Prayer Plants

[Leigh]

Was thinking of trying these outside this Summer as a sort of Tropical under planting.

Anyone tried these got any tip's

At £3-4 at most of the Shed's i know there not that much to lose but by the time you've bought enough to make a show im not gonna upset the better Half, losing more Plants

[Dave Brown]

I have used them.... Maranta I think they are. They are dead easy to propagate.... just cutting the stems and rooting in water and it grows a replacement shoot in the pot. I used to plant in clumps of 3 to 5 plants in shaded areas. Propagate all spring to give you enough plants to plant out.

Hopelessly non hardy so dig up and bring into a frost free place in autumn.

[DaveP]

The best cultivar (although non-hardy in all but the mildest regions) is probably Ctenanthe pilosa 'Golden Mosaic'. Happily, it is one of the commonest and often offered in the 'sheds' amongst the 'prayer plants'. It has tall, leafy, cane-like growths and leaves boldly splashed yellow. Sometimes this is classed as C. lubbersiana, but that species is a far more delicate, smaller plant with slightly glaucous leaves marbled and veined pale yellow.

'Golden Mosaic' will do reasonably well in a very sheltered, lightly shaded spot out of doors and continues growing when temps dip as low as 8C albeit rather slowly. When temperatures approach 0C the top growth is lost and the plant behaves as an herbaceous perennial, which may (or most likely) may not return the following summer. Perfect drainage and winter lows rarely dipping to 0C might help, but I've only managed it a couple of times here.

Next in terms of cold tolerance is C. oppenheimiana 'Tricolor' although it stops altogether when temps drop below 10C and is thoroughly miserable at 5C. It can overwinter at just above freezing if kept moderately dry, but will take an age to resume growth. In a sheltered lightly shaded spot however, it will do reasonably well out of doors for the summer. It is also quite frequently offered by the 'sheds' and along with 'Golden Mosaic' makes a handsome, relatively easily grown pot plant for a bright spot indoors.

Marantas and Calatheas are the main-stream 'prayer plants' on offer requiring quite humid, moderately warm conditions to do well and rarely thrive outside in a typical garden, even during the warmest weather. If you can find a position protected from any wind, that is humid with dappled shade, they can make some growth for 2 or 3 months in summer. As soon as night temperatures drop to 10C however, they must be brought indoors to prevent damage that will take a long time to grow out, if at all.

[shed]

I planted out a Stromanthe sanguinea a couple of years back. It did surprisingly well and one plant was bold enough to make a decent impression looking out from the back door. 3 would look great, I must try it again sometime. Unsurprisingly it was totally fried by the first frost.

[musa_monkey]

They also grow very well indoors over winter.
I just split my singular plant into eight seperate plants.
Already given a few away to friends. Very easy to prop as well.

[Dave Brown]

Marantas and Calatheas are the main-stream 'prayer plants' on offer requiring quite humid, moderately warm conditions to do well and rarely thrive outside in a typical garden, even during the warmest weather. If you can find a position protected from any wind, that is humid with dappled shade, they can make some growth for 2 or 3 months in summer. As soon as night temperatures drop to 10C however, they must be brought indoors to prevent damage that will take a long time to grow out, if at all.

mmmm..... Some Calatheas are a pig I admit, others seem reasonably happy outside. Maranta I have had no such problems with although my summer max temps are probably higher than yours. I have not grown them for a couple of years, but when I did, I dug them out in October and overwintered at about 5C, using the tops as cuttings. They seemed quite happy as summer bedding just in a shady site

[Leigh]

Thank's for the replies and tip's Guy's, I Picked up a couple of Ctenanthe Oppenhelms yesterday from one the sheds clearence lines, about 3ft tall with about 25 stems each and leaves about a foot long and although they are a bit tatty both have plenty of of new growth and at £2 each almost felt i was robbing them but they should fill a gap for the summer

Only other question i have about these type plants is about pest's, do the Slug's 'n' Snail's like them as i got plenty of them far to many for the Frogs to keep up with fat gits

[DaveP]

mmmm..... Some Calatheas are a pig I admit, others seem reasonably happy outside. Maranta I have had no such problems with although my summer max temps are probably higher than yours.

I've not had problems with them as such, but they are not the easy to grow in most areas of the country, even as temporary summer bedding. The key with them is not so much high day-time temperatures, but good average temperatures with relatively warm nights and good humidity/protection from drying winds, which we get. No extreme heat by day, but we stay warmer at night, which seems to suit many tropicals.

I found M. leuconeura erythroneura to be moderately successful although it burned to a crisp in 2003, but regrew from the tubers by early autumn. M. arundinacea (the plain, green leaved 'arrow-root') is possibly the hardiest and survived outside here for several years, sandwiched between clumps of 'nana's. It resented increased competition from encroaching roots and gradually faded away.

Of the Calatheas, the cultivar 'Medallion' appears to be the easiest and most tolerant. They are often cheaply available from the 'sheds' and I tried one outside for the summer about 3 or 4 years ago. I should point out that it is very sheltered and humidity builds quickly within the garden walls and given shade, 'Medallion' grew away as happily outside (for the summer) as it does in. I couldn't recommend it for anywhere with low night time temperatures and modest humidity though. Fresh 'bracing' air is not what these plants need.

I have not grown them for a couple of years, but when I did, I dug them out in October and overwintered at about 5C, using the tops as cuttings. They seemed quite happy as summer bedding just in a shady site

I'm afraid I'm getting far too lazy to take things up for the autumn