Calathea ornata, Calathea majestica

Oblong shaped dark green leaves with pink stripes going from the mid rib to the margin. The deep magenta underside makes this one of the most popular Calathea. Indoors, Calathea is tolerant of lower light conditions making it a fine houseplant Your soil for Calathea should be highly organic and well drained. Use plenty of coarse material in the soil mix to help water flow through. A commercial cactus mix is fine. Never allow roots to be soaked with standing water but they do enjoy continuous availability of water in their soil. Water often to obtain this condition (with perfect drainage)

Calathea picturata

Mostly grown in gardens for the handsomely patterned foliage. Calathea prefers moist, shady, jungle-like conditions in a garden and is also often grown as potted specimens. When it is used as a house plant, the leaves should be sprayed with water several times a week. Propagation is by root division. Water with soft water. Keep uniform high humidity and temperature. Varieties: on C. metallica the undersides are silvery green and red and on C. majestica the top is patterned with white or pink stripes. One variety grown for its inflorescences is C. Jancifolia, the Rattlesnake Plant, which produces tall stalks of flowers enclosed in yellow bracts.

Calathea roseopicta

Indoors, Calathea is tolerant of lower light conditions making it a fine houseplant. Your soil for Calathea should be highly organic and well drained. Use plenty of coarse material in the soil mix to help water flow through. Never allow roots to be soaked with standing water but they do enjoy continuous availability of water in their soil. Keep your Calathea roseopicta on a pebble tray to increase the humidity level near your plant, but do not allow your plant to sit in water. Calathea's prefer a warm location, away from cold drafts. Keep the soil moist but not soggy. If the water in your area is extremely hard, or of poor quality, water your plants with bottled water. Hard water will cause leaf spotting. If you're fortunate enough to have soft water, let the water sit out over night before watering your plants. If you have an aquarium, your can recycle the tank water, for watering your plants.

Canna glauca

Narrow green leaves and spidery pale yellow or pink flowers.

Remove from water garden in fall and store rhizomes indoors.

Canna sp.

Canna Lily. Perennial growing up to 6-7 ft, with long narrow leaves and showy flowers. Tolerates flooding, grows well along waterline.

Cannas should be planted where they will have a visual impact at the height of summer. Most cannas are tall and need to be placed at the back of a bed. In their native habitat, Canna grows in shaded locations. However, for profuse flowering Cannas need full sun. The more sun, the better. Canna lilies will survive in a shady site, but they will not grow as profusely.

Like bananas, Canna lilies are heavy feeders. Provide plenty of compost and/or good liquid fertilizer to keep the plants looking their best. Without adequate fertility or moisture, Cannas look quite ugly. If your Canna lily plant looks ratty during the summer, that's a sure sign that an extra food is required.

If you're growing plants in containers, keep in mind that Canna lilies are large plants and therefore need a large container. The plants will lose vigor as they become pot-bound. When that happens, lift the root-ball, divide the canna bulbs (rhizomes) and replant. Container-grown Canna lilies will need watering once or even twice a day if grown outside, and it may help to stand the pot in a saucer of water. Provide regular fertilizer at full rate according to the instructions on the label.