This stromanthe triostar care article has been created to cover all the tips you’ll need to grow and maintain this beautiful plant – and hopefully encourage you to consider it favorably as part of your easy care indoor garden.
Let’s begin with a little background.
Commonly known as the stromanthe tricolor, the Stromanthe sanguinea or Stromanthe thalia, is a popular indoor plant thanks to its vivid pastel stripes. It’s part of the prayer plant family with its cousins calatheas and marantas.
It certainly adds a dash of color and tropical vibe to homes and offices.
This vibrant plant can reach 2 to 3 feet in height and 1 to 2 feet across when it fully matures and when you provide it with the necessary care.
It’s native to the Brazilian jungles and it boasts elegant, pointed leaves that are green with splashes of pale green, cream, and pink on the top and deep pink, magenta or maroon underneath.
And, if you decide to grow it, it’ll reward you with a stunning show at night: it naturally folds up its leaves and you can have a better sight of the pink undersides.
This plant can withstand areas with lower light; however, this will result in less pronounced variegation. The best position would be a bright, indirect light area, like a window facing north or east.
This isn’t an overly demanding plant to take care of, making it suitable for gardening newbies. Plus, if you have any dogs, cats or children around, you needn’t worry; the plant is non-toxic!
As they’re natives to the jungle where the humidity is quite high, it’s not a bad idea to try and recreate this environment, as much as possible, indoors.
Keeping them in a bathroom is a smart choice or setting them near a humidifier.
If its impressive colourful foliage wasn’t enough to attract you-it will also help clean the air in your home so you can breathe fresher air.
Did You Know?
Grouping plants like this one together is an awesome way to boost the humidity, as the plants release moisture into the air and create a tropical microclimate!
How to Care for Stromanthe Triostar
Light
Your stromanthe triostar will love to grow in a place where there’s bright, indirect light, such as a window facing east or to the north.
In this way, it will thrive and the colouring will be at its best. Although you can keep them in lower light areas, this will decrease their color strength.
And, don’t forget to turn the plant once per week or so for even growth.
Temperature
Although they can tolerate cold up to 40 degrees F, they’ll do better in a range between 65 and 80 degrees; and do avoid placing them where there’s a cold draft!
Water & Humidity
Water the plant when the top inch of the soil is dry. You can check this out by using your finger to dip into the soil. Tip: Your finger is the best water meter around – and it’s cheap!
Make sure you water it until you notice it dripping from the bottom holes. And, keep the soil a bit damp, but not soggy.
Be careful not to overwater it because this can cause the roots to rot.
In winter, give the soil some more time to dry between watering, but never wait too long.
Concerning humidity, this plant loves it high. Daily misting will be great or placing a tray with pebbles underneath or using a humidifier, especially in the winter time when air can be much drier.
Soil
Choose a well-draining potting mix.
An optimal combo would be potting soil, peat moss, and perlite. Organic matter gives it nutrients and preserves moisture while perlite improves drainage.
Fertilizer
Your stromanthe triostar will do fine with a standard houseplant fertilizer that’s diluted to half strength and applied once per month, in spring and summer.
When the plant goes into its dormant phase in fall and winter, pause the feeding.
Repotting
Your tristar should be repotted every few years if you notice that its roots are coming out of the pot or when you need to freshen up the soil and up its nutrients.
If you want to grow it bigger, choose a pot that’s 2 inches larger than the one it’s currently in. Otherwise, keep the same pot, just use a new soil.
Take the plant gently out of the pot and remove as much old soil as possible.
Set new soil into the pot, inspect the plant for any damaged roots, and remove them if you spot them. Then, place it into the new soil and water well.
Propagation
Even though it’s not possible to grow new plants from cuttings in water with this plant, you can still get two or more plants from one. This can be done through division.
To increase the success rate, do it in spring or summer.
What you’ll need are a healthy plant, new soil, sharp pruning shears, and new pots.
When you take the plant out, loosen the ruts and carefully divide the rhizomes into a couple of clumps with 2 or 3 leaves at least.
Fill the new pots with soil and plant the divisions. Water them and place them in a warm location with bright, indirect light.
Other Stromanthe Triostar Care Tips
Pruning is a great way to maintain a beautiful and healthy tristar. Always cut off damaged or unsightly leaves from its base using a clean blade. But, remember; never remove more than 30 percent of the plant at once.
You can trim off a small part of a leaf if it’s damage or discoloured. But, always try to preserve the natural shape and lines of the leaf.
Don’t forget to clean your tristar regularly by gently wiping off the dust from the foliage. A slightly warm, damp cloth will usually do the job.
Trouble Shooting- Common Stromanthe Triostar Care Issues
Problem: stromanthe triostar leaves going yellow
Cause: Often times, it’s due to inadequate soil moisture, especially overwatering. This plant does like to stay damp, but not soaking in water!
Solution: When watering it, provide sufficient water to see it coming out of the holes on the bottom and remove surplus amounts.
Problem: brown, withered foliage
Cause: Probably the air is too dry.
Solution: Mist the plant or set it near an air humidifier.
Problem: brown leaf edges
Cause: Can be caused by either using tap water, low humidity or very dry soil.
Solution: Try to resolve the problem by the method of exclusion. Stop using tap water, opt for rainwater or distilled one instead; elevate the humidity, and use the right soil.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this stromanthe triostar care article and that it has furthered your interest in this stunning indoor plant.
Here’s a closely related plant that you might also be interested in;
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