Plant Care Rattlesnake Plant

Rattlesnake Plant

4.7 out of 5 (73 experiences)

Rattlesnake Plant has a Large, lush leaves plant personality Large, lush leaves
Rattlesnake Plant has a Survivor plant personality Survivor

About Rattlesnake Plant

Many of the houseplants we used to know as Calatheas now belong to the genus Goeppertia (say that three times fast). These plants have delightfully patterned leaves that come in all sorts of colors and shapes! Commonly known as prayer plants, the leaves of some species fold up at night through a process called nyctinasty meaning night movement! 😴

Taxonomy

Goeppertia insignis
Goeppertia
Marantaceae
Zingiberales

How to care for Rattlesnake Plant

💦 Water

How often to water your Rattlesnake Plant

Water needs for Rattlesnake Plant
0.5 cups
every 9

Rattlesnake Plant needs 0.5 cups of water every 9 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.

Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.

Calculate water needs of Rattlesnake Plant

Water 0.5 cups every
9

Does your plant get direct sunlight?

Select the pot size

5"
☀️ Light

Finding light for Rattlesnake Plant in your home

Light needs and placement for plant Rattlesnake Plant: 3ft from a window
3ft or less from
a window

Rattlesnake Plant may have difficulty thriving, and will drop leaves 🍃, without ample sunlight.

Place it less than 3 feet from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.

Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Rattlesnake Plant in your home 🏡.

🪴 Nutrients

How to fertilize Rattlesnake Plant

Nutrient, fertilizer, and repotting needs for Rattlesnake Plant: repot after 2X growth

Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.

By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.

To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Rattlesnake Plant after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.

Browse #Goeppertia
💡 FAQs
⭐ Difficulty Level

Rattlesnake Plant can be challenging to care for, according to some plant parents. Check out the reviews down below to learn from their experiences!


💦 Water Needs

Rattlesnake Plant prefers for the soil to dry out between waterings and should be watered regularly. Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.


☀️ Sunlight Needs

Rattlesnake Plant may have difficulty thriving and will drop leaves 🍃 without ample sunlight. Place it less than 3 feet from a window to maximize the potential for growth. Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement in your home 🏡.


🐶 🐈 👶 Toxicity

Rattlesnake Plant is not known to cause harm to humans or pets. Regardless, if you, a family member, a cat, or dog has ingested any plant material, please consult a doctor or a veterinarian.


💨 Humidity

Rattlesnake Plant prefers dry environments. Providing extra humidity or misting your plant allows water to linger on leaves, which can create the perfect environment for harmful types of fungi.


🪴 Soil

Rattlesnake Plant is very sensitive to dry soil, so choose a potting soil that retains moisture. A good soil will still drain well and contain lots of organic matter such as coco coir or sphagnum moss.


💩 Fertilizer

Rattlesnake Plant should be repotted after it doubles in size or once a year, whichever comes first. Fresh potting soil has all the nutrients your plant needs, so as long as it’s refreshed yearly, you shouldn’t need to use fertilizer. Remember, plants get their energy from sunlight, not fertilizer!


🌎 Native Region

Rattlesnake Plant is native to Tropical Americas.


🌸 Flowers

Yes, you may see your Rattlesnake Plant bloom with the right amount of sunlight and water.


⬆️ ⬇️ Growth Pattern

Rattlesnake Plant is a clumping plant, meaning new growth will emerge from the soil around the parent plant.


🌦️ Growing Outdoors

USDA Hardiness Zone
Rattlesnake Plant can be grown outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 11a-12b. Find your local hardiness zone here.


🌱 Propagation

Rattlesnake Plant can be propagated by division into new individual plants.

  • Check to see if there is more than one plant. In some cases they may still be beneath the soil surface. If you feel confident, you may remove the soil to check for baby plantlets below!
  • If there are multiple plants growing, unpot the plant and gently tug the plants apart, being careful not to disturb too many of the roots. They may be connected by large root segments which you may need to break to free the plantlet.
  • Pot up the new plant in well-draining soil
  • Repot the parent plant back into its original pot

🍂 Yellow Leaves

Yellow leaves aren’t always a reason to panic, and can be a normal part of a plant’s life cycle. Unless brand new leaves are turning yellow or all the leaves change color at once, it’s likely just your plant shedding old leaves.

Overwatering and root rot are the most likely cause of problems in Rattlesnake Plant, since they are sensitive to wet soil. The leaves may also appear to be curling or drooping. Less often, yellow leaves are caused by underwatering, nutrient deficiencies, or pests.

Replace soggy soil with fresh, dry soil and download Greg to make sure your plant never gets overwatered again!


🧐 Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting a sad-looking houseplant, start by checking for signs of distress in its leaves, such as yellowing, browning, or drooping, which can indicate overwatering or nutrient deficiencies.

Inspect the soil moisture; too dry or too wet soil can cause problems.

Ensure the plant is getting the right amount of light, as too much or too little can stress it.

Finally, consider environmental factors like temperature and humidity, and adjust care routines accordingly to revive your plant.


Care Summary for Rattlesnake Plant

Rattlesnake Plant

Rattlesnake Plant


Greg recommends:

Water

0.5 cups every 9 days

Placement

< 3ft from a window

Nutrients

Repot after 2x growth

Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.

