Prayer Plants For Sale

Prayer Plants: Care & Buying Guide

Whether this is your first Marantaceae or your tenth, the guide below covers what actually separates each variety — leaf pattern, mature size, and how forgiving it is — so you can match a plant to the light and humidity you already have rather than the ones you wish you had.

Marantaceae is a family of roughly thirty genera of low, spreading plants from tropical forest floors. That nightly movement isn't the plant reaching for anything: at the base of each leaf stalk sits a hinge of water-filled cells called a pulvinus, and as light fades the cells shift pressure and the leaf swings up. Come morning it drops flat again. Some people can hear it — on a quiet night a mature Maranta rustles.

Our collection runs from the large-leaved Calathea Orbifolia to the classic Maranta Leuconeura. All of them are pet-safe plants that won't harm your cats or dogs.
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Benefits of Prayer Plants

Prayer Plants are popular houseplants that are easy to care for and can bring peace and serenity to any room. They are also visually dramatic and active. However, that’s not the only benefit of having a prayer plant in your home. Here are a few more reasons to go shopping for a prayer plant for sale:

A Modest Air-Quality Benefit — Honestly

You'll see it claimed everywhere that houseplants purify your air, usually citing NASA's 1989 Clean Air Study. That study was real, and it did find that potted plants stripped volatile organic compounds out of sealed test chambers. But a review published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology re-analyzed decades of that research and found the effect in an ordinary ventilated room is far smaller than the headlines suggested — you'd need hundreds of plants to match what your windows already do.

So here's the honest version: a Maranta is not an air purifier. What it will do is raise the humidity in its immediate corner, hold your attention, and quietly move twice a day. We think that's a better reason to own one anyway.
 

Adaptable and Resilient

Prayer plants can tolerate a range of light conditions. They do best when they get around 6 to 8 hours of bright, indirect sunlight. These beauties can also tolerate low-light conditions. 

Symbol of Gratitude and Good Luck

Thanks to their ‘praying’ leaves, prayer plants have a beautiful meaning and are often associated with gratitude. These tropical plants also have Feng Shui properties and can bring good luck and prosperity. 

Non-toxic to Humans and Pets

Prayer plants have been listed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) as non-toxic and pet-friendly plants.

Get to Know the Different Types of Prayer Plants​

Discover our collection's enchanting array of prayer plant varieties, each possessing its unique charm.

Calathea Cathedral Windows

• Distinctive traits: Stained glass appearance with green swipes of evergreen brushed on either side of the midrib against silvery-green leaves with deep purple undersides.

• Requirements: Calathea Cathedral Windows can grow up to 18 inches tall and do best in high-humidity areas.

Peacock Plant

• Distinctive traits: Watermelon colors of dark red on the bottom and variegated green and yellow on the top.

• Requirements: A medium-care plant, the Peacock Plant thrives in humid environments.

Maranta Red Prayer Plant

• Distinctive traits: Broad, oval leaves have two-color variegated spots with red veining on the top side and a reddish color on the bottom side

• Requirements: Regarding caring for a Maranta Red Prayer Plant, you’ll find it prefers to be pot-bound and should be in a fairly shallow pot due to its shallow root system.

Calathea Rattlesnake

• Distinctive traits: The leaves of these rare plants have distinctive markings of limelight green with darker brush strokes and burgundy underside.

• Requirements: Calathea Rattlesnake requires average humidity and medium to low indirect light.

Variety	Light	Humidity	Standout trait
Maranta Red Prayer Plant	Medium indirect	Moderate	Red veining on oval leaves; most forgiving of the group
Calathea Rattlesnake	Medium to low indirect	Average	Limelight green with dark brush strokes, burgundy underside
Peacock Plant	Medium indirect	High	Watermelon colouring — dark red beneath, variegated above

Calathea Medallion	Medium indirect	High	Round leaves, feathered silver-green pattern
Calathea Orbifolia	Bright indirect	High	Largest leaves in the collection; most demanding
Stromanthe Triostar	Bright indirect	High	Pink, cream and green variegation; no two leaves alike
Ctenanthe Setosa Grey Star	Medium indirect	Moderate	Silvery-grey leaves on tall, upright stems

Which Prayer Plants Are Right for Your Indoor Space?​

Considering the diverse options available, selecting the ideal prayer plant is an exciting endeavor. Tailor your choice based on the specific needs of your indoor space. Consider lighting conditions, available space, and lifestyle preferences for easy care. 

Prayer plants flourish as enchanting decor in various settings, from living rooms to offices. Don’t overlook the opportunity to extend their allure to exterior spaces, like porches or hanging pots, during summer. 

Explore the possibilities and find a prayer plant that seamlessly integrates with your unique style and surroundings. 

Prayer Plant Care & Growing Tips

All varieties or cultivars of prayer plants require more or less the same type of care. Here are some tips for caring for a prayer plant, whether you’re looking for a Calathea prayer plant or a Maranta prayer plant for growing indoors or outdoors. 

