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Calathea Medallion – 7 Caring Tips and 3 Propagating Methods!

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Calathea Medallion is a perennial plant that belongs to the arrowroot family. Its homeland is in the northwestern part of Brazil. The plant is unusual for its colorful variegated leaves. 

The bright and effective coloring of the plant delights and attracts many people. It has a flower with wide oval-shaped plates, in the center of which a still light leaf is drawn that has a large number of pink and yellow veins and wavy white edges. This coloring looks very unusual and original. 

The leaves themselves grow in the form of tubules, which gradually unfold. Calathea Medallion is not very plentiful and spectacular. The only virtue of a flower is its leaves. Flower corollas are endowed with such value, and the seeds that form in them are collected for reproduction.

Calathea Medallion 1
Calathea Medallion – via Etsy

Calathea Medallion Care Tips

1.       Lighting

The plant needs sufficient light. The light should be clear and dim. It is necessary to shade the plant to avoid direct sunlight in the summer.

Sunburn spoils delicate leaves, covering their surface with brown spots. The lack of lighting can adversely affect the variegated color of the leaves, and they become uniformly green and lose all their decorative effect.

In winter, Calathea Medallion needs additional artificial lighting. Ordinary electric lamps are suitable for this, which will extend the daylight hours for the plant.

2.       Watering

Excess watering and lack of watering are very harmful to Calathea Medallion. Therefore, the measure should be observed.

In hot weather, watering is more plentiful and is done immediately when the topsoil dries out. In winter, watering is less often to about one time per week.

To prevent stagnation of moisture in the pot, it is necessary to plant the plant in loose soil. The plant should often be watered with warm settled water in the heat.

3.       Humidity

The plant must be provided with more than 70% air humidity or sprayed regularly. You can also place the Calathea Medallion pot in a pebble saucer filled with water just below the pot’s base.

4.       Soil

The best soil for Calathea Medallion is humus-enriched and loamy soil that retains water and has good drainage and breathability. Too heavy and acidic soil is often why the leaves of Calathea Medallion dry. 

Soil temperature must be constantly monitored. In the cold, it should not fall below 18-20 °C, in the warm season below 22 °C. Hypothermia of the root system is fraught with disease and subsequent death of the plant.

5.       Temperature

Bearing in mind that Calathea Medallion comes from the tropics of South America, we can talk about high temperatures when it is kept. The optimal value for summer is 24 to 25 °С.

In winter, 18 to 20 °C is enough. The plant does not like drafts and sudden temperature changes. Do not take it out to the balcony or garden, and in winter, make sure that there is no wind from the windows.

6.       Fertilizer

The correct mixture for feeding Calathea Medallion can be found in the store. A special need for nutrients occurs in a plant during the growing season. Such liquid mixtures are Agricolo Aqua, Bona Forte, and Pokon.

Follow the instructions that come with the fertilizer. Too much or too little nutrition is equally undesirable. The plant reacts poorly to such manipulations and can get sick. In autumn and winter, the Calathea Medallion feels great even without additives.

7.       Top dressing

Top dressing is carried out in April-August. For this, once every 15 days, a complex mineral fertilizer for decorative leafy plants is introduced into the substrate. Calathea Medallion should be fed with complex fertilizer for ornamental flowering houseplants.

Calathea Medallion 2
Calathea Medallion – via Etsy

Propagation methods

i. Propagation by dividing the bush

Calathea Medallion can be propagated by dividing the bush. To begin with, inspect the entire root system, then carefully divide it into separate sprouts that already have leaves.

For the first planting, a lightweight substrate is prepared from equal parts of sand and peat. The planted shoots are covered with a film or a jar to get a greenhouse effect. As soon as new leaves appear on the node, you can remove the coating.

ii. Propagation by leaf and cuttings

Propagation by cuttings and leaves is carried out according to the same principle. The parts taken are buried in sandy-peat soil when dividing a bush. Cover with transparent film or glass jar. Periodically water and ventilate. When the planted material takes root, the coating is removed.

iii. Propagation by seeds

If you have Calathea Medallion seeds, you can get new plants from them. Prepare a small rectangular container and fill it with soil. Lay the seeds on the surface and put a glass on top.

Occasionally ventilate and moisten the seed. As soon as you see that the seeds have begun to germinate, deepen them into the soil by 1 cm. Wait until you get vigorous seedlings that can be transferred to separate pots.

Pests and diseases

Sometimes, the leaves of Calathea Medallion are covered with brown spots. This can be caused by waterlogging of the soil or sunburn. The presence of dry edges on the leaves is caused by low humidity, irregular watering, or watering using hard water. 

Such dry leaves are cut off at the very base of the flower. If the edges of the leaves are a little dry, then you can cut them off, making sure that the pruning itself is done along the very edge of the living part of the leaf.

Calathea Medallion can be affected by spider mites. With these pests, the leaves turn pale, curl, and dry. To avoid this, it is recommended to regularly spray the plant, maintain high humidity, and regular hygiene. The appearance of whiteflies, mealybugs, and scale insects on the plant is infrequent.

If the light in the room is too bright, then the leaves dry, and their twisting is observed. The treatment, in this case, is because you need to place the flower in the back of the room. 

The same disease can also cause a draft. Likewise, the plant also has a general malaise, its general depression. This can be caused by high air humidity or too wet a substrate.


Conclusion

Calathea Medallion is a low plant from the arrowroot family, originating from the northwestern part of Brazil. Under suitable conditions, Calathea Medallion mainly grows healthy and strong. This explains their love for high humidity and a good amount of water.