Calathea zebrina is a southeastern Brazilian native also known as the Zebra Plant from the zebra-like stripes of light green color encompassing the otherwise dark green leaves, making this a beautiful plant with a striking contrast. These intricately patterned leaves have deep, reddish-purple undersides. In time, this variety can grow over 3’ tall and over 2’ wide with large, elliptical leaves reaching up to 18” long or more.

Calatheas are moderate to fast growing members of the Marantaceae family that are native to the tropical Americas. They come in many different varieties and are highly prized for their exotic, unique patterned foliage - often considered some of the most beautiful in the world! They should be planted in a well-drained soil mix but kept moist (not saturated) at all times. They require moderately low lighting to full shade and there should never be standing water on the leaves. Bright lighting will damage the leaves and fade the color. These plants need stable temperatures, preferably above 60 degrees, as they are highly sensitive to cold drafts and other temperature fluctuations.

USDA Hardiness Zone 11-12

Container Gardens/Terrariums/Houseplant:

Calatheas will do well in a container garden, terrarium or as a houseplant as it prefers low light and is easy to care for. Since they prefer humid conditions, they may suffer from leaf curl if humidity levels become too low. To remedy this, you can place the plant and pot on a tray of pebbles with water to increase the ambient humidity around the plant.

Josh's Frogs offers a wide variety of glass terrariums, container garden soils, drainage layers and other supplies for all of your indoor gardening needs.

Vivariums/Animal Terrariums:

Calatheas can be a great choice for vivarium use. Their leaves can make a great perch and provide shelter for your vivarium inhabitants to create potential egg laying spots for a variety of poison dart frogs. They should be planted in the substrate and will grow quite tall, so keep this in mind when planting it in your tropical vivarium. Remember that this plant requires low to moderate light and may drop leaves if lighting is too intense. Although this variety can grow to a fairly large size, at the size we sell them at, they will last for quite some time before needing to be removed from the tank.

As good practice, Josh's Frogs recommends washing all plants thoroughly removing as much soil as possible with dechlorinated water before placing them in their final home. Live plants from Josh's Frogs are treated only with products that are OMRI Listed© for use in organic production. Live plants may vary in color, size and appearance.

ALL PLANTS ARE SHIPPED IN POTS WITH SOIL OR OTHER MEDIA UNLESS IT IS DEEMED NECESSARY TO SHIP BARE ROOT

The plant pictured is in a 2.25" pot.