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Peacock Plant

Goeppertia zebrina, Marantaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

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

Also called Zebra Plant and Zebra Prayer Plant.

Peacock Plant (Goeppertia zebrina), 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 or 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
Chalk, Clay, Loam; 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 with distilled or rain water; fluoride in tap water can brown leaf edges and tips. Too much water may lead to root rot, and leaf spot comes from poor airflow and from wetting the leaves by accident while watering.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
During growth water moderately; in winter keep just moist.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertilizer while the plant is growing.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Feed monthly with a balanced liquid fertiliser.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Repotting
Repot every 2 years; propagate by dividing the plant.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Repot it every 2 years; divide it to make new plants.
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 Peacock Plant (Goeppertia zebrina) foliage.
Close upDas Mousumi, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Goeppertia zebrina, the zebra plant, is a species of plant in the family Marantaceae, native to southeastern Brazil. It is sometimes known by the synonym Calathea zebrina. Goeppertia zebrina has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

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

Native range
Brazil (Bahia to Santa Catarina)
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Brazil
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, multi-stemmed, spreading
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Clump forming (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 12–36 in; width 12–24 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height 0.5-1 metres; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 5–10 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers purple/lavender, white
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers purple in summer; white in summer
RHS · 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.