Houseplant · Marantaceae

Calathea Medallion

Goeppertia roseopicta

Give it soft water, warm air, and steady humidity, and the rounded medallion leaves open out to show their full painted pattern.

Light

Bright indirect

Warmth

61–⁠75°F · 16–⁠24°C

Hardiness

USDA 11–⁠12

Mature size

12–⁠18 in · 30–⁠46 cm

Pet-safe
Calathea Medallion

Overview

The Calathea Medallion takes its name from broad, rounded leaves that look hand-painted, with lime-green feathering brushed over a darker base and a deep burgundy face turned underneath. It sits in the prayer plant family and traces back to the South American rainforests, growing in the warm, shaded layer below the canopy. As the light fades each evening the leaves draw upward and close like a pair of pressed hands, a daily movement known as nyctinasty.

This is foliage that asks for a watchful hand. It carries a demanding rating for plain reasons: it wants warmth, even moisture, a humid pocket of air, and water cleared of the fluoride and chlorine most taps deliver. Meet those and the leaves stay full and deeply colored. Miss them and the plant answers quickly, usually with brown, crisp leaf edges that fray the painted rim.

It keeps a small frame, rising only to about knee height, and adds leaves slowly, so it settles onto a shelf, a desk, or a humid bathroom with enough light. Keep it clear of direct sun, which sears the surface and fades the medallion to a flat pale. Earn the right spot and the foliage holds a pattern few other houseplants come near.

Care

The short version: bright indirect light, never direct sun, with the soil held evenly moist using distilled water or rainwater. Keep the humidity above 60%, keep it warm, and feed monthly through spring and summer.

Light

Give it bright, indirect light and keep it clear of direct sun, which sears the leaf surface and bleaches the painted pattern. It takes partial to full shade more readily than most, though too little light flattens the color. A perch by a bright window behind a sheer curtain suits it best.

Water

Hold the soil evenly moist but never soggy through the growing season, then ease back and keep it just damp over winter. The sharper concern is what is in the water, since the leaves react to the fluoride and chlorine in tap water with browning along the rim. Reach for distilled water or rainwater instead.

Soil

Set it in a well-drained, peaty mix loaded with organic matter, with vermiculite or perlite stirred in for drainage. A pH between 6.0 and 7.0, slightly acidic to neutral, sits well with the roots. The mix should stay damp without ever turning to standing water.

Temperature

Keep it warm, between 61°F and 75°F (16°C to 24°C). The leaves have no patience for cold and want a steady reading of at least 61°F (16°C) all year, kept well clear of draughts, open windows, and chilly glass.

Humidity

The leaves want humidity above 60% and crisp at the edges when the air goes dry. Cluster it with other plants, stand it over a pebble tray, or run a humidifier. A bright bathroom often hands it the damp air it is after.

Feeding

Feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertilizer through spring and summer while new leaves are forming, then stop for the winter rest. Lean light rather than heavy, since spare salts settle in the soil and feed straight into the brown-tip trouble.

Pruning

No real pruning is called for. Simply lift old leaves away at the base as they yellow or brown, which keeps the clump clean and pushes the plant's energy into fresh foliage. Trimming a browned tip back to a thin edge is fine for looks.

Repotting

Repot every 1 to 2 years in spring, or sooner if roots wind around the pot or poke through the drainage holes, stepping up just one pot size. This is also the time to split the clump for more plants. Watch for slowed growth or quick drying as a sign the roots have filled their home.

Size & spacing

It stays compact, reaching about 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) tall with a spread of 9 to 12 inches (23 to 30 cm). The slow, tidy habit lets it sit on a shelf or desk without the broad leaves ever crowding the space.

Troubleshooting

Nearly every calathea complaint reads first on the leaves, and most lead back to water, light, or humidity. Catch the early marks on the foliage and you can usually settle the cause before it travels. Match what you see below, then correct the care that brought it on.

Severe

Drooping foliage and a soft, rotting base

Soil that stays wet starves the roots of air and root rot follows, so the whole plant droops while the mix is still soaked. Slide it out of the pot and feel the roots: healthy ones are firm and pale, rotted ones turn brown and soft to the touch. Cut the mushy roots away, repot into fresh well-drained mix in a pot with holes, and back off the watering.

Fix:

  • Stop watering and let the medium drain
  • Unpot, trim away soft rotted roots, and repot into fresh well-drained mix
  • Use a pot with drainage holes and water only when appropriate
Setback

Faint webs and tiny yellow specks across the leaves

Warm, dry air draws in spider mites, which crowd the burgundy undersides and string a faint web between the leaves. Tilt a leaf toward the light and the surface looks peppered with tiny yellow specks. Wash the foliage down, lift the humidity, and treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil while keeping the plant well away from your others.

Fix:

  • Rinse foliage and increase humidity
  • Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, repeating as directed
  • Isolate affected plant to limit spread
Cosmetic

Dry brown crust along the leaf rims

Run a finger along the rim of a leaf and the dry brown crust crumbles. The cause is almost always fluoride and chlorine in tap water collecting in the thin edge tissue, with dry air and feeding salts pushing it further. Pour distilled water or rainwater instead, push the moisture in the air above 60%, and rinse the pot through now and then to carry the salts out.