What other plant parents say

Rattlesnake Plant has a Large, lush leaves plant personality Large, lush leaves 34
Rattlesnake Plant has a Survivor plant personality Survivor 26
Rattlesnake Plant has a Fast grower plant personality Fast grower 17
Rattlesnake Plant has a Browns easily plant personality Browns easily 16
Rattlesnake Plant has a Easy to propagate plant personality Easy to propagate 3
Rattlesnake Plant has a Pest magnet plant personality Pest magnet 1
Rattlesnake Plant has a Blooms easily plant personality Blooms easily 1
Silvia avatar
@Silvia
leaf-1 5 Plants
xp 188 XP
globe Maastricht, Limburg
03/05/2022

This plant is surprising me. I left it at home for one month without watered it. It grew more than before. It might necessary to water it two times per week

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Survivor Survivor
@RootsMan avatar
@@RootsMan
leaf-1 31 Plants
xp 1,406 XP
globe Sutton Valence, England
03/05/2022

Mine is about 90cm/3ft high. It’s a striking plant which dominates its surroundings and will transform any room. Pay attention to its needs - humidity, indirect light and frequent watering - and you will be rewarded.

Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
@Purposeplants avatar
@@Purposeplants
leaf-1 4 Plants
xp 96 XP
globe Smithtown, NY
02/09/2022

Grows great, awesome for low light areas, cleans the air, and you don’t need to water it often

Survivor Survivor
@MariansOasis avatar
@@MariansOasis
leaf-1 90 Plants
xp 18,770 XP
globe Solana Beach, CA
01/24/2022

What a show off! Love this guy. Designer artsy leaves, says his prayers at night, opens up to a brand new day! What a guy 🤗

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
@RamenLechuga avatar
@@RamenLechuga
leaf-1 7 Plants
xp 541 XP
01/16/2022

Fussy

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Browns easily Browns easily
@BoozyBillsBabe avatar
@@BoozyBillsBabe
leaf-1 46 Plants
xp 9,015 XP
globe Baltimore, MD
01/14/2022

A pretty easy calathea as long as you water consistently and keep a humid environment

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
@mossycabbages avatar
@@mossycabbages
leaf-1 66 Plants
xp 3,455 XP
12/28/2021

She’s very dramatic in that tap water = very shriveled and brown leaves but as long as you use distilled or rain water she thrives! Mine currently resides in ~65% humidity with grow lights and has been putting out two to three new leaves every two weeks or so

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Survivor Survivor
Browns easily Browns easily
@AnnaLovesVoting avatar
@@AnnaLovesVoting
leaf-1 27 Plants
xp 4,358 XP
globe Richmond, VA
12/20/2021

I love my rattlesnake, it’s dramatic and gorgeous. I’ve never had any issues with humidity and honestly kinda neglect it. Great bang for your buck for cool foliage with low hassle

Fast grower Fast grower
Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Browns easily Browns easily
Cheryl avatar
@Cheryl
leaf-1 21 Plants
xp 1,303 XP
12/10/2021

Also known as prayer plant closes leaves at night opens in moring

Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Survivor Survivor
@KaylieS avatar
@@KaylieS
leaf-1 36 Plants
xp 9,032 XP
globe Leawood, KS
12/09/2021

The only calathea I can keep happy

Survivor Survivor
@Dovergardener avatar
@@Dovergardener
leaf-1 4 Plants
xp 594 XP
globe Dover, FL
11/21/2021

It closes and opens every day.

Survivor Survivor
@boki avatar
@@boki
leaf-1 107 Plants
xp 3,626 XP
globe San Juan, Metro Manila
11/17/2021

Done a lot of things wrong with this plant but its still here with me. Not so good with calatheas and others have withered thats why I am giving a 5 star rating

Survivor Survivor
@hkpierson avatar
@@hkpierson
leaf-1 25 Plants
xp 1,323 XP
globe Brattleboro, VT
11/11/2021

Easy to mistake overwatering for under-watering.

Browns easily Browns easily
@rosiemarieeaster avatar
@@rosiemarieeaster
leaf-1 9 Plants
xp 257 XP
globe Lichfield, England
11/08/2021

This plant loves humidity but is super easy to overwater so be careful. It also doesn’t like being in direct sunlight as it scorches the leaves and causes it to lose its vibrant colour.

Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Browns easily Browns easily
Fast grower Fast grower
@gillian.lingo avatar
@@gillian.lingo
leaf-1 2 Plants
xp 72 XP
globe Mint Hill, NC
09/16/2021

An absolutely stunning plant. She is one of my favorites. There seems to always be new leaves being put on.

Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Madison avatar
@Madison
leaf-1 8 Plants
xp 153 XP
globe Claremont, CA
09/10/2021

i love the way this plant looks but sheesh she’s picky

Browns easily Browns easily
@hoyahead avatar
@@hoyahead
leaf-1 50 Plants
xp 25,069 XP
globe Chesterfield, VA
08/27/2021

Beautiful, easy to care for, and cat safe!

Survivor Survivor
@Liibby avatar
@@Liibby
leaf-1 21 Plants
xp 510 XP
08/12/2021

I love how light reactive this boy is

@TedNYC21 avatar
@@TedNYC21
leaf-1 20 Plants
xp 349 XP
globe New York
08/11/2021

Nature’s amazing art: Dolores!

Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Survivor Survivor
Brittany avatar
@Brittany
leaf-1 9 Plants
xp 153 XP
globe Guelph, Ontario
08/09/2021

It’s called a prayer plant and the leaves opens and close day to night. Very resilient!

Large, lush leaves Large, lush leaves
Fast grower Fast grower

Trending in your area

Similar to Rattlesnake Plant

Discover rare plants