With the advent of spring, most lovers of indoor flowers renew their "garden", preparing it for a time of intense growth and flowering. Some also think about expanding the assortment - acquiring new plants that will decorate their window sills in the future and will please with unusual colors, shapes and nuances of care (it is so nice to take care of green pets). Such enthusiasts should definitely pay attention to the galatea plant - the flower is unusual, beautiful and attractive.
Origin and appearance
The family of arrowroots pleases flower growers with their "offspring" for a long time. Among them are Kerkhoven, and masange, and the arrowroot themselves, which have become habitual inhabitants of our apartments. Galatea also belongs to the same family - a capricious flower, not too light in content, but clearly worth it to be taken care of.
Like other representatives of arrowroot, it comes from the South American tropics. An adult plant grows to a height of 80 cm, and in some cases a meter. Especially attractive is the color of the leaves. Typically, flower growers choose species with variegated leaves, on which stains, spots and stripes can be yellow, red, and almost brown. But even pure green varieties are by no means monotonous: the edges and streaks of the plate are always of a different, lighter shade than the main background. Thanks to this, galatea is always a smart flower. And large leaves (thirty centimeters in length) make it also very catchy. In addition, they have an interesting feature: they rise in the evening, almost folding together, and again diverge in the morning.
By the way, our usual name is actually not too correct. If you follow the transcription from Latin, the plant should rather be called calathea.
The most sought after species
In nature, this plant has more than 130 species, but not all are suitable for indoor maintenance. The most common painted galatea, a flower with light veins and a marginal stripe against a dark leaf background.
Also, saffron subspecies are often bred at home - the only one that blooms at home. This plant has dark green leaves with a slight brown sheen and a purple underside. The flowers are red-orange, in order for them to appear, in October-December they put a calathea in a room where artificial light never turns on.
Correct content
As already mentioned, the plant is quite finicky. First of all, it is thermophilic, since it nevertheless comes from the tropics. In order for your flower galatea to survive in winter, care should first of all consist in maintaining the temperature not lower than 18 degrees. Even minor drafts and a sudden change in temperature are also contraindicated to her. At the same time, the plant loves moisture and requires regular spraying. Therefore, experienced flower growers are advised to place it, for example, in an aquarium, if you do not have a greenhouse. But the best recommendation is to buy a humidifier, then the plant will feel great on the windowsill.
Lighting for calathea needs moderate. If the place is very shaded - the leaves lose their color saturation, stains merge with the general background. If there is too much sun, they turn brown and get burns.
A flower needs a lot of water in the warm months, and in the winter - average. Although he does not clearly have a rest period, watering in the cold is still reduced.
Spring worries
Each year, the calathea should be transplanted into a slightly larger pot. You can buy finished land for arrowroot, you can make it yourself. In the latter case, the soil mixture will consist of leaf, peat, humus and coniferous earth in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1 plus a little sand. It will be useful for the plant to add some charcoal to the prepared soil.
If you want to share your treasure with friends, planting is also carried out in the spring. Division of rhizomes - the procedure is not too complicated, just do not forget to sprinkle the slices with charcoal. The first seven weeks should be watered gradually and carefully so that damaged roots do not rot.
If you do everything without errors, give the plant a little attention and tenderness, your galeatea flowers (the photo shows this clearly) will delight your eyes and your guests. And quite a long time!