Maranta Tri-color ("prayer plant") - rules of care at home

Amateur flower growers know that many of their green pets are from the warm tropics. This includes the ornamental plant of Maranta tri-color. The photo shows how unusual and attractive it is. Its flowers are small and inconspicuous, but they have a special beauty with shiny light or dark green oval leaves, with a contrasting coloring. Their upper, the front side is permeated with red veins around which spots spread (depending on the variety they may be brown, yellow or black), and the lower part - purple. In height, the plant reaches 25-30 centimeters, its homeland is the tropics of Brazil.

The second name, which has a three-colored Marantha - "prayer plant," she deserved it thanks to the leaves that rise and fold, like palms, during the night. The flower refers to creeping species and fits perfectly into decorative compositions with other plants. He can decorate the room, if it is placed in suspended flowerpots.

Thermophilic Maranta tri-color, care for her - appropriate. In the room where the flower is located, the constant temperature should be kept within eighteen to twenty degrees, without sudden fluctuations. The room must not have drafts. The plant does not tolerate direct light, so a guest from the tropics should be placed in the penumbra. In the sun, the leaves can whiten.

He loves wet peaty soil of Maranth tri-color. "Prayer plant" at the same time can not be poured. The soil for the flower is made up of the following ingredients: leafy earth, humus and coniferous. A useful additive will be charcoal, river sand and pieces of bark.

It is necessary to spray it in the summer hot season. If there is insufficient irrigation, the leaves can begin to be wrapped in the arrowroot. To maintain soil moisture, the pot must be placed on a pallet with expanded clay or pebbles, which should be regularly wetted. The rhizome of a green tropical pet should be covered with moist moss. In the winter, watering is moderate, because at this time a rest period sets in for the flower.

In the feeding of Maranta, the trichromatic ("prayer plant") needs from the beginning of spring to October. Fertilizers should be chosen not rich in nitrogen, otherwise the leaves can acquire a more saturated green color and lose decorativeness. Due to the overabundance of this element, diseases can also develop.

To grow this beautiful flower you can by dividing the bush or cuttings. Layers should be kept in the ground, in a warm place, covered with a film, until they take root. An adult plant can reproduce with the help of "children", which are formed on air roots. The transplant is carried out every year in the spring. In this case, you need to choose a new pot wider than the previous, but not deep.

Often, the three-colored Marantha ("prayer plant") is affected by pests, among which is a spider's red mite. Signs of his appearance of a web, which the flower interlocks. Signs of activity of the scab are brown plaques, which cover the leaves and stems. In this case, the plant must be treated with a soap solution or sprayed with special means from parasites.