Peacock Plant
BOTANICAL SUPER POWERS
Medium to Bright Indirect
The orientation of your window defines where to put your plant so it gets medium to bright indirect sunlight. If your window faces
North, place your plant between 0 and 1 ft away from it.
East or West, put it 1 to 5 ft away.
South, place it between 1 to 10 ft away, as sunlight from the South is the strongest.
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Plant story
The Calathea makes the perfect gift for new beginnings: the plant turns over its leaves when it gets dark, reminding us of the expression ‘to turn over a new leaf.’ In the Amazon, the Calathea is used as a roof covering, to weave baskets, and even as medicine. It also comes in a variety that gives flowers. This one is a real gem for its air-purifying properties, too. There are many varieties of Calathea, and they’re usually recognized by their upright stack and boldly marked, oblong leaves. The Calathea makoyana is referred to as the Peacock Plant because of the bold and contrasting shapes found on its leaves.
Place of origin
Eastern Brazil

Calathea
This plant comes in different varieties.
Care for your Peacock Plant like a pro!
Check out it’s personal CARE CARD
Accessories
Houseplant starter kit
Light
MEDIUM TO BRIGHT INDIRECT
Check the direction of your window, then put your plant within the range suggested below.
Within any given range, aim to place the plant as close to the window as possible.
North:
EAST/WEST:
SOUTH:
Water
HEAVY DRINKER
Check the moisture of the soil 1/week and water only when 1/2" of the topsoil is dry.
DISLIKES
Sitting in water
Air
Tropical to subtropical
Aim to provide the air conditions your plant would find in its natural habitat.
TEMPERATURE
18-24°C65-75°F
HUMIDITY
HIGH
Mist daily
Use humidifier
Soil
HEAVY EATER
Use liquid fertilizer as indicated below from March to September.
FREQUENCY
monthly
NPK FORMULA
10-10-2005
DISLIKES
Fertilizing in winter and fall months
Care for your Peacock Plant like a pro!
Light
Peacock Plant needs MEDIUM TO BRIGHT INDIRECT.
To place your plant in the perfect spot, let’s start with understanding how much light it needs and how much light your place gets. To figure this out, you need to find the direction of your window and measure how far the plant is from it. First, using the compass or map on your phone, see what direction your window faces: North, East, West, or South. Here’s what you need to remember:
- South-facing windows make for the brightest spots, then East- and West-facing, and then North-facing.
- If the window is in between two directions, use the least sunny direction as a base.
- Each window has an optimal proximity range. Here’s where to put your Peacock Plant, based on the direction of your window:
- within 1ft away from North window;
- within 5ft away from East or West window;
- between 1-10ft away from South window;
Within this range, the closer your plant is to the window, the more light photons it gets, and the better it thrives.
Note: This is a general guideline. Each place is unique, and you know yours best. Is the window view obstructed by the trees and a highrise? Is there a sheer curtain? If so, less light is coming in. Move your plant closer!
Still not sure if your Peacock Plant will be thriving in the spot you picked?
Another simple way to define brightness levels is by measuring the intensity of the shadow. That’s particularly helpful if the view is somewhat obstructed and it’s hard to estimate how much light actually sneaks in. Place a sheet of paper on the spot where you’d like to grow a plant. Hold your hand about 1 foot (30cm) above the paper. Now, what do you see?
Peacock Plant needs Medium to Bright Indirect.
Water
Peacock Plant is a HEAVY DRINKER.
Check your plant regularly, but only water it when it’s thirsty.
Every plant needs a period of drying for the oxygen to get to its roots. Overwatering damages your plant by preventing that process from happening. So how can you know how much water your
Peacock Plant needs? The ideal watering frequency depends on the plant’s drinking habits and how fast the soil dries out in your unique indoor space, so it would be misleading to recommend a fixed schedule. To best meet your plant’s water needs, monitor it, and watch for the signs it’s thirsty.
Here’s how the how to:
Once a week before giving your plant a drink, check the moisture level in the pot by dipping your finger a couple of inches into the soil.
Heavy Drinkers need to be watered when 1/2′ of the topsoil is dry.
The dislikes of Your Peacock Plant When It Comes To Water
- Your Peacock Plant doesn’t like it when its roots are left sitting in water. They would start to rot and that would irreversibly damage your plant.
What to do: Make sure you always discard the drenched water from the pot or saucer after watering.
Air
Peacock Plant comes from a Tropical to subtropical climate. Aim to provide the air conditions it would find in its natural habitat. At all times, maintain a comfortable room temperature of 65-75°F,18-24°C.
Peacock Plant thrives in high humidity (40-50%). It tolerates normal humidity (30-40%), but if the humidity is low (less than 30%), you may notice the foliage getting thin and dry on the edges. You can easily rectify that by misting it daily or using a humidifier.
Soil
To provide your Peacock Plant with the right nutrients, fertilize it from March to September.
It’s a HEAVY eater plant. As a rule of thumb, it should be fertilized once a month.
Liquid fertilizer with NPK formula 10-10-5 (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium) works best for it.
Otherwise, you can use all-purpose indoor plant fertilizer.
Never fertilize your plant during the winter or fall months. It goes through winter dormancy and its appetite naturally slows down.