Prayer Plants: Watering 

Water when the top inch of soil is dry — usually about once a week, less in winter. The soil should stay evenly damp, never waterlogged and never bone dry. If you're unsure, underwater slightly: these recover from thirst far more readily than from sitting in water.

Light, Humidity, and Temperature 

Put them in indirect light — an east or north-facing window is ideal, or a few feet back from a brighter one. Direct sun scorches the leaves and washes out the variegation. Keep humidity at 50% or above; a humidifier or pebble tray does more good than misting, which evaporates in minutes. Hold temperatures between 65 and 80°F and keep them away from drafts, vents and radiators.

Soulful Soil, Feeding, and Propagation

Use a well-draining, peat- or coir-based potting soil, slightly acidic at around pH 6.0–6.5 — roughly two parts coir to one part perlite to one part potting mix. Feed with a balanced liquid fertilizer, diluted, every two to four weeks through the growing season, and stop in winter. Calathea appreciate slightly more frequent feeding than Maranta.

You can propagate them two ways depending on the variety. Maranta root readily from stem cuttings taken just below a node, in either water or moist soil — expect roots in two to six weeks. Calathea don't root from cuttings; divide them at the rhizome when you repot in spring.

Water Quality: Why Tap Water Causes Brown Tips

This is the single most common problem people have with this family, and it usually isn't a watering-schedule problem. Marantaceae are sensitive to the fluoride, chlorine and dissolved salts in most municipal tap water. Those minerals accumulate at the leaf margins, and the tips go crisp and brown from the edge inward.

Use distilled water, filtered water or collected rainwater. If tap water is your only option, leave it uncovered overnight so the chlorine can off-gas — though that won't touch the fluoride — and flush the pot thoroughly every couple of months to wash accumulated salts out of the soil. Brown tips that have already formed won't turn green again; trim them at an angle and judge the fix on the new growth.

Pruning and Cleaning 

Prune your prayer plants to manage its size and enhance its appearance. Regularly remove yellow or damaged leaves. Wipe the leaves gently with a damp cloth to keep them dust-free, ensuring optimal photosynthesis.

Prayer Plants: Common Problems

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Brown, crispy leaf tips	Tap water minerals, or humidity below 50%	Switch to filtered or distilled water; raise humidity
Yellowing leaves, mushy stems	Overwatering leading to root rot	Stop watering, check the roots, repot into fresh well-draining soil, trim anything soft or black
Leaves curling inward	Underwatering or dry air	Water more consistently; move away from heat sources

Faded, washed-out colour	Too much direct light	Move back from the window or add a sheer curtain
Fine webbing, stippled leaves	Spider mites — they thrive in dry air	Rinse the foliage, treat with insecticidal soap or neem, raise humidity
Dark patches with yellow halos	Fungal leaf spot from water sitting on foliage	Remove affected leaves, water at the soil, improve airflow

 

Prayer Plant FAQs

Where is the best place to put a prayer plant?

A spot with bright indirect light and humidity above 50% — an east-facing windowsill, a few feet back from a south or west window, or a bright bathroom. Keep it off direct sun, cold drafts and heating vents.

How often should prayer plants be watered?

Roughly once a week in spring and summer, less in winter. Go by the soil rather than the calendar: water when the top inch is dry, using filtered or distilled water.

Why do prayer plants go up at night?

It's called nyctinasty. A hinge of water-filled cells at the base of each leaf stalk — the pulvinus — changes pressure as light drops, swinging the leaf upward. It flattens again at dawn. The likeliest explanation is that folding up reduces overnight water loss and makes the plant a smaller target for pests.

How do you know if a prayer plant is happy?

It moves. A healthy Maranta visibly folds at night and opens by mid-morning, holds flat, evenly coloured leaves with no crisping at the tips, and pushes new growth from the centre through spring and summer.

What is the difference between a prayer plant and a Calathea?

Both are Marantaceae and both fold at night, so "prayer plant" is often used for the whole family. Strictly, prayer plant means Maranta leuconeura. Practically: Maranta trails and spreads low, tolerates less humidity, and roots from stem cuttings. Calathea grow more upright, want higher humidity, and can only be propagated by division.

How big do prayer plants get?

Most reach about 12 inches tall with a spread of 12 to 18 inches. Calathea Orbifolia and Calathea Warscewiczii get larger — up to about 2 to 3 feet.

Do prayer plants like to be root bound?

Maranta tolerate being slightly pot-bound and prefer a shallow pot, since their root system is shallow. Don't take it to extremes — repot every one to two years in spring, going up just one pot size.

Are prayer plants safe for cats and dogs?

Yes. The ASPCA lists prayer plants as non-toxic to both cats and dogs. Every variety in this collection is Marantaceae and carries the same rating.

Shop Prayer Plants From Lively Root

Every plant here is grown on a family farm, potted before it ships, and packed to arrive alive — not a bare-root cutting in a bag. You choose the pot and the size, and it turns up ready to sit where you want it.

If you're new to Marantaceae, start with a Maranta Red: it's the most forgiving of the family and it puts on the best nightly show. If you already know your way around humidity, the Calathea are where the interesting leaves are. Either way you get our happiness guarantee and a care card in the box.