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Mosaic Calathea

Goeppertia kegeljanii, Marantaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Network Prayer Plant.

Mosaic Calathea (Goeppertia kegeljanii), the whole plant.
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H1A — warmer than 15°C 15 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Water regularly using distilled or rain water, since fluoride in tap water can give leaves brown edges. Too much water can lead to root rot, while too little water, or tap water, can brown the leaf edges and tips.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
During growth, water moderately and feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertiliser; in winter keep just moist.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Each month in the growing season, feed with a balanced houseplant fertilizer.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
While growing, water moderately and feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertiliser; in winter keep barely moist.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Repotting
Top dress every year; repot every 2-3 years.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Propagation by division is recommended.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Divide in late spring.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly. Diseases: usually none.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

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Close view of Mosaic Calathea (Goeppertia kegeljanii) foliage.
Close upDaderot, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Goeppertia kegeljanii is a species of flowering plant in the family Marantaceae. Native to Espírito Santo in Brazil, it is commonly also known by its synonym Calathea mosaica in the houseplant trade, due to the mosaic-like patterning on its leaves. As an ornamental plant, it is noted for its light green, oval leaves with a fine venation of yellow.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Brazil (Espírito Santo)
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Brazil Southeast
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Brazil
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
perennial
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Perennial; habit clumping, erect
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Bushy, Clump forming (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 12–24 in; width 12–24 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height 0.5-1 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers insignificant
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Goeppertia

More of the Marantaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.