Look at this beauty!

Just LOOK

I originally saw the calathea rattlesnake on reddit in my first months of owning plants, and I was amazed at the coloring and leaf shape, but was put off by it bring a high maintenance and high humidity drama queen people said it was. In May 2021 I finally bit the bullet and bought one. I knew I really liked calathea rattlesnakes from admiring them for a year, but I had no idea she was going to be in my top 3 favorites of all time ahaha.

I cannot believe my calathea rattlesnake started out in a 2 inch pot (arrived in a 4 inch I believe) with just a few leaves that weren’t longer than my thumb. She was immediately put into a terrarium where she stayed for 1.5 years. I watered her every few months while she was in the terrarium and it never had a brown leave while in there. Finally when the leaves were touching the sides and top of the terrarium I repotted her into a pot. Her root system was huge! I will probably have to cut them back when I repot her next. We’ll see!

She is downright gorgeous and I’m so happy to have her. I don’t use distilled water or anything special except letting the tap water sit out 48 hours before watering the plant. I definitely don’t let it dry out completely to keep the brown tips at bay. I don’t mind brown tips here and there it’s just life ahaha.

I used to have her proudly displayed on my desk but since moving to AZ the office get’s pretty warm, so I moved her to my bedroom where it’s consistently cooler. She is one of my easiest plants – I swear even the pothos and scindapsus give me more grief than she ever has even with a few brown tips!

I am so glad I got the calathea rattlesnake and eventually would like to try other varieties but right now I’m content with her. A 10/10 in my book for easiest plant in my collection.