Best Growing Conditions for a Peacock Plant in Central Florida

The best growing conditions for a peacock plant in Central Florida depend on the growing zone, humidity, water, and soil. Like any plant, it needs all of these factors to be conducive to its growth.

Let’s look at this simple guide to help you with your new peacock plant in Central Florida.

Table of Contents

What are the Best Growing Conditions for A Peacock Plant in Central Florida?

Tropical plants are native to the thick forests of Brazil, including the peacock plant. It develops there in the shade of huge trees. It’s a tropical plant, thus, growing and caring for it are simple tasks.

The plant can only become as tall as 2 feet. The plant’s leaves may reach a maximum length of 12 inches in an optimum growth environment. The undersides of the leaves are purplish-red, while the upper surface is an attractive green.

The finest growing regions for the plant outside are USDA Zones 10A to 11. You must cultivate it as an indoor plant in any other zones.

You can have a peacock plant since North and Central Florida are inside USDA Zones 8b to 9a, but you’ll need to cultivate it indoors. If you don’t bring it inside over the winter once the temperature drops below freezing, Zone 8 will compel it to be a perennial plant that dies every winter.

If you live near the equator in Central Florida, it will grow more like a tree than a shrub.

It must be brought inside for the wintertime if you are growing it outdoors in Zone 8.

Check Why Is My Peacock Plant Turning Brown?

What Are the Light Requirements for Peacock Plants?

The plants naturally grow on the rainforest floor in their original habitat. Around them, the big trees create a shed of leaves and branches that covers the peacock plants. They only let a small amount of light reach the earth.

This makes it obvious that it needs dim light to produce its food.

Put the plant container anywhere in the home that may get indirect but strong light if you are in a condo and don’t have a window that faces the sun. Then you may utilize manufactured imitation grow lights. In the absence of natural sunlight, plants may grow under such lights.

The whole light spectrum is emitted by grow lights. The sun is the only natural provider of the whole light spectrum.

Keep the plant container out of the sun’s direct rays due to the tremendous intensity of the sun’s direct beams. They could harm the delicate plant tissues. The first indication of extremely bright light is fading leaf color.

What Are the Soil Requirements for Peacock Plants?

Planting in sandier soil is the greatest approach to creating well-draining soil, which is extremely necessary for the peacock plant to flourish and prevent root rot.

The plant will remain lush and alive if organic material offers enough soil fertility, aiding drainage. Soils may be either alkaline or acidic. Thus a neutral pH of 6.0 to 8.0 will do.

Read Why Is My Peacock Plant Leaves Turning Yellow

How Can I Grow a Peacock Plant Inside?

You may buy starter plants from the neighborhood garden nursery, or you could grow them from seed.

Ensure the planter you chose for the peacock plant has enough drainage holes if you wish to repot it from the original container. Carefully remove the peacock plant from its original pot by grasping it low.

Loosen the dirt surrounding the roots and put them in a fresh container with partly filled potting soil. To promote greater drainage, you may even bury a few inches of pebbles at the bottom of the pot.

For further drainage, fill the plant with organic waste or sand as desired. Completely moisten the soil by watering it until extra water starts to seep through the drainage system.

The peacock plant’s stunning leaf patterns draw many people to it as a houseplant.

Peacock plants may be kept outside throughout the warmer months as long as the temperature doesn’t rise over 55 °F (13 °C). However, it performs considerably better inside as a houseplant since it is so picky about humidity and sunshine.

How Should a Peacock Plant Be Watered?

The most crucial factor in maintaining the health of the peacock plants is undoubtedly providing enough and appropriate watering.

However, you cannot water the peacock plants with tap water. The best options are distilled water or rainfall. Water that is too hard or too soft, as well as the fluoride found in ordinary water, may be particularly harmful to peacock plants. Leaf margins may turn dark if the water contains too much fluoride.

A cheap soil moisture meter is a fantastic tool for determining if a plant receives enough water.

Additionally, while watering plants, the water should be lukewarm or room temperature since cold water might shock the roots of the plants.

Another challenge with irrigation is finding the ideal balance between keeping the soil wet and not watering too much. You can determine with certainty when the peacock plant requires watering by using a moisture meter.

The peacock plant is probably being overwatered if its leaves start to turn yellow. The plant needs additional water if its leaves are turning brown. When the plants aren’t actively developing over the winter, they will need less watering, so keep this in mind.

What Kind of Sunlight Is Required for My Peacock Plant?

For a peacock plant to thrive, it requires direct, strong light. Even so, it doesn’t have to be direct sunshine. Grow lights may be used to supplement—or completely replace—natural light.

The plants may also be kept under grow lights since they’re so useful!

Also, remember that placing your plant in direct sunlight will burn the foliage.

What Humidity Preferences Does the Peacock Plant Have?

High humidity is ideal for the peacock plant. It would be best if you aimed to maintain it at a minimum of 60%. This is crucial if you would like it to maintain its stunning leaf hues.

Although it can withstand a little less humidity, you should keep an eye out for browning leaf margins and tips. If one of these happens, the air is not sufficiently moist for the plant.

Consequently, you have a few options. But before you take action, we urge you to get a digital hygrometer. The ability to instantaneously know the humidity level in any room of the home is a lifeline for any indoor plant grower.

Knowing this, you can match a plant to the humidity level. Additionally, it will inform you if you need to take any action to raise the humidity.

You may use any of the following actions to make the peacock plant happy if the home’s humidity level is insufficient.

If there is strong enough indirect light in the bathroom, leave it there.
Include it in a plant group. Their collective transpiration will raise the atmosphere’s moisture level.
Set it on a tray with pebbles as long as the plant and container remain above the water.
Provided you don’t overspray the foliage, mist the plant often.
Put a humidifier on.

Is Fertilizer Required for My Peacock Plant?

Heavy feeding is unnecessary for the peacock plant to grow and develop its lovely leaves correctly. But it does need assistance.

It would help if you used plant food heavy in nitrogen since the peacock plant is a leaf plant. This will promote healthy leaf growth. Additionally, it will stop pale leaves. Less phosphorus, the P in the N-P-K formula, will help it develop more effectively.

The N-P-K ratio of a perfect formulation will be 3-1-2. A 15-5-10 product, for instance, will function well. Similarly, you may get excellent results by using an equitable fertilizer like 10-10-10.

Throughout the plant growing season, use the liquid fertilizer every two to four weeks after diluting it to half-strength. This means spring to early fall in Central Florida.

How to Propagate My Peacock Plant?

The best method of peacock propagation is division. Given that you will need to remove the plant from its container, the ideal time to accomplish this is when you are repotting the plant. The plant experiences shock every time you do this and must recover. Hence, you should streamline this procedure.

So you may do two jobs at once by spreading when you repot.

When dividing a plant, you should hold off until the plant is larger. You need a larger plant to do this since you’ll be detaching a portion of the root ball.

It is also an effective strategy for reducing the size of the mother plant. So you won’t have to transfer it to a bigger container after splitting it. Probably not for a few more years.

Here is how to split your plant:

Remove the plant from its container with care.
Look over the root ball. After that, sweep away extra soil and dirt. If the roots are entangled, separate them.
Locate a plant region that seems to be in good condition. You want to remove a robust and healthy component so it can regenerate.
Follow the stems to the root ball and look for the roots connected to it. You will be separating this.
Carefully separate the piece from the remainder of the root ball. You may use a clean knife or your hands. You can divide one or more portions based on how large the mother plant is and how many young plants you desire.
After separating the parts, plant each one individually.
The mother plant should then be repotted with new potting soil.
Water each container then set it in the appropriate location.