Vibrant, moody, and colorful, the Lemon Lime Prayer Plant is one of the most popular houseplants on the market right now. And once you see one in person, it’s easy to see why. The dark green leaves are flecked with lime green veins, and the ground-cover plant loves to spread out and vine rapidly. Additionally, the leaves have a velvety sort of feel that I absolutely love! I swear it calms me a bit when I am feeling stressed.
While gorgeous, fun to feel and even more fun to look at, the Lemon Lime prayer plant can be a bit finicky. Keep reading these Lemon Lime Prayer Plant Care Guide tips for indoor gardeners to keep your plant healthy and thriving, no matter what.
Lemon Lime Prayer Plant Care Guide for Indoors
Sunlight
The Lemon Lime Prayer Plant (also known as a Maranta Lemon Lime) naturally grows on the dark forest floors of South America. Because of this, the plant doesn’t need much sunlight. In fact, I have found that it does several feet away from an East-facing window.
Watering
Problems with the Prayer Plant often begin when the plant isn’t watered correctly. It’s important that the plant stays consistently moist at all times, but not soaking.
Temperature/Humidity
Lemon Lime Prayer Plants love high humidity. Supplement with a humidifier, or a DIY pebble tray in order to maintain its need for humidity. However, it’s never a good idea to mist plant leaves to improve humidity, and this should be used as a last-resort measure.
\Additionally, this is a plant that truly thrives at room temperature—keep the plant around 68-75 degrees for best results.
Fertilizer
Fertilize your Prayer Plant at least once a month during the growing season. It enjoys Water Soluable fertilizers best (I love the Miracle-Gro one, or the one from Happy Happy Houseplant).
Prayer Plant Troubleshooting Tips
One of the most common problems are Prayer Plant leaves curling. Oftentimes, this is the result of underwatering. Prayer Plants like to be consistently moist, across every part of the soil. If this hasn’t happened, or a lag in watering has occurred, the Prayer Plant leaves almost always curl up. Giving it a good soak (and trimming off the curlers, I have never found that they bounced back) will help your plant recover in no time.
Prayer Plants are also ridiculously susceptible to Spider Mite infestations, if you are noticing that your Prayer Plant is consistently dropping leaves, or yellowing, inspect the plant for webbing and other signs of spider mites. Use dawn dish soap to get rid of the infestation.
