Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' (Mint prayer plant) care

Light

Picture the indirect light an east-facing window gives mid-morning — that's the brightness maranta leuconeura 'mint' grows fastest in. Prefers bright to medium indirect light; an east-facing window or a few feet from a brighter one is ideal. Direct sun scorches and fades the delicate leaves, while deep shade dulls the markings and slows growth. You'll know it's right when new leaves come out the same size and colour as the established ones. Smaller, paler new leaves = move closer to the window.

Watering

Aim for when the top 2-3 cm of soil is just dry, roughly every 5-7 days for maranta leuconeura 'mint', but treat that as a starting point rather than a rule. A south-facing summer windowsill will dry the pot twice as fast as a north-facing winter room. Lift the pot; if it feels noticeably lighter than it did wet, water it. Keep the soil lightly and evenly moist, never soggy or bone-dry. Sensitive to salts and chlorine, so use filtered, distilled, or rainwater at room temperature. Crispy leaf edges signal underwatering or hard water; yellowing signals overwatering.

Soil and pot

Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' grows best in light, moisture-retentive, peat-free aroid-style mix. Use an airy, well-draining mix that still holds moisture, such as coco coir or peat-free compost with perlite and a little bark. Aim for a slightly acidic pH around 5.5-6.5; the roots want moisture without sitting wet. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' sits happiest at around 60-80% humidity and 18-27°C (65-80°F). Loves high humidity. Below about 50% the leaf edges brown and curl. Group with other plants, stand on a pebble-and-water tray, or run a humidifier; a terrarium or bathroom suits it well. If you keep the room above 18 year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed maranta leuconeura 'mint' sparingly. Feed every 2-4 weeks in spring and summer with a balanced houseplant fertiliser at half strength. Marantas are salt-sensitive, so dilute well and flush the soil occasionally. Stop or reduce feeding in autumn and winter. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on maranta leuconeura 'mint' in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.

• Crispy brown leaf edges — Caused by low humidity, dry air, or chlorine and fluoride in tap water. Raise humidity and switch to filtered, distilled, or rainwater.
• Curling or faded leaves — Tight curling often signals underwatering or thirst, while bleached, washed-out leaves indicate too much direct sun. Adjust watering and move out of direct light.
• Spider mites — Thrive in the dry air maranta dislikes, stippling leaves and spinning fine webs. Keep humidity up, inspect leaf undersides, and treat with insecticidal soap or by rinsing.
• Leaves not opening or 'praying' — Disrupted by constant light at night or by stress. Give it a natural day-night light cycle and steady warmth, moisture, and humidity to restore the daily movement.

Propagation

Easiest by division at repotting, separating clumps with roots and several stems. Stem cuttings with a node root in water or directly in moist mix; keep cuttings warm and humid until established. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' is pet-safe. ASPCA-listed as non-toxic to cats and dogs. Prayer plants in the genus Maranta (including Maranta leuconeura) are recognised by the ASPCA as non-toxic, so this 'Mint' cultivar is safe around pets that may nibble the foliage. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' deep-dive guides

Every aspect of maranta leuconeura 'mint' care, each with its own calibrated guide:

• Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' watering schedule
• Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' light requirements
• Best soil mix for maranta leuconeura 'mint'
• Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' fertilizing guide
• When to repot maranta leuconeura 'mint'
• How to propagate maranta leuconeura 'mint'
• Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' growth rate & size
• Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' cold hardiness
• Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' temperature & humidity
• Is maranta leuconeura 'mint' toxic to cats & dogs?
• Is maranta leuconeura 'mint' toxic to cats?
• Is maranta leuconeura 'mint' toxic to dogs?

Featured in these plant shortlists

Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' qualifies for 13 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

• Best pet-safe houseplants — Houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats and dogs — every one verified against the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list.
• Best low-light houseplants — Houseplants that need no direct sun and cope with a north-facing room or a spot well back from a window.
• Best plants for a north-facing window — Houseplants for a north-facing window: bright, even, indirect light and no scorching direct sun. Each pick verified against its documented light needs.
• Best pet-safe low-light plants — Non-toxic to cats and dogs AND happy with no direct sun — the two hardest constraints to satisfy at once.
• Best trailing & climbing houseplants — Vining and trailing houseplants for shelves, hanging pots, and moss poles — selected by growth habit.
• Best humidity-loving houseplants — Houseplants that thrive in a bathroom, kitchen, or by a humidifier — selected by documented humidity preference.
• Best bathroom plants — Humidity-loving houseplants that also cope with lower light — suited to the steamy, often-dim conditions of a typical bathroom.
• Best pet-safe trailing & hanging plants — Trailing and climbing plants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats and dogs — safe for shelves and hanging pots in a pet home.
• Best pet-safe bathroom plants — Non-toxic to cats and dogs and happy in the humid, lower-light conditions of a bathroom — safe greenery for the smallest room.
• Best houseplants to propagate in water — Houseplants that root from a cutting in a glass of water — the easiest, cheapest way to turn one plant into many.
• Best pet-safe bedroom plants — Non-toxic to cats and dogs and happy in lower light — calming greenery for a bedroom where a pet often sleeps too.
• Best cat-safe plants — Houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats (and dogs) — safe greenery for a home with a curious cat.
• Best dog-safe plants — Houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to dogs (and cats) — safe greenery for a home with a curious dog.
• Browse all 29 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

Related guides

Maranta leuconeura 'Mint' is also commonly called Mint prayer plant.

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