Culture
Winter hardy to USDA zones 10-12 where it is best grown in fertile, moist but well-drained soils in light or dappled shade. Performs well with morning sun and afternoon shade. Foliage will usually burn in direct sun, particularly in hot summer months. North of Zone 10, plants should be grown indoors as houseplants or in greenhouses. Houseplants may be taken outdoors to protected locations in summer in part sun to nearly full shade. Houseplants should be brought indoors in fall when temperatures dip to 50°F. Houseplants are best located in eastern windows with high humidity (consider placing container on a bed of moist pebbles and applying a daily foliage mist). Soils must never be allowed to dry out.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Stromanthe sanguinea, commonly called stromanthe, is an upright rhizomatous perennial that typically grows to 5’ tall and 3’ wide outdoors but to a more modest 2-3’ tall when grown indoors as a houseplant. It is native to rainforests in Brazil. Lanceolate to elliptic-oblong, dark olive green leaves (to 20” long and 6” wide) have red undersides. Leaves appear in a basal clump and along branching stems. This is a prayer plant family member whose leaves fold together at night in a manner reminiscent of praying hands. Leaf folding has the added attraction of showing off the red leaf undersides. Tiny white flowers (to 1/2” long) with orange-red sepals and showy cherry-red bracts bloom in panicles (to 2-3” across) in winter and spring.
Stromanthe sanguinea is a synonym of Stromanthe thalia according to The Plant List.
Genus name comes from Greek stroma meaning a bed and anthos meaning a flower in reference to the form of the inflorescence.
Specific epithet comes from Latin sanguineus meaning red in reference to the red flower bracts and leaf undersides.
Problems
Mealybugs, root/stem rot and spider mites.
Uses
Shaded patio and flower gardens. Excellent houseplant.