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cas · 04-03-2007, 12:49 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

"Dave Poole" wrote in message
ps.com...
Cas wrote:

I have recently brought a Peacock plant ,which has broad green and silver
stripy leaves about 18" high x 24 " across.I have put the pot into a
broad
planter 10"with some water in the bottom to give a moist atmosphere under
the leaves,the actual pot is above the small amount of water,and the
roots
do not touch the water level. Is this the right thing to do?

Due to the arbitrary way in which common names are applied, your
'peacock plant', could be one of several related (and to make things
worse) totally unrelated plants. That said it is almost certain to be
one of the Maranta family and it's odds-on that you have Calathea
makoyana. This is a tropical plant native to South America and most
commonly found in Brazil, where it is found in the shade and
occasionally dappled light on the forest floor. Humidity is
consistently high and temperatures rarely fluctuate so this gives you
an inkling of the conditions it prefers.

Your plant will greatly appreciate the additional humidity provided by
the water, but will quickly deteriorate if the compost remains
constantly sodden so you need to ensure that the roots never sit in
water. Small rounded tubers develop on the roots and these help
sustain the plant during brief periods of drought, but ideally you
should aim to keep the compost moist, allowing it dry out only
slightly between waterings. It's also a good idea to use boiled water
at room temperature rather than straight from the tap since many
Calatheas are somewhat sensitive to hard water and may be damaged to
long-term exposure to the chlorine/ fluoride additives.

Don't forget to feed you plant. It will need applications of dilute
liquid fertiliser about every 3 weeks from mid March - mid- October,
reducing to 6 - 8 week intervals at other times. Pure chemical based
feeds such as Phostrogen, Miracle-Grow etc are a bit too harsh and
over a period of time may result in a fatal build up of salts within
the compost. It is better to use a seaweed based feed such as
Maxicrop at half the recommended strength.

...it is in a
warm room 70C out of the direct sunlight,( when we get some)I have also
noticed that the plant tends to close up during the night and the leaves
open out during the day .why do plants do this, what is the evolutionary
reason for this behaviour.

The temperature is fine and and keeping it where there is bright,
filtered light is also OK. The leaves tend to assume the vertical
towards the end of the day because they are native to regions where
torrential rainfall later on is the norm. Leaves presenting a broad
flat plane to heavy rainfall in the tropics can be easily damaged, so
by altering their angle they can shed excess water quickly. It
doesn't just happen at night, it can also occur during prolonged heavy
rainfall at an time of the day.

HTH

... its blowing a gale down here on the south coast

Certainly is

Thanks David I seem to doing the right thing by the plant .I bought it at
BQ for £10 .Will it be ok to feed it on baby bio?

.I also have a Dieffenbachia of similar proportions which is doing well. I
placed them ether side of the T/V which gives a good view to any tropical
rainforest program I may be watching...cas