Fix:

  • Switch to distilled water or rainwater
  • Raise humidity above 60% with a pebble tray, humidifier, or regular misting
  • Flush the soil periodically to leach out accumulated salts and avoid over-fertilizing
  • Trim off badly browned tips for appearance
Cosmetic

Bleached pale blotches washing out the pattern

Direct sun burns the leaf surface and drains the painted medallion down to a flat, washed-out pale. The damage lands on whichever leaves face the strongest light, and leaf scorch from hot afternoon rays is the worst of it. Pull the plant back into bright indirect light or partial shade, or drape a sheer curtain to break the glare.

Fix:

  • Move to a spot with bright indirect light or partial to full shade
  • Avoid direct sun, particularly afternoon sun
  • Filter strong light with a sheer curtain
Cosmetic

Dark spots and blotches dotting the leaf faces

Separate dark spots and blotches sitting on the leaf surface signal leaf spot disease, which spreads when foliage stays damp and the air around it sits still. Aim the water at the soil rather than over the leaves, open up some breathing room around the plant, and strip off the marked leaves.

Fix:

  • Avoid wetting the foliage when watering
  • Improve air circulation
  • Remove affected leaves

Toxicity

Good news for pet owners: the Calathea Medallion is safe. The ASPCA lists Calathea and the prayer plant as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, with no toxic compounds on record. A pet that chews a leaf may get a mild, passing stomach upset from the fibrous tissue, as with any houseplant, but nothing here will poison an animal or a child.

Safe for

People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds

Cats None

Safe for cats, with no toxic principles on record. A cat that bites into one of the broad leaves might feel briefly queasy from the fibrous tissue, and that is as far as it goes.

Dogs None

The ASPCA clears it for dogs. A dog can mouth and chew the rounded leaves without harm, though a large gulp of foliage may bring a short spell of mild stomach upset.

Horses None

Logged as non-toxic to horses, so there is no risk of poisoning if one strips a leaf or two.

Rabbits None

None of the leaf tissue is poisonous to rabbits. Keep it to the rare nibble, since a rabbit's gut runs best on its usual hay and greens.

Livestock None

No harmful compounds sit in the foliage for grazers such as goats or sheep, though this tender tropical seldom ends up where they can reach it.

Birds None

The leaves hold no toxins known to affect birds, so a pet bird can perch on a stem or peck at a leaf in no danger.

People None

Safe to keep within a child's reach. It is not a plant you eat, but a leaf that finds its way into a small mouth will not poison anyone.

As with any plant, ingestion of large amounts of foliage may cause mild, transient gastrointestinal upset that is not due to toxicity

Varieties

The Medallion name stretches over a couple of separate species and a few colorful cousins from the same group. These are the ones you are likely to meet under that label.

Goeppertia veitchiana 'Medallion' (syn. Calathea veitchiana; 'Medaillon')

What usually carries the Calathea Medallion label is recorded by NC State and the RHS as Goeppertia veitchiana, whose large rounded medallion leaves wear a lime-green and creamy-white pattern on top over a deep burgundy underside.

Goeppertia roseopicta 'Medallion'

NC State Extension also records a separate Medallion under Goeppertia roseopicta, with silver striping laid across dark green upper leaves and purple beneath.

'Dottie'

A roseopicta selection set apart by a pink central vein that fans out over foliage so dark it reads almost black.

'Rosy'

A roseopicta selection whose leaf centers glow bright pink, ringed by a narrow band of green at the edge.

How to propagate

There is just one path to a new Calathea Medallion, and it works dependably once you know what the plant will and won't do.

DivisionModerate

Late spring, typically at repotting during active growth · Several weeks to a few months for new divisions to root and resume growth

Division is the single way to make more of this plant, because no stem or leaf cutting will take root. Do it in late spring while the plant is in growth, usually as you repot, easing the rhizome clump apart into sections that each hold their own roots and shoots. Be patient with the new pieces, since they take anywhere from several weeks to a few months to root in and push fresh leaves again.

Myths

Myth

A calathea or prayer plant is toxic to pets, like other tropical leaves.

Reality

This mixes calatheas up with the genuinely dangerous tropicals they often sit beside. The ASPCA lists both Calathea and the Prayer Plant as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. You can keep this plant in a home with pets without worry.

Myth

Calathea Medallion is a bona fide Calathea.

Reality

Most species once filed under Calathea, roseopicta and veitchiana among them, have shifted into the genus Goeppertia. Kew gives the accepted name as Goeppertia roseopicta, holding Calathea roseopicta only as a synonym, so the old name survives on plant tags rather than in botany.

Myth

Tap water is fine for a Calathea.

Reality

Calatheas and other prayer plants take badly to the fluoride and chlorine in most tap water, which surfaces as brown tips and edges. Distilled water or rainwater keeps the foliage clean, and it is the single change that clears up most leaf-tip browning.

Sources