Korbmarante: location, planting & care

A special houseplant is the Korbmarante, which comes from the humid Neotropic and is often named after its botanical name Calathea, referred to as. How to plant and care for them, read here.

The basket marante is particularly impressive because of its striking leaves (Calathea) and becomes an eye-catcher for every living room. Read with us who the tropical beauty is, how she feels comfortable in our part of the world and how to properly care for her.

Korbmarante: origin and characteristics

The basket marante is one of the most beautiful green plants that you can have in the house

Calathea). The exotic plant belongs to the arrowroot family (Marantaceae) and originally comes from the tropical parts of America, especially from the humid Neotropic. We can cultivate it as a houseplant - also in combination with other tropical plants.

The conspicuous leaves of the perennial herbaceous plant usually adorn unusual patterns at a young age. The contrast between the lush green leaves and the often white shades is typical. With age, the patterns fade and the leaves turn a uniform green. The underside of the leaves is purple in some varieties. The shape of the leaves varies depending on the variety and species. The foliage can be elongated, pointed, ovoid or rounded.
Basket maroons differ in size depending on the type: For example, Calathea orbifolia up to 100 cm high, while the Calathea lancifolia ‘Insigne’ is only about 60 cm tall. Calathea species stop growing once their individual height is reached.

Another special feature of the basket marante is that its leaves roll up or stand up at night and unfold again in the morning at the start of the day. It adapts to the light conditions and regulates photosynthesis.
The basket marante flowers only very rarely when it is kept as a houseplant. This is mainly due to the suboptimal climatic conditions. In its tropical home it forms yellow flower spikes in January or February.

Planting Calathea

The basket marante is a plant that is very sensitive to its location and its environmental conditions. It is therefore important to orientate yourself towards their natural habitat in the tropics.

The right location for the Calathea

The basket marante grows mainly on the shady soil of the tropical forests and therefore prefers light, partially shaded locations in the house. Direct sunlight should be avoided, as too much sun can damage the leaves that look like "burns". A high level of humidity like in the tropics is necessary for healthy growth, otherwise brown necrosis, i.e. dying tissue on the edges or tips of the leaves, can occur. Cold drafts should also be avoided. The ideal temperature is around 20 to 24 ° C during the vegetation in summer and around 18 ° C in winter. You should avoid temperatures below 15 ° C, as the basket rim is sensitive to low temperatures.

Which soil is suitable for the calathea?

A high-quality, loose green plant soil can be used for the basket margin. For example, ours is suitable Plantura organic universal soil good, because it offers a suitable soil pH value and a generous supply of nutrients for the plants and protects the environment through its sustainable, peat-free production. In addition, around 30% expanded clay can be added to the earth to make it permanently looser. Since the Korbmarante is extremely sensitive to too wet soils, the soil should be well drained. A layer of expanded clay at the bottom of the pot is a good idea - excess water can then simply drain away.

tip: Small amounts of coniferous litter, primary rock flour or bark mulch can be added to lower the pH value - as a plant of the primeval forest, the Korbmarante loves acidic soils.

Planting Calathea: step by step

Since the basket margin develops shallow roots, a flat, wide pot is better than a tall one. This also has the positive effect that more water evaporates from the soil due to the larger pot surface and the humidity in the immediate vicinity of the plant is slightly increased. As an original tropical plant, the Korbmarante particularly appreciates this. When choosing a pot, it is important to use a pot with large holes to allow for good water drainage. Then the basket margin can be placed in the pot and covered with earth. The plant should not be covered with more soil than it was used to in the previous planter. After pressing the soil, it is important to water the plant well.

Maintain Calathea

The basket marante is a demanding plant because of its tropical origin. But if you adapt the environmental conditions to their needs, they will grow up healthy and strong. Caring for the basket margin also includes wiping the leaves regularly with a damp cloth to remove dust. Caution is advised, however, because the leaves do not recover from injuries caused by kinking.

Water the Calathea

An even supply of water to the basket margin is crucial for its healthy growth - for this it should be watered once or twice a week from April to October. At the latest when the leaves become limp or curl up during the day, this is an indicator that there is a lack of water. Watering should be reduced during the winter dormancy from November to March in order to avoid root rot due to excessive moisture. Low-calcium water, such as rainwater or mineral water, is best. The mostly very calcareous tap water could influence the pH value of the soil. In addition to supplying the roots with water, it is also important for the basket margin to spray the leaves regularly. This corresponds more to the climate of their tropical origin and prevents the leaf tips from drying out.

