The Healthy Houseplant
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • HOUSEPLANTS
    • ANTHURIUMS
    • BIRD OF PARADISE
    • CALATHEAS
    • DRACAENAS
    • DUMB CANES
    • FIDDLE LEAF FIG
    • MONEY TREES
    • MONSTERA ADANSONII
    • MONSTERA DELICIOSA
    • PEACE LILIES
    • PILEA PEPEROMIOIDES
    • POTHOS
    • PRAYER PLANTS
    • RUBBER TREES
    • SNAKE PLANTS
    • ZZ PLANTS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • HUMIDIFIERS
    • GROW LIGHTS
    • LECA
    • GIFT IDEAS
  • eBooks
    • MONSTERA DELICIOSA
    • PILEA PEPEROMIOIDES
    • ZZ PLANTS
  • Why Your Monstera Deliciosa Is Crying, Sweating and Dripping Water
  • Monsteras & Aerial Roots: What Are They & What Should You Do With Them?
  • Training Monstera Deliciosa: How to Make Them Climb
  • Why, When & How to Prune Your Monstera Deliciosa
  • How to Save a ZZ Plant From Root Rot: A Step By Step Guide
Subscribe
The Healthy Houseplant
The Healthy Houseplant
  • House Plants
    • ANTHURIUMS
      • ANTHURIUM CARE
      • ANTHURIUM HELP
      • ANTHURIUM PROPAGATION
      • ANTHURIUM TIPS
    • BIRD OF PARADISE
      • BOP CARE
      • BOP HELP
      • BOP PROPAGATION
      • BOP TIPS
    • CALATHEAS
      • CALATHEA CARE
      • CALATHEA HELP
      • CALATHEA PROPAGATION
      • CALATHEA TIPS
    • DRACAENAS
      • DRACAENA CARE
      • DRACAENA HELP
      • DRACAENA PROPAGATION
      • DRACAENA TIPS
    • DUMB CANES
      • DUMB CANE CARE
      • DUMB CANE HELP
      • DUMB CANE PROPAGATION
      • DUMB CANE TIPS
    • FIDDLE LEAF FIG
      • FLF CARE
      • FLF HELP
      • FLF PROPAGATION
      • FLF TIPS
    • MONEY TREES
      • MONEY TREE CARE
      • MONEY TREE HELP
      • MONEY TREE PROPAGATION
      • MONEY TREE TIPS
    • MONSTERA ADANSONII
      • MONSTERA ADANSONII CARE
      • MONSTERA ADANSONII HELP
      • MONSTERA ADANSONII PROPAGATION
      • MONSTERA ADANSONII TIPS
    • MONSTERA DELICIOSA
      • MONSTERA DELICIOSA CARE
      • MONSTERA DELICIOSA HELP
      • MONSTERA DELICIOSA PROPAGATION
      • MONSTERA DELICIOSA TIPS
    • PEACE LILIES
      • PEACE LILY CARE
      • PEACE LILY HELP
      • PEACE LILY PROPAGATION
      • PEACE LILY TIPS
    • PILEA PEPEROMIOIDES
      • PILEA CARE
      • PILEA HELP
      • PILEA PROPAGATION
      • PILEA TIPS
    • POTHOS
      • POTHOS CARE
      • POTHOS HELP
      • POTHOS PROPAGATION
      • POTHOS TIPS
    • PRAYER PLANTS
      • PRAYER PLANT CARE
      • PRAYER PLANT HELP
      • PRAYER PLANT PROPAGATION
      • PRAYER PLANT TIPS
    • RUBBER TREES
      • RUBBER TREE CARE
      • RUBBER TREE HELP
      • RUBBER TREE PROPAGATION
      • RUBBER TREE TIPS
    • SNAKE PLANTS
      • SNAKE PLANT CARE
      • SNAKE PLANT HELP
      • SNAKE PLANT PROPAGATION
      • SNAKE PLANT TIPS
    • ZZ PLANTS
      • ZZ CARE
      • ZZ HELP
      • ZZ PROPAGATION
      • ZZ TIPS
  • About
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • GIFT IDEAS
    • GROW LIGHTS
    • LECA
    • HUMIDIFIERS
    • TERRARIUMS
    • LIVE PLANTS
  • eBooks
    • MONSTERA DELICIOSA
    • PILEA PEPEROMIOIDES
    • ZZ PLANTS
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANT DIAGNOSE & TREATMENT
  • PRAYER PLANT TIPS
  • PRAYER PLANTS

