Want to know something fascinating about Calathea Medallion? They can open and close their leaves in response to morning and night. If you listen closely, you’ll even hear the rustling whenever they awake to the call of sunlight.
It’s no wonder we find this prayer plant in many homes as a lovely ornament. Many would love to purchase pots of Calathea Medallions. The downside is the plant can be quite expensive.
The good news is: it’s easy to propagate and the process is a lot of fun! In this guide, you’ll find the ideal way of how to propagate Calathea Medallion.
Steps to Propagate Calathea Medallion: The Division Method
The Calathea Veitchiana, most commonly known as Calathea Medallion, is a native plant to the Brazilian rainforest that grows many leaves.
For a clumping plant, we recommend propagation through a division method. It’s arguably the most effective propagation method to help the Calathea flourish.
A good time to start is in early springtime—when the sunny months can provide adequate light that your plant needs to grow.
Here’s how you can do the division method:
Step 1: Carefully Remove Your Calathea Medallion From Its Pot
Before removing your plant, water it beforehand and leave it to dry for an hour. Afterward, carefully disentangle any tied-up roots emerging from the drainage holes. We don’t want to break the roots as we’re uprooting them from the pot.
Then, gently pull out your plant, ensuring not to rip any delicate leaves or stem during the process.
Step 2: Clear Away The Soil From The Roots
Shake off the excess compost and soil from the roots by running your fingers through the tangled root system. Doing this will create a natural division you can use to separate the clump smoothly.
Step 3: Divide Your Calathea Into Sections
Now that you’ve cleaned and untangled the roots, gently separate the leaves, based on the natural division, by using your hands.
If your roots have become a ball of tight mass, try using a sharp knife or pruning scissors to cut the roots into sections. Remember to cut each section evenly, providing a healthy amount of roots for each division.
Step 4: Transfer The Clumps to a Pot of Soil or Water
You can now transfer the roots to a new pot of fresh soil, with drainage holes at the bottom. First, let’s put your mother plant back into the pot and refill it with potting compost.
Do the same for your readied pots, then plant the roots snugly inside. Ensure you’ve planted your Calatheas at a height similar to its previous container. This lets the roots grow healthily under the soil.
In some cases, you may notice a few roots looking too small or looking a bit damaged during the separation process. Don’t worry because they’re not a lost cause! Simply place them in water to let the roots mature, then transfer them into a pot of fresh soil once they’ve grown.
Tips
- Remember to keep your young Calathea out of direct sunlight
- We recommend placing them in a bright and humid environment with temperatures of 60°F to 70°F
- Water regularly to keep them happy!
What Are the Different Ways to Propagate the Calathea Medallion?
There are other ways of propagating your Calathea aside from the division of roots method. Below, we introduce to you water propagation and seed propagation. Keep in mind, water propagation isn’t the ideal method, while seed propagation offers a fair challenge.
Regardless, you might find these methods suit you better, so let’s learn each one!
Method 1: Propagating Calathea Medallion From Seed
If you have a green thumb and are looking for other ways to propagate your Calathea Medallion, then seed cultivation is the way to go.
Once you have your seeds on hand, we encourage following the steps below for successful seed propagation!
- Ready a small pot or propagation tray, and cover it with a potting mix or a combination of peat and coarse sand with a ratio of 1:1.
- Moisten the soil you’ll use by watering it thoroughly, then plant the Calathea seeds about 0.5-1 cm deep.
- Use plastic to cover the pot or a propagation lid for the tray to help increase the humidity.
- Place the pot or tray in a bright, humid location away from direct sunlight, and water regularly.
- You can carefully transfer the young plants to new individual pots once they’ve grown to about 3 to 4 cm in height.
Method 2: Propagating Calathea Medallion in Water
The second method involves placing your leaf cluster in water. Yes, the Calathea can live and grow in water; however, aquatic environments aren’t well-suited for prayer plants.
As we’ve mentioned, you can use water propagation to let small roots grow in the division method—but that’s as far as we recommend. Keeping it solely in water will make your calathea unhappy and it won’t thrive.
Propagation in water isn’t a popular option, but there’s a way to do it while providing enough nutrients for your calathea. Here’s how:
- Separate a clump after doing the division method
- Ready a clean vase with water to put your Calathea plant in
- Add a drop of fertilizer and place your plant inside
- Remember to change its water weekly with fertilizer now and then
Can I Propagate Calathea Medallion From Leaf?
We highly discourage propagating Calathea from leaf cutting. This clumping plant doesn’t have any stem and the leaves—as beautiful and healthy as they might look—don’t have cells and capacity for root growth.
How Long Does It Take To Propagate Calathea Medallion?
It takes about two to four weeks for your young calathea to adjust and settle in their new pot.
They’ll be taking time to recover from the shock of being separated from their mother plant and soon learn to grow on their own.
Propagating Your Calathea Medallion
There are many ways to propagate Calathea Medallion. You can do this by a division of roots, seed propagation, and water propagation. Remembering to care for your young plant is equally important after the process is over.
At the end of the road, you’ll have a new, fully-grown Calathea Medallion as an addition to your plant family!
