Calathea Alternatives for Those Who Love Calatheas but Don’t Love Drama

Here are 5 Calathea Alternatives with beautiful foliage but less dramatic care needs

Do you absolutely love the striking patterned foliage of Calatheas, but are too intimidated by their care? Maybe you fell in love with a calathea, but swiftly killed it You watched it become sad and crispy. Or perhaps you are looking for a good “gateway plant” to see if your home is suitable for a calathea. You’ve come to the right place! Here is a list of 5 Calathea Alternatives that are similar in appearance, but significantly easier to care for, in my experience.

What makes great Calathea Alternatives?

Now to be clear, these plants are still not your hardy Sansevieria or zz plant. They are, however, much less likely to turn into a miserable bowl of crunchy leaves if you happen to look at them the wrong way. Before we dive in, there are a few things to consider:

• These plants still enjoy moderate to low light.
• They still do not like harshly treated water or strong fertilizers
• These plants will need moderate humidity levels.
• They still prefer moist soil.
• They should still be inspected for pests regularly.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get onto the list!

Calathea Alternative #1: Stromanthe Sanguinea/ Stromanthe Sanguinea “Magic Star”

This plant could easily lobby for one of my favourites of all time. They have long, lance-shaped foliage with the very striking purple/aubergine backing. In my experience, this member of the marantecae family is relatively content in moderate humidity. I typically mist mine on occasion, but if I forget, this plant certainly doesn’t complain too much. If you are looking for one with variegation, I highly recommend the Stromanthe Magicstar. It has similar characteristics to the green variety, but it has gorgeous speckled foliage. NOTE: I have purposefully left the dramatic sister, Stromanthe Triostar, out of this category. If you’re interested in learning the difference between the Stromanthe Magicstar and the Stromanthe Triostar, I highly recommend you check out THIS video by Kaylee Ellen. She gives a thorough and informative explanation!

Calathea Alternative #2: Maranta Laconeura (Prayer Plant)

The beautiful prayer plant is one of my favourite Calathea Alternatives. Prayer plants are readily available and come in different varieties. I have found that the red veined and “lemon lime” tend to be more hardy than the green, silver, and variegated varieties. As a general rule of thumb for this genus, the thicker the leaf is, the more hardy the plant is. Either the red veined or lemon lime variety will tolerate moderate humidity levels, and even tend to be more forgiving of a late watering (to an extent). They are also relatively quick growers in the right conditions, and very easy to propagate, which is a huge bonus. For an in-depth care guide for the infamous prayer plant, check out my blog.

Calathea Alternative #3: Crocodile Fern

Before you run away from the F-word in the plant industry, this fern is certainly hardier when stacked up against a calathea (and most other ferns too!) It gets its name from the patterned foliage that resembles crocodile scales. This type of fern also has thicker, hardier foliage, but still would prefer moderate to higher humidity. Mine has taken a fair amount of abuse in the watering category, and aside from the occasional brown tip, it will forgive me and stick around. All and all, this makes crocodile ferns great Calathea Alternatives.

Calathea Alternative #4: Ctenanthe

Another subspecies of the maranta family is the ctenanthe. They have very similar characteristics of calathea, but they are known to be less difficult to care for. Some varieties have very intricate and orante patterns, such as the Burle Marx variety. This one is more tolerable of moderate humidity and will enjoy some misting or a pebble tray to supplement.

Calathea “Alternative” #5: Calathea Corinna (aka. Calathea Freddie)

A calathea in a list of calathea alternatives? Don’t run away! This calathea is, by a landslide, the easiest and most forgiving calathea in my collection. Its foliage is green and slightly more robust than say, a calathea white fusion or a magic star. It is comfortable in moderately humid environments, and has forgiven me on countless late watering with minimal crisping. So if you are desperate for a calathea, this is definitely worth a try, I promise!

Give these Calathea Alternatives a try!

If you’ve been hoping to grow some beautiful calathea, these are definitely a great start if you are hoping for that beautiful foliage. These alternatives are much less drama. What might be easy in my conditions may not be easy for everyone, but you’ll never know unless you give them a try!

For a deep dive into Calathea Care, check out Calathea 101, and be sure to follow my plant journey on Instagram @plantyquirkyblogger for photos and blog updates!