5 Reasons Why Your Prayer Plant May Not Be Praying

  • Emily Lawton
  • 8 minute read
Total
25
Shares
21
0
4

One of the most appealing aspects of Maranta leuconeura, aka Prayer Plant, is how its leaves move and “dance” as light changes throughout the day. Unlike some plants that seem to just sit there, month after month, the frequent movement of the Prayer Plant gives the feeling of having a living thing in your home. When you view this plant at various times of day, you can see different angles of the leaves and stems, providing an appealing visual interest.

All Prayer Plants have the potential to move and pray, but sometimes they inexplicably stop moving. It can be alarming to observe any change in a previously healthy houseplant, so use this as a chance to diagnose possible problems with your Maranta. The most likely reasons for a Prayer Plant to stop moving are incorrect light levels (too much or too little), insufficient water, or shock. 

Do not panic if your Maranta leuconeura moves less than usual or stops moving. A Prayer Plant doesn’t need to move and pray to be healthy! But if you are wondering how and why this plant (and many others) move and what can cause them to stop, some of the most common reasons are listed below.


An Overview of Prayer Plant Movement

Before we determine why your Prayer Plant may not be standing up the way you expect, let’s go through a brief explanation of why and how the leaves move. Marantas and many other plants move their leaves in response to darkness. This behavior is called nyctinastic movement. There are various types of nastic movement, which is simply the name for a plant’s reaction to a stimulus such as light, temperature, or touch.

Prayer Plant movement mimics the circadian rhythm, following a 24-hour cycle. Some early scientists studying nyctinasty believed that the plants were doing something similar to sleeping at night. The reality is that plants don’t experience waking and sleep in the way animals do. Holding their leaves upward could be considered a more active position than having them down and open, so this wouldn’t even be a logical resting position. Instead, botanists have several theories about what survival advantage the plant might be getting from this behavior. 

Most of the ideas about why plants demonstrate nyctinastic movement are related to light, water, temperature, or all three. Since leaves absorb both sunlight and humidity from the air around them, it seems reasonable to think that they could move to regulate the amount of moisture or solar radiation the plant receives. We see similar behavior in other types of plants, such as flowers that open in the day and close up at night or plants that track the sun as it moves.

Maranta leuconeura adjusts the position of its leaves and stems through the function of a motor organ called the pulvinus. The amount of liquid in the cells of the pulvinus causes each cell to swell or contract. The swollen cells cause that area of the plant to stiffen and raise, while the opposite allows stems and leaves to relax back into their open position. 

For a more detailed explanation of how Prayer Plants and their relatives move, check out this article: When, Why, and How Do Prayer Plants Move and “Pray”?


Do All Prayer Plants Pray?

Aside from Maranta leuconeura, several members of the Marantaceae family are sold as houseplants, including Stromanthe, Calathea (recently renamed Goeppertia), and Ctenanthe. You may see any of these being labeled or referred to as Prayer Plant, although only Maranta leuconeura is actually a Prayer Plant.

You can expect nyctinasty to show up in all of these plants, although the degree of movement can vary from plant to plant. Typically, Maranta leuconeura movement is the most noticeable, but the conditions in your home influence how much your specific plant moves. 

If you have another plant from the Marantaceae group that is not moving, the advice will be mostly the same. They tend to require similar care, so you can use the troubleshooting tips below, even if yours is not a Prayer Plant. 

