Goeppertia insignis: Best Care Guide (Calathea lancifolia)

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Previously known as Calathea lancifolia, Goeppertia insignis is one of the most strikingly beautiful houseplants. Commonly known as Rattlesnake Plant, this beauty can be tricky to grow but is well worth the effort! I’ll share with you everything I’ve learned on how to grow this gorgeous houseplant.

RATTLESNAKE PLANT CARE

Native to Brazil, this plant demands exacting conditions to look its best. You may know this plant as Calathea lancifolia, but it has been reclassified as Goeppertia insignis. Any of the Calathea/Goeppertia species can be very finicky, but once you are comfortable with basic houseplant care, I consider Goeppertia insignis to be one of easier species to grow.

LIGHT

These plants like plenty of light, but not too much direct sun. Some morning sun is fine.

If you live in the Northern hemisphere, Northern windows or Eastern windows would be ideal. My own plant is growing in front of an Eastern window and receives some gentle morning sunshine. Unobstructed Western or Southern windows may offer too long or too intense direct sun, depending on where you live, so either set them back a bit, or diffuse the light with sheer curtains or blinds.

If you live in the Southern hemisphere, Southern or Eastern windows will be ideal.

WATERING & WATER QUALITY

Keep your potting mix relatively moist, and water again only when only the surface feels dry.

Goeppertia species are sensitive to salts, and potentially other additives in tap water, so if you live in an area with very hard tap water, this will eventually build up in the potting mix and cause issues with browning leaves.

Keep in mind that brown leaves can also be caused by allowing the potting mix to dry out too much. On the other hand, never allow your plant to sit in water for extended periods of time as this can increase the risk of root rot.

For best results, use rainwater or distilled water to water these plants.

If you don’t want to bother with buying distilled water or setting up a complicated RO water system, don’t miss my post on the best distilled water alternative for Calathea plants. You will thank me for it!

FERTILIZING

I like to fertilize with a urea-free fertilizer. My go-to fertilizer for my houseplants is Dyna-Gro Grow. It is urea-free so it won’t burn plants, and contains all the micro and macro nutrients needed for a healthy plant.

I fertilize very dilutely while the plant is actively growing. Be sure to periodically flush the pot with plain distilled or rainwater to avoid any build-up of fertilizer salts which will damage the plant.

TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY

Rattlesnake plants need warm temperatures and high humidity for best growth. This is a tropical plant that hails from warm and humid jungles in Brazil, and is not really robust in home environments that are too cool and that have bone dry air.

Avoid cold drafts and cool rooms and try to keep your plant in a warm area, and do your best to increase humidity. This is especially important in the winter time if you run forced air heat. My humidifier is running constantly and I try to keep the relative humidity in my sunroom around 60%.

Although proper watering practices and attention to potting mix moisture is much more important, increasing humidity is also important for these plants.

POTTING MIX

Three parts of a typical all-purpose potting mix plus one part perlite is a good blend.

If you want an AMAZING potting mix that works beautifully, with NO modifications needed and that can be used straight out of the bag, check out the Pray For Us blend from Oh Happy Plants.

The company makes amazing, sustainable potting mixes and I’ve been using them for years now with beautiful results.

REPOTTING

Repot your plant when it is root-bound and your potting mix no longer holds much moisture and dries out quickly.

Loosen the root ball gently, and as a general rule of thumb, only go up one pot size.

The thought behind only going up one pot size (for example, going from a 4 inch pot to a 6 inch pot), is that you don’t have an excess volume of potting mix which would cause it to take too long to dry out.

PROPAGATION

These are best propagated by division. If you are repotting, you can split the plant at that time if you wish.

COMMON PROBLEMS and FAQs

This plant likes very even conditions and will protest if your home is too cold, has drafts, if your humidity is low, or if you repeatedly let your potting mix dry out too much. It can even be very picky with water quality as it is sensitive to salts. Here are some of the most common issues seen with this plant. One saving grace is that it tends to be pretty pest resistant! (At least in my experience.)

Do you have a Rattlesnake Plant? Comment below. I’d love to hear!