 Hi everybody and welcome back to Plants and Lucia. My name is Lucia and this right here is Nebra. Today we talk about the beautiful Maranta Leuco Neura. Okay, coming up. Whether you are coming back or this is your first time in this channel, thank you so much for being with me and watching this video. I am a plant beginner and I learn about my houseplants every day. So this channel is to share with you what I learn. So if you want to learn how to take care of your houseplants, how to display them or even how to connect with them, make sure to subscribe so you can see each other every week and talk about plants. But now let's get to the video. This beautiful plant right here was actually named after the Italian physicist and botanist Bartolomeo Maranta and is actually commonly known as the Maranta prayer plant. This is because her leaves actually stay flat during the day and fold up like praying hands during the night. It's really beautiful. She usually grows up to 12 inches tall and has leaves that are 6 inches long. The leaves of this plant are beautiful you guys. The one that we have at home actually has very dark green in the background and then in the center is almost a lime green color. And then it has very beautiful pink veins that really pop out. It's really beautiful. The Marantas are very popular houseplants. They tend to be very particular about what they like. So let's see how you can keep yours very happy at your house. In terms of temperature, the Maranta plant really likes household normal temperatures. So keep her in a room that is between 15 to 26 degrees Celsius. Lower temperatures may damage the leaves. This plant loves humidity. You can increase humidity by putting her with other tropical plants. They tend to really help each other out with humidity levels. Another way to increase humidity is to put her close to a humidifier or on top of a humidity tray. In terms of light, the Maranta plant really likes indirect sunlight. Do not put her in direct sunlight because this will squash the leaves and you will notice that they will start to fade in color. And in winter, just try to provide bright indirect sunlight. This will maintain some kind of growth. In terms of water, we want to maintain the soil moist at all times and not let it dry out too much. The way that I check if my plant needs water is with my finger. I put my finger inside the soil until the second knuckle. And once I feel that the soil is drying out, then I water. This tends to be every week. And remember, we want to keep the soil moist but not wet. If you see that your plant has yellow and droopy leaves, this may mean that you're over watering or under watering. So again, make sure to check the soil and make sure that it is not wet the moist and not too dry. And of course, I love to use the bottom watering method with this plant. You may know that I love this method because it really helps me get the water into the roots from below. And once I'm done, I can let the water drain down through the drainage holes. So the soil is moist but not wet. You will notice that in the winter, the soil is going to take longer to dry out. So cut back in water. For my Maranta, I actually use the general houseplant potting mix that I make at home. And she seems to be very happy. The recipe that I use is seven parts of coconut choir, two parts of perlite, and two parts of worm castings. Since we want to maintain the soil moist but not wet, drainage is very important for this plant. So you can actually increase drainage by adding perlite to your potting mix or pommes. Another way to make sure that you have proper drainage is to add some rocks to the bottom of the pot. And make sure to always have a pot with drainage holes. This really helps prevent over watering your plants. In the growing season, I'm actually fertilizing this plant pretty much every time we water. This is because we use an organic fertilizer. And this tends to be less concentrated than the synthetic fertilizers. But of course, read the instructions on your fertilizer so you make sure not to over fertilize your plant. Too much fertilizer can actually burn the roots. And you will notice that your plant is not happy because you will start noticing browning of the leaves. And in winter, as your plant is going into dormancy, go back on fertilizer. This is the fertilizer that we're using this year. It's really good because it's actually organic and vegan. And it has proven to be really good for our plants. So if you want to check it out, I have a link in the description down below so you can find it. Plants grow slower, you need to repot them very often. If your plant is root pound or pot pound, you will notice slower growth. And this can be a good sign that your plant needs repotting. When you do repot your plant, make sure that the newer pot is only one to two sizes bigger than the previous pot. That way, your plant will not suffer so much shock to the new environment. And it also helps to prevent over watering. And the prairie plant is very easy to propagate. In fact, you can propagate it in two ways. With cuttings in water and by division. We're actually propagating this plant at this moment and it's growing really well. If you want to learn about these two methods of propagation, I actually made a video about them. And I also talked about another method that you can use for other plants. And this plant was the star in that video. So make sure to check it out. Okay, my dear friends, these are some of the tips that I can give you about these beautiful plants. Do you have a maranta at home? How do you take care of it? Make sure to comment below so we can all learn together. If you would like to be part of this community, you're always welcome. So make sure to subscribe so we can see each other every week and talk about plants. And as always, I will see you in the next video. Okay, ciao!