For more information on the different Marantaceae and how to identify them, this article goes into the topic in much more detail: Prayer Plant Varieties: Which Prayer Plant Do You Have?


Most Common Reasons for Prayer Plants Not Praying or Moving 

Before you start to diagnose why your Prayer Plant is not moving, evaluate whether or not there is an actual problem. Is this a new situation, or has your Maranta been still since you got it? Are there any other apparent problems, such as discolored or drooping leaves? If your plant otherwise looks healthy, it doesn’t need to move its leaves and stems. 

Also, be sure you have reasonable expectations for what Prayer Plant movement looks like. Check some photos or videos online to see what the range of motion is. For example, don’t expect the leaves to fold in on themselves like a closing book or to curl in from the sides. Instead, the regular “prayer” movement can be just a few lifted leaves that are angled more vertically than they are during the daytime. 


Reason #1: Too Little Light

As mentioned above, there is a theory that the reason for Marantas’ movement is to adapt to the available light levels. If this theory is correct, and the plant is not getting enough light during the day, it might not raise its leaves at night. By leaving them open and flat, the plant would maximize the amount of light it can take in, even during the evening and night hours. 

Other signs that your Maranta isn’t getting enough light include pale leaves and slow growth. Prayer Plants are often sold as low light plants, and they can survive for a while in low light conditions, but they will not thrive there long-term.

Try moving your Prayer Plant to a spot that gets medium indirect light or adding a grow light if you do not have an appropriate window for it. Be sure to keep Marantas out of direct sun, though, as their delicate leaves can quickly get burned.


Reason #2: Too Bright at Night

Nyctinastic movement is a response to darkness (not light), which makes it a different response than when other plants grow toward the sun. Plants display all sorts of nastic movements, depending on the type of stimulus causing the movement. If your plant is kept in a bright place all the time, it may not raise its leaves at night.

Marantas that sit near a bright streetlight or in offices where fluorescent lighting stays on 24/7 are likely to stay in their daytime position. Since they never get the stimulus of darkness, they never express the nyctinastic movement fully. 

You should easily be able to determine if this is the reason your Prayer Plant isn’t praying. Just relocate it to a room that gets dark at night and observe whether that causes a change to the behavior.  


Reason #3: Not Enough Moisture

Prayer Plants require consistently moist (but not wet) soil. Unlike some other plants that bounce back once watered, Marantas can show permanent leaf damage if they get too dry – even if it’s for a short time. 

Keep an eye out for a Prayer Plant that looks just slightly more limp than usual. This is the first sign that the potting mix is too dry, so if you can catch it at this point, your plant shouldn’t suffer much (if any) damage. Try to anticipate your Prayer Plant’s needs and not let it dry out. 

A dry Maranta leuconeura will stop moving or praying because they need sufficient liquid in the cells in the pulvinus to operate. You are likely to observe other signs in conjunction with this one if your Prayer Plant is too dry. The leaves start to look shriveled or curl in on themselves, and the whole plant gets droopy.  

Also, note that Prayer Plants can be a bit picky about their water. The best choice is room-temperature rainwater. Water that is too warm or cool can cause shock (see below), and tap water sometimes causes brown leaf edges because it contains minerals. Distilled water also works if you don’t have access to rainwater. 


Reason #4: Environmental Changes

Even if you haven’t consciously changed anything about the way you care for your Prayer Plant, it could be reacting to environmental factors like lower light or humidity due to changing seasons. Many houseplants can adapt to seasonal changes without us noticing since those changes occur gradually over time.

Marantas are more high-maintenance than some other plants, though, and they don’t like any alterations to their environment. Your plant may just need time to adjust to the different conditions, but you can play around with adjusting light and humidity to see if that brings the plant back to normal. 

