How Often Should I Water My Prayer Plant?

Prayer plants, also called prayer hands, belong to the family of Marantaceae. Prayer plants have a deep pink pattern in their plants which has attracted many people. Usually, these variants can be found in Brazil, but soon, scientists and researchers made it a house plant. The green leaves filled with pink colored veins look pleasant in all the weather. In this write-up you’ll know about watering prayer plant.

The Marantaceae family is filled with variants of praying plants, and because of this reason, these plants are called praying plants. Tall variants of these plants can be found in central and south America, and it also has some variants around the jungles of Brazil. Prayer plants can grow well in temperate regions and is also grown by many people as a house plant.

Interestingly, these plants tend to drop their leaves downwards in evening times, which will look like praying hands. Prayer plants can be grown indoors, and some plants can also be grown outdoors but only in the USA because of climatic conditions.

The most common prayer plant has green leaves with a pink color vein in them. About 40 -50 varieties of Marantaceae is found, and the most commonly used house plant is the prayer plant. The change of shape in this plant has made many people like and purchase this variant.

This plant enhances the look of your room and improves the quality of air by spreading some pleasant smell in the room. This low growing green perennial spreads vegetative with rhizomes. This plant has brown spots on both the sides of its leaves, but soon it turns into an emerald green plant and moshes green as well. Mosh green colour gives this plant an appealing look.

The ornamental varieties of this plant have some red colored vein, which is developed to reach commercial markets. A mixture of colors makes this plant a perfect fit for window sills, cupboards and mantles where there is a need for a color splash. Maintaining a prayer plant is not a hectic task, but it needs patience and focus, which means it should have some attention to maintain its color and texture.

Also Read: Why Is My String of Pearls Plant Dying?

Watering this plant once a week will keep it alive and moist; like other plants, even the prayer plant must not be flooded with water because this can spoil the complete look of this plant by making them over moist and sometimes this will make your plant die.

So now people may doubt the quantity and timing for watering this plant. Continue reading this article till the end to know more interesting facts and details about a prayer plant.

How Often Should I Water My Prayer Plant?

Generally, these plants can be watered every week, but an important fact that needs to be noticed is that these plants are not drought-friendly, so pay some attention to maintain and obtain better results. Water every week in moderate climates and cold climates, but never leave this plant to bone dry because this can kill your plant completely. Watering this plant does not have a specific time, but people can have an eye on the soil, so if it is dry, you can fill the pot with some water and allow your soil to absorb it.

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Some plants will die suddenly without showing any signs of weakness, but prayer-plants can show some signs of dryness and weakness, allowing the owners to rectify the problem as soon as possible. Some signs will help people to water their prayer plant, which is as follow:

  • Dropping of leaves is the early sign which people should notice and water the solid immediately.
  • Curling and dullness in the color of leaves is also a symptom of dryness so watering the plants regularly will keep your plant fresh and cool.
  • Some problems also include pests: which means these pests will eat the leaves completely and kill your plant after some time.
  • Overwatering your plant will make your soil extremely moist, and if it continues for a certain period, it will make your plant rotten, which means the complete system will collapse, and it will make your plant die soon.
  • If you wish to maintain your plant in perfect condition, then pay attention to the mild symptoms and messages your plant tries to convey to you by noticing every day; this will allow you to find the problem and rectify it before things go wrong.

Also Read: Why My ZZ Plant Leaves Turning Yellow?

Bottom Watering Prayer Plant

To bottom water a prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura), follow these steps:

  1. Choose a Container: Select a shallow container larger than the plant’s pot.
  2. Fill with Water: Fill the container with about an inch of water. Use distilled or filtered water to avoid chlorine and fluoride.
  3. Place the Pot: Set the plant pot in the water-filled container, ensuring the bottom is submerged.
  4. Wait: Allow the plant to sit for 15-20 minutes, letting the soil absorb water through the drainage holes.
  5. Drain Excess Water: Remove the pot and let any excess water drain away before placing it back in its saucer.

Bottom watering helps ensure even moisture distribution and encourages healthy root growth.

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Over dryness and excessive moisture both destroy a plant, so never leave your plant to suffer in both these extreme situations. Some plants will require time to water, but prayer plants should be watered at regular intervals, which mean the solid must have a little moisture while you water it.

Prayer plants owners must always remember that the watering cycle is completely dependent on the pot’s size or container’s capacity.

So if it is a big pot, people can prefer to spray the water all over the plant and soil, which allows your plant to grow uniformly. This method can be followed for pots with bigger sizes; if you have a small pot, then water it twice, which means watering a small pot twice is equal to watering a big pot once because a big pot can store some moisture in it.

Watering the plant in the same location will make your plant grow well in one location, but it weakens other plant parts because of water scarcity. Some may place a pipe to water the plants, which is very bad for the plant’s health.

Most experts and plant lovers suggest people have a moisture meter to have a look at the moisture because moisture levels are unpredictable, and people must stress themselves to find whether there is moisture content or not. So having a moisture meter will indicate the low moisture content, making owners water their plant instantly.

Using a moisture meter is simple; people can just insert the moisture meter in the soil, and it will show the results in a fraction of seconds. A needle present in the moisture meter will indicate whether the soil is wet, moisture or dry; this moisture meter acts as a stress reliever for many people by showing the right results.

But if people wish their plant to have a healthy life, they can water it when the soil has little moisture because leaving it to dry will make the plant suffer a lot. Remember one thing just like humans; even plants can also struggle and suffer without water humans can get it themselves but a plant, especially a plant in a private house, needs the help and support of that owner to intake water at the right time.

Prayer plants have thin and soft leaves that can never tolerate dehydration. Most plants can recover themselves from dehydration if watered again, but this variant can never do that. Sometimes people may travel, or people might forget to water their plant, and after some days, they may be in a situation of losing their plant, but in general, people can save their prayer plant even in that situation. Some of the tips to recovery prayer-plants has been mentioned below.

  • If your plant is really dry and loses a lot of leaves, they can just start taking care of the plant by cutting the dead leaves; as mentioned earlier, the dead leaves in this variant can never be recovered. People can cut those leaves and try to recover the other parts of the plant.
  • Water your plant to gain some energy and allow the plant to grow some fresh leaves.

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An added advantage of a prayer plant is that even a plant with lots of injuries can be recovered by providing sufficient care, so never lose hope in your plant until it’s completely dead. Sometimes appearance may trick you into taking a wrong decision because a plant with a very bad condition will have healthy roots.

Plants in this situation can be saved easily, and people should have some patience to recover their plants. Cutting this plant’s damaged parts and leaves will allow your plant to regenerate energy and grow new leaves. Brown and crispy leaves are also a sign of damage, so people can also cut these leaves to allow the plant to grow some new leaves.

Bottom Line

People may have several plants, or some may also have a garden, but each plant has its individuality and needs. Caring your plants according to the need will help them to stay healthy forever. For example, some plants may need less water, but this variant needs a lot of water to survive. Leaving your prayer plant to bone dry will make them lose the texture and color of the plant.

If you maintain this plant perfectly, then the color and texture will make you grow more prayer plants. Understanding the needs of your plant will allow you to have a positive impact in return. I hope this article has provided the required information regarding the prayer plant! Thank you for reading this article.