How to Grow & Care for Calathea Lietzei ‘White Fusion’ (2024)

Who would not love to grow a plant with variegated foliage, having green leaves with contrasting white markings, making Calathea Lietzei a unique plant?

Isn’t it interesting? Let me assist you with this. Here, I have explained all the basic growing requirements that you need to provide so that the plant can adjust to the new environment easily and thrive best. Trust me, I have written all this information after experience in growing Calathea Lietzei successfully. So Let’s begin to read.

Quick takeaways:

• The Calathea Lietzei does have variegated foliage having green leaves with contrasting white markings. 
• The plant belongs to the Marantaceae family. 
• The leaves of Calathea Lietzei close during the night. 
• If properly cared for and grown fully they will get an eye-catching display of foliage. 

Calathea Lietzei:

Calathea Lietzei ‘White Fusion’ is also called a peacock, zebra, or rattlesnake plant because of its leaves that resemble these animals. Calathea Lietzei ‘White Fusion’ originated from Central Mexico and tropical South America. The plant is a showstopper. If you are thinking of planting Calathea Lietzei in your house then you need to know how to grow and care for the plant so that it grows beautifully and quickly.

The following table explains some important points for caring for and growing Calathea Lietzei:

Common Name	Calathea ‘White Fusion’
Botanical Name	Calathea lietzei
Family	Marantaceae
Plant Type	Herbaceous Perennial
Mature Size	Up to 2 ft. tall
Sun Exposure	Partial
Soil Type	Moist, Well-drained
Soil pH	Acidic
Bloom Time	Summer
Flower Color	Yellow, purple, white
Hardiness	11b-12b, USDA
Native Area	Central Mexico to tropical South America

Grow & Care for Calathea Lietzei ‘White Fusion’ 

The plant needs to be properly cared for as the growing conditions of the plant are the same as the rainforests. You need to keep the plant warm, maintain the soil moisture and humidity, etc. The following are some solutions for how to take take care of Calathea Lietzei:

• Light
• Watering
• Temperatures
• Humidity
• Soil
• Fertilizer
• Potting and repotting
• Pruning
• Propagation 

Light:

• When the plant is being grown in the tropical rainforest they grow under the tree’s canopy hence for growing the plant in the house provides the plant with bright but indirect sunlight. 
• You can provide the plant with a good level of light without using any special grow lights. 
• You can place the pot in a North or east-facing room next to the window to provide light. 
• In order to keep the plant in a South or west-facing room you have to protect the plant with full sun because that will burn the leaves of the plant. 
• You can place the plant behind the sheer curtain to protect the plant from the direct sun. 

Watering:

• The Calathea White plant needs to maintain the moisture of the soil. 
• You need to water the plant every 5 to 10 days. 
• Avoid regular watering before you can check the top inch of the soil. If you find it is dried out you should water the plant. 
• You can use distilled or rainwater for watering the plants as they are very sensitive to fluoride which is commonly found in tap water. 

Temperature:

• To grow Calathea lietzei the temperature ranges from 60°F to 80°F.
• For growing the Calathea lietzei plant you need to keep it away from air conditioning vents and fans so that the foliage of the plant does get damaged. 
• In hot summer weather, you can move the plant outdoors in a shady spot. 
• There is a tolerance level of temperature for the plant and below 50 degrees Fahrenheit the plant will get damaged. 

Humidity:

• The perfect requirement of humidity for growing  Calathea lietzei is between 75-85%. 
• For indoor planting, the humidity level is about 30%.
• You can create the right amount of humidity level by localizing the spot. 
• You can also use a small humidifier by grouping them and raising the humidity level. 
• The other way of maintaining Calathea lietzei humidity is by placing them on a pebbled tray filled with water. 

Soil:

• For planting Calathea lietzei you need soil that can retain moisture letting excess water drain out. 
• If you plant the soil but that remains too wet will cause the plant root rot. 
• The pH level of the soil for planting Calathea lietzei should be between 6.5.
• Using an African Violet soil mix will let the plant stay moist and well-draining. 
• For soil mix, you can make your own custom mix by combining equal parts of perlite, bark, and potting soil.

Fertilizer:

• The perfect way of fertilizing the plant in a balanced ratio of 10-10-10 or 5-5-5.
• Applying liquid fertilizer for growing Calathea lietzei once a month in spring and summer is very profitable. 
• Adding slow-release granules to the soil will help to grow the plant for the entire growing season. 

Potting & Repotting:

• Repotting of the Calathea lietzei plant needs to be done every year or two. 
• The sign you can find that indicates you are repotting is that the leaves of the plant will start dropping and the roots will start growing out of the drainage holes. 
• Repotting is done because the plant becomes root-bound which is not able to hold the soil moisture so you need to increase the pot size. 
• For repotting the plant you can use a plastic pot which will help the soil to conserve the moisture but you need to make sure that there is enough drainage hole. 
• After repotting the last step is to mix the potting mix and water nicely. 

Pruning:

• The  Calathea lietzei plant does not need much pruning because the plant is able to grow naturally into an attractive bushy shape so there is no need to trim.
• If you find any leaves of the plant that are dead or damaged you need to cut them so that the plant looks best. Also cutting them off will discourage the development of any disease growing in the plant. 
• You should use a sharp sterilized knife or a pair of scissors for cutting the leaves so that the new leaves start growing. 
• After cutting the damage, don’t leave them on the soil surface instead of disposing them in the garbage. 

Propagation: 

• The propagation of the plant will help them in creating additional plants to keep and sell them.
• You can easily propagate the plant by dividing the plant during repotting. 
• You can also take stem cutting by using a sharp, sterilized knife And cut the stem a little inch below a leaf node. 
• After cutting the stem, place the cutting into a soil medium or you can also place in a glass of water but you need to remember that the leaf node should be below the surface. 
• You will see new roots forming through the cutting within a month after that you can plant the new baby plant in a different pot and water the plant regularly. 

Conclusion:

If you follow the above mention ways to grow Calathea Lietzei that will help the plant by keeping it from getting diseases, pests, or having any growing problems. so according to my point of view, it will make your plant look more beautiful and healthy.