When a plant reacts poorly to changes in its environment, the general term is “plant shock” (different from transplant shock, covered below). It’s easier to avoid plant shock than to fix it, so try to avoid changes as much as you are able, or introduce those changes to your Prayer Plant gradually. That way, the plant can adapt to the changing conditions without experiencing shock.


Reason #5: Transplant Shock

Related to the reason above, Prayer Plants sometimes have a bad reaction to being repotted. Unfortunately, unlike some other environmental changes, there’s no way to repot a plant gradually. One of the reactions to repotting you might encounter is a reduction in the amount of movement the Prayer Plant displays. Dramatically wilting and curling leaves usually accompany transplant shock.  

If you have recently moved your Maranta leuconeura to a larger container, it is getting a sudden boost of nutrients from the potting mix, plus the roots may have suffered a bit of damage in the move. It is a good idea to water thoroughly 24 hours before you interact with a Prayer Plant’s roots in any way, to minimize damage to the root hairs.

If you suspect transplant shock, there are not too many things you can do other than wait. During this recovery time, be sure your Prayer Plant has all its other care needs met (temperature, humidity, watering) while it devotes its energy to getting healthy. Remove any dead or dying leaves as they sap resources from the plant.  


Putting it All Together

Maranta leuconeura leaves open and close due to changes in the light levels in its environment. In general, healthy Prayer Plants in the right conditions will move their leaves and stems throughout the day. However, they do not have to move to be doing well. 

That said, any time your plant’s behavior and appearance changes, it is a good indication that you should evaluate what happened. Most of the time, if your Maranta leuconeura stops moving because of some problem, this will not be the only symptom. If nothing else, Marantas are quite communicative since they show their displeasure right away if something is wrong.

The most common reasons your Prayer Plant stops moving and praying include too much or too little light, the potting mix getting too dry, or a reaction to shock. It could also be a combination of a couple of these. Luckily, it should be simple to determine what caused your plant to stop moving. Once you have identified the issue, you can move forward with the correct steps to get your Prayer Plant back to its normal, healthy movement!

Total
25
Shares
Share 21
Tweet 0
Pin it 4
Emily Lawton

You May Also Like
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANT DIAGNOSE & TREATMENT
  • PRAYER PLANTS

Why Prayer Plants Grow Sideways and Fall Over and What To Do About It

  • Emily Lawton
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANT PROPAGATION
  • PRAYER PLANTS

Everything You Need to Know About Your Prayer Plant’s Blooms

  • Christina Boren
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANT DIAGNOSE & TREATMENT
  • PRAYER PLANTS

What To Do When Your Prayer Plant Leaves Start Curling

  • Emily Lawton
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANTS

Can You Hang or Vine a Prayer Plant? Tips for Displaying Your Maranta

  • Christina Boren
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANT DIAGNOSE & TREATMENT
  • PRAYER PLANTS

The Most Common Causes of Droopy Prayer Plants and Steps to Recovery

  • Christina Boren
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANTS

When, Why, and How Do Prayer Plants Move and “Pray”?

  • Emily Lawton
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANT DIAGNOSE & TREATMENT
  • PRAYER PLANTS

Diagnosing Your Prayer Plant’s Leaf and Health Issues Plus Steps to Recovery

  • Emily Lawton
View Post
  • PRAYER PLANT CARE
  • PRAYER PLANT DIAGNOSE & TREATMENT
  • PRAYER PLANTS

What To Do When Your Prayer Plant Loses Its Bright Color and Turns Pale

  • Emily Lawton
Recent Posts
  • 11 Possible Reasons Your Pothos is Losing Leaves
  • Marble Queen Pothos Care: What Your Variegated Plant Needs to Thrive
  • Croton Lighting 101: All You Need to Know for Healthy Crotons

The Sill creative banners

The Healthy Houseplant is reader-supported. We are a member of several affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to external sites. When you make purchases through links on our site, we earn a small commission.

  • What Should You Name Your Monstera Deliciosa? 50+ Names to Get You Started

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Input your search keywords and press Enter.