Then make sure the soil drains thoroughly before you return the pot to its saucer. After allowing the soil to drain for a half hour, repeat the process. To do so, set the pot (without its saucer) in a sink with an open drain, and water the plant thoroughly until water runs from the pot’s drainage holes. Since a zebra plant probably will spend most of its life indoors, you’ll want to leach its soil a couple times during summer to prevent fertilizer salt buildup. Refrain from feeding the plant during winter.

Photo: Fertilizing Zebra Plantsįertilize your zebra plant every 2 weeks from spring through autumn with a high-nitrogen plant food (one in which the first formula number is higher than the other two) at half strength. RELATED: 23 Philodendron Varieties Perfect for Filling Out Your Houseplant Collection However, the symptoms of root rot, caused by too much water, sometimes can mimic those of drought. If the top of the plant wilts, it likely is parched and needs attention quickly. After a zebra plant has flowered in autumn, cut back on its water and keep it at a temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit for a couple of months to give the plant a rest, but never allow all of its soil to dry out completely. Zebra plants prefer to be kept evenly moist, so water them whenever the surface of the soil has almost dried out, preferably with lukewarm rainwater or bottled spring water rather than with hard tap water. In winter, you can reduce its light to moderate (around 500 footcandles), but don’t leave it in the dark. Alternatively, set it on an east-facing windowsill where it receives sun only in the morning, since those mild rays often are considered equivalent to bright, indirect light. One method of achieving that level of brightness without Old Sol is to place the plant in a south-facing window with a sheer curtain between it and the windowpane to diffuse the glare. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension advises, “The zebra plant requires average night temperatures above 65 degrees and light levels around 650 footcandles for about 12 weeks before flowers will form.” Over the summer months, give it as bright a location as possible without direct sun, since that will encourage it to set buds in autumn. The zebra plant prefers bright, indirect light. Confine it to a container no larger than 6 inches in diameter with drainage holes. Plants that prefer to be kept constantly moist-including zebra plants-can rot easily in heavy soil or in too-large pots. If you don’t have access to African violet potting soil mix, try combining two parts of peat moss with one part each of vermiculite and perlite.Ī standard potting mix should also work, provided that it isn’t too heavy. Give zebra plants a light, fluffy, and mildly acidic potting soil such as an African violet mix with a pH between 6 and 6.5. Red Apollo: The ruddy ‘Apollo’ adds another color to the green, white, and gold mix, with its stems and leaves’ undersides being stained with red.Apollo: This cultivar boasts wider white stripes than ‘Dania’ does, but ‘Apollo’ is otherwise similar to it.Dania: The most common variety, ‘Dania’ has the typical white-veined, dark-green leaves accompanied by yellow bracts and blooms.RELATED: What Does Root Rot Look Like in Houseplants? Types of Zebra Plant After all, a zebra can’t change its stripes! squarrosa, you might want to check out other Aphelandra houseplant species with different common names. If you don’t like the veined markings on A.

They don’t last long, but the more showy bracts persist for up to 2 months. Each of those two-lipped blooms is considered a zebra flower. The veins of its glossy and ovate dark-green leaves are heavily striped with white, and the zebra plant occasionally sends up stalks topped with clusters of yellow bracts-usually in autumn-from which emerge tubular yellow flowers.

Although it can attain heights of 6 feet or so in the wilds of its native Brazil, growers often treat it with a growth suppressant so it seldom surpasses 2 feet when in a container. Safety: Nontoxic Zebra Plant CharacteristicsĪ member of the Acanthaceae family, the zebra plant only is hardy in USDA Zones 11 and 12. Temperature and Humidity: Above 65 degrees, high humidity RELATED: 15 Essentials for Beginner Plant Parents: What Every New Plant Owner Needs Zebra Plant Care at a Glance However, only care instructions for the Aphelandra zebra plant will be covered here. Other houseplants that go by the common name of zebra plant include Dipteracanthus spp., Haworthia spp., and Cryptanthus zonatus.

Zebra with pink stripes