 Hi everyone, today we're going to be talking about the Calacía Musaica or the Network Plant. The name of this plant gives us a lot of information. First, we have Calacía. And this Calacía belongs to the Marantizaya family, which is a group of plants that are commonly known as the prayer plants. This is because their leaves go up during the night and then in the morning they open up. So they look like praying hands. Then we have Musaica and this is because of the patterns on the leaf. If you look at the leaf, it looks like it is made of very tiny mosaics. And hence we have the Calacía Musaica. Then we have the common name of the Network Plant. And this is also because of the patterns on the leaf. It is totally up to you, you can either see mosaics or a network or the matrix. Now, as I said about 30 seconds ago, this is a Calacía. And you may know that Calacías generally are pretty demanding. But I can tell you with this one, in my experience, it has been really easy to care for. So this is a Calacía but it's a little bit more easy going. So I think for me this Calacía is the gate to the world of Calacías if you are just beginning with your plant. And today I'm going to tell you how you can keep her happy and thriving at your place. So my friends, the Calacía Musaica comes from Brazil. This means that these plants will like temperate warm conditions. So in terms of temperature, I would recommend that you keep your Calacía at a stable temperature. And I think the best temperatures will be between 18 to 20-something degrees Celsius. So 25 or 27, but not higher than 30 and not lower than 18 degrees. Very cold or hot temperatures can be very damaging for her. So don't place her close to a heating vent, for example. Or close to a window that you're going to open and cold grass will come in. Because she will not be happy there. Since this is a Calacía it will thrive in high humidity. In my experience the Calacías are very happy in a humidity level that is 50 to 60%. So I would strongly recommend that you keep that level of humidity around your Calacía. And you can do this by placing her in a humidity tray or close to a humidifier. Another tip for high humidity is to put all of your Calacías together because they help each other with humidity levels. And never place your Calacía close to a heating vent because the air can be really dry there. This one is a little bit different to other Calacías in terms of sunlight. With my other Calacías like the Calacía Medallion or the Calacía Rufibarba they prefer to be in low light conditions. So I have them about 2 meters from a North facing window because we don't get so much sunlight there. But with this Calacía she will actually be happy with higher light conditions. The Musaica will need some sunlight to thrive. By no means direct sunlight because this will burn the leaves but she will be happy with bright indirect sunlight. So yes just provide a little bit more sunlight to this plant. In terms of water again this is a Calacía so we want to keep the soil moist but not wet. So with this one we don't want to let the soil dry out completely but we do want to let it dry just a little bit. So what I usually do to make sure that my Calacía is happy with water is that I check with my finger. Now I can tell you that I usually check maybe twice a week just to make sure but generally I water my Calacía every week. Now it's very important that you check because how often you water your Calacía will depend on where you are located in the planet, the humidity levels around your plant and maybe the air quality, the ventilation, so many things. So it's always good to check the soil before you water and I can tell you for me the season will also make a difference. So for example from spring to fall which is usually the growing season for the Calacía I generally water every week whereas in the winter when the Calacías are a little bit more dormant I'm gonna water less often. So yes my advice is that you always check the soil before you water. Now another very important thing when talking about watering our Calacías is that these plants tend to be sensitive to tap water. This is because depending on where you are the tap water will have some chemicals or salts and these may be too harsh on your plant. So what I usually recommend is that you filter your water. I do that myself and it has helped me keep my Calacías happy. Another way to prevent this is that if you're using tap water you can put it in a bucket and then leave the bucket on the side for about 24 to 48 hours and during this period some of the chemicals will evaporate so the water won't be so harsh on your plant. You can also use distilled water or rain water. But yes make sure to check the water and that it is not so harsh for your plant. Because we want to keep the soil moist but not wet a well draining potting mix is really good for your Calacías. I usually make my own potting mix and it has worked really well with my Calacías so I actually use coconut oil for moisture retention, pearlite or pumice. Lately I've been using more pumice and this is great for drainage and warm castings for nutrition. Now it is very important that you have pearlite or pumice in your potting mix so you have well draining soil. This will prevent the soil from being too wet and you will be able to keep it moist as your Calacías likes it. Another tip that I can give you about the potting mix and keeping it moist but not wet is related to the pots that you use. I strongly recommend that you get a pot that has drainage holes. This will make sure that the soil retains the water that it can retain but then the excess water will drain down through the drainage holes. For the Calacías I also prefer to use plastic pots instead of terracotta pots. Generally I like terracotta because it's more sustainable but for these plants terracotta can really absorb the water really quickly and then it's going to be harder for me to keep the soil moist whereas with plastic the soil keeps itself moist for a longer time which also works really well for these plants. My friends, I'm happy to tell you that this plant is not toxic for cats or dogs so you're safe for this one, this one is pet friendly. And if you want to learn more about the Calacía Musaica make sure to check out the playlist that I have prepared for you. In this playlist we're only going to be talking about the Musaica so I'm going to be talking about how to water her specific issues that you can find on this plant as well as other videos that can help you make her thrive and be happy at your place. And as always I will see you in the next one. Okay, ciao!