window or a few feet from an east one. No direct sun.
Only on a covered, fully shaded patio in spring or fall. It is an indoor plant in Queen Creek.
Prayer Plant live on the houseplant bench; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.