Zebra Plant (Aphelandra squarrosa) Care: What to Know

Learn how to grow Zebra Plant (Aphelandra squarrosa ‘Dania’) in your indoor garden and get this beautiful plant to thrive. Zebra Plant can be difficult to keep healthy and happy as a houseplant. Find out what Aphelandra squarrosa needs for lighting, watering, fertilizing, humidity, and more.

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Video Transcript

Welcome to HealthyHousePlants.com, where we teach you all about gardening in The Great Indoors. If you’d like to support my show and get help growing your house plants, check out my Patreon below.

Today we have a plant care video for zebra plant, botanically known as Aphelandra squarrosa. This is a very exotic looking house plant with its white striped green leaves and occasional bright yellow flowers. The plant gives your home a tropical feel. Zebra plant is native to Brazil, where it grows in the jungle reaching up to 6 feet tall and 5 feet wide outdoors. Indoors it will stay much more compact, generally growing 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. The beautiful yellow flowers, which generally appear in summer through late fall, will last an average of 6 weeks.

Zebra plants can be a bit difficult to keep happy indoors, so if you’ve been having some trouble with your plant or you want to make sure all goes well, the following growing tips will help keep your Aphelandra squarrosa healthy and happy in your indoor garden.

Lighting: For best growth and to maintain vibrant coloration in the leaves and encourage repeat blooming, provide the plant with bright indirect light. You can grow the plant in dimmer conditions, but it won’t tend to flower for you and it may lose coloration in the leaves and just not be real happy. Good areas of the home to find such light are in front of an unobstructed eastern window or 2 to 3 feet away from an unobstructed southern window. The plant also does well under full spectrum lighting. Avoid putting the plant in bright hot light or directly in bright hot light as the leaves will burn and the plant will suffer.

Watering: Zebra plant should be kept slightly moist. Don’t allow the plant to dry out as it will drop leaves and any flowers will dry up. However, don’t overwater the plant as it will succumb to root rot. Like many house plants, you need to maintain a delicate balance when it comes to watering. Water when the top 1 to 2 inches of soil has dried out and the moisture meter inserted 1/3 of the way into the pot registers four. With its tendency to be high in minerals such as salts, fluoride, chloramine, and chlorine, tap water may cause zebra plant to get brown leaf tips and edges. If this occurs, water with filtered, reverse osmosis, distilled, or rain or snow water and the browning should stop. Always water with warm water and do that with all of your house plants.

Fertilizing: Fertilize zebra plant monthly early spring through late summer with an organic fertilizer. Chemical fertilizers are way too harsh for this plant and many house plants, and I generally don’t recommend them. I will put a link below for some good organic fertilizers. Don’t fertilize in the fall and winter months when the plant slows down growth. This plant also appreciates being top dressed with worm castings, which has a variety of micronutrients that they love. This can be done throughout the year and is a good alternative to fertilizing in the cold months of the year.

Humidity: Given zebra plant’s tropical origins, it requires fairly high humidity to remain healthy and vibrant. If the humidity is too low, the leaves will curl and may fall off. The ideal humidity range is 50 to 65%. Check with a hygrometer to see what the humidity level is in your home. If it is lower, do what you can to raise the humidity level. This can be done with pebble trays, misting, using a humidifier, and one of my absolute favorites, grouping plants. Plants humidify each other, so the more plants you have, the higher the humidity level will be in the area of your home where you have plants.

Temperature: Also given their natural habitat, the zebra plant likes conditions on the warm side. Their ideal temperature range is 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, although they will tolerate 65 if things get cooler for an extended period of time. For these plants, they will protest by looking unhappy and dropping leaves. Keep the plant away from drafts, drafty conditions in the cold months of the year, and air conditioning vents in the summer as they won’t respond well to those conditions at all.

Repotting: Zebra plant should be repotted when it has surpassed my rule of thumb of 2/3 plant on top to 1/3 pot below. Repot spring through summer. Use a high-quality organic potting soil that is rich yet well-draining.

Pruning: This plant requires very little pruning. Simply clip off old leaves as they come on at the base of the plant. You could do a little pruning here and there for shaping, but overall they aren’t plants that need a ton of pruning.

Pests and Diseases: Root rot can occur if you overwater this plant. As for pests, zebra plant may occasionally experience mealybugs, scale, or spider mites. Treat mealybugs and scale with isopropyl alcohol of 91% or 70% to destroy existing mealybugs or scale, and then use neem oil to kill off eggs and to make any adults that you didn’t kill off with the alcohol sterile so they won’t create any more babies. Spider mites like dry conditions, so if you are having some spider mites on your zebra plant, there’s a very good chance that the plant is not doing well anyway because you probably have it way too dry. Want to increase humidity because the spider mites don’t like that increased humidity, which should get rid of them and then the plant will do a lot better when it has more humidity.

So there you go with how to keep this beautiful plant healthy and happy in your indoor garden. Thank you for stopping by today. Please leave any comments about any indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. Remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video, and please check the bell if you’d like to be notified when new videos are released.

FAQ's - Zebra Plant (Aphelandra squarrosa) 101

Zebra Plant (Aphelandra squarrosa) Care

What is the ideal lighting for a Zebra Plant?

For best growth and to maintain vibrant coloration in the leaves and encourage repeat blooming, provide the plant with bright indirect light. Avoid bright hot light as it can burn the leaves.

How should I water my Zebra Plant?

Keep the plant slightly moist but avoid overwatering to prevent root rot. Water when the top 1 to 2 inches of soil has dried out, and use filtered or distilled water to prevent browning of leaf tips.

What type of fertilizer should I use for a Zebra Plant?

Fertilize monthly from early spring through late summer with an organic fertilizer. Avoid chemical fertilizers, and consider top dressing with worm castings year-round.

What humidity level does a Zebra Plant require?

The ideal humidity range is 50 to 65%. If humidity is too low, the leaves may curl and fall off. Use pebble trays, misting, or a humidifier to increase humidity if necessary.

What temperature is best for a Zebra Plant?

The ideal temperature range is 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The plant will tolerate temperatures down to 65 degrees but may drop leaves if exposed to cooler conditions or drafts.

When and how should I repot my Zebra Plant?

Repot the Zebra Plant when it has outgrown its pot, generally in spring through summer. Use a high-quality organic potting soil that is rich yet well-draining.

Does the Zebra Plant require pruning?

This plant requires very little pruning. Simply remove old leaves as they die off. You can also do some light pruning for shaping if desired.

What pests and diseases should I watch for in a Zebra Plant?

Root rot can occur if overwatered. Common pests include mealybugs, scale, and spider mites. Treat with isopropyl alcohol and neem oil as necessary, and increase humidity to deter spider mites.