Fertilize Calathea properly

The nutrient requirement of the basket marante is low compared to other green plants. It is sufficient to fertilize the plant with a liquid fertilizer every three to four weeks during the growing season and in this way to replenish the nutrient reserves of the soil. Above all, giving it via the irrigation water has the advantage that the nutrients pass quickly into the soil solution and so very quickly reach all parts of the plant in order to be able to supply them. A fertilizer like ours is suitable for this Plantura organic indoor and green plant fertilizer especially good, which also contains microorganisms that can support the root growth of the basket margin. During the hibernation from November to March you should not fertilize the basket margin.

Cut calathea

When cutting the basket margin, it is sufficient to regularly cut off old, dry or diseased leaves. The plant can also be checked for pest infestation at the same time. Another cut is not necessary.

At a glance: Frequent care mistakes with the basket marante

• Watering too much: soil is too wet; can lead to root rot and fungal attack, which often shows up in withered leaves.
• Too little watering: leaves begin to curl up (attention, risk of confusion: Calathea adjusts its leaves at night open or roll it up - this is normal and does not indicate a lack of water), it can dry out the plant to lead.
• Wrong location: plant gets too little light; the pattern of the leaves fades, the plant grows little.
• Wrong location: plant is in direct sun; brown leaf damage ("burns") occur.
• Wrong location: too cold; Plant hardly grows, no new leaves are formed, leaf yellowing occurs.
• Humidity too low: the plant gets brown leaf tips and edges.

Repot the Calathea

The basket margin should be repotted after two years at the latest because the old pot will be too small. The best time to do this is in spring, before the vegetation phase begins again. The new pot should not be too big, otherwise the soil with no roots will get too wet and rot can occur. When the plant has been removed from the old pot and the old soil has been carefully tapped, the roots should be examined for brown and rotten spots. If necessary, you should cut these out immediately to prevent further spread.

Wintering of the Calathea

The basket margin can be overwintered without any problems. Bright, cool rooms that are little heated in winter, but also do not cool down, are suitable for this. For example, the work or guest room or a bright stairwell are suitable. The ideal temperature is around 18 ° C, but should not drop below 15 ° C. During the winter dormancy, the basket marante should continue to be watered little, the root ball must not dry out. The finger test helps to check the moisture. Fertilization is not necessary in winter. At the beginning of vegetation in April, you can then bring the basket marante back to its old location.

Propagate Calathea

The basket margin can be increased by dividing the mother plant. The best time for this is also spring when the plants are repotted. In order to gain an offshoot, you should repot the mother plants and free them from the old earth. The bulbous roots should then be divided so that two to seven leaves are combined to form a new plant. It is important that all new plants have enough roots to grow again. The plant pots can then be filled with soil and the basket margins gently pressed on. Green plant soil is again suitable here - like ours, for example Plantura organic universal soilto create ideal growth conditions for the young plants. Finally, the plants should be well watered and brought into a bright, warm room. This promotes root formation.

Growing from seeds is also possible with the Korbmarante, but more complex. A small pot should be filled with potting soil for this. You can use our Plantura organic herb and seed compost use. The basket maranten seeds can then be placed on the substrate and covered with soil about 2 mm thick. Generous pouring creates a moist germination climate. To create a warm and humid environment, the pot can finally be put in a mini greenhouse, a Ziplock bags or something similar placed in a warm place - for example on the windowsill - be set up. Occasional ventilation of the greenhouse prevents mold growth.

Is the basket marante poisonous?

The basket margin is not poisonous. The leaves are used in large parts of Brazil and Colombia for the transport of food. The leaf stalks can be used to weave baskets - that is also the origin of the name of the basket marants. In pets, consumption of the leaves can cause vomiting, but fortunately no other dangers are known.

Common diseases and pests of the calathea

If the location of the basket marants is too dry, it can lead to an infestation with Spider mites (Tetranychidae) come. However, this can be prevented by regularly spraying the plants with water, since the spider mites do not like high humidity. In addition to spider mites, you can too Scale insects (Coccoidae) damage the plant. The undersides of the leaves should be checked regularly, as this is where they like to hide. In the tropical homeland, caterpillars of the banana moth (Caligo eurilochus) become a problem, but not in our part of the world.

In addition to pests, it is also possible that the basket margin is attacked by fungal diseases. These spread especially when the root ball has been too wet for too long. Waterlogging can also lead to root rot, which weakens and damages the plant. Both can be prevented by good drainage and well-controlled watering.

Do you have a bright space in your apartment for a basket marante? Here is a list of the most beautiful Calathea species and varieties.