{"product_id":"zebra-plant-calathea-zebrina","title":"Zebra Plant - Calathea zebrina","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Zebra Plant is the calathea with texture as well as pattern. Run a hand over a leaf and the upper surface feels like velvet, and that soft nap makes the bright lime ground and the dark green bars running out from the midrib look deeper than any glossy leaf can. Undersides often carry a reddish purple flush. Calathea zebrina is also one of the larger calatheas, a clump of long, upright oval leaves on tall stalks that fills a floor pot and, in a sheltered subtropical garden, holds its own as a foliage plant beneath trees.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe common name causes confusion: zebra plant is also used for Aphelandra squarrosa, a glossy leaved shrub with white veins and yellow flower spikes, and for some striped haworthias. All three need quite different care, so check the botanical name on any advice you follow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eRoom to spread, shelter from wind\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAllow it width. A mature clump spreads well beyond the rim of its pot, and leaves pushed against a wall or a curtain crease and brown where they touch. Indoors that means a floor position in bright, indirect light, back from the glass and out of a busy walkway, since the velvet marks and scuffs where it is handled. Outdoors, in frost free coastal gardens from northern New South Wales north, it can go in the ground under a canopy, in deep shade to dappled light, in soil built up with compost and kept mulched. Wind is the main enemy there: the big leaves tear and fray, so a courtyard or a bed on the lee side of a building suits it far better than an open lawn edge. Gentle morning sun is tolerated, but hot afternoon sun yellows the lime ground and washes out the stripes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eReading a rolled leaf\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRead the leaves before reaching for the watering can. A Zebra Plant rolls its blades inward along the midrib when the mix is drying out or the room air is too dry, and they open flat again once the problem is fixed, so the rolling is the early warning that comes before any brown edge. Water thoroughly when the top few centimetres of mix are dry, let it drain fully, and ease off through winter when growth slows. In a pot, use a mix that holds moisture but still drains, with some bark or perlite through it, because a soggy root zone in a cool room leads to rot and yellowing lower leaves. In the garden, a thick layer of leaf mulch does the job of holding moisture through summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow it compares, and keeping the velvet clean\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAgainst the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/peacock-plant-calathea-makoyana\"\u003ePeacock Plant\u003c\/a\u003e, the Zebra Plant is bigger, bolder and softer to the touch, a plant for the floor or a garden bed rather than a shelf. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/calathea-lutea\"\u003eCalathea lutea\u003c\/a\u003e is larger again and plain leaved, grown for height rather than markings. More shade foliage for courtyards and covered outdoor rooms is in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/tropical-plants\"\u003eTropical Plants\u003c\/a\u003e. Never use leaf shine on the velvet surface. Dust it off with a soft dry brush, or stand the pot under a gentle lukewarm shower every few months. A slow release fertiliser scattered over the mix in early spring covers the feeding for the season. Mealybug is the pest that hides on this one, as white cottony tufts where the leaf stalks meet the clump; dab them off with a cotton bud dipped in methylated spirits. When the clump fills its pot, divide it in spring into sections that each keep several stems and their own roots. A chewed leaf is a cosmetic loss rather than an emergency, since Calathea zebrina is not considered poisonous to cats or dogs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 300mm, at $99.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67672086249841,"sku":null,"price":99.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/zebra-plant-calathea-zebrina.jpg?v=1791524060","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/zebra-plant-calathea-zebrina","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}