Images may show mature specimens and are provided as a guide only. As plants are living products, the size, shape and appearance of the stock supplied may vary from the images shown.

Nursery Direct

Cuban Cigar Calathea

Calathea lutea

Regular price $800.00 AUD
Regular price Sale price $800.00 AUD
Sale Sold out

Everything is included in this price: the plant, free delivery and professional installation

The price you see is the whole job: the plant supplied, delivered free and professionally installed. Done for you.

Supplied in 400mmtypically 1.5 to 2.5m tall on delivery

Want to see the actual plant?

The photo shows this species, not the individual plant reserved for you. Send us an enquiry and we usually reply within 1 business day with photos of the actual stock available in the size you want.

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Getting it in: this size needs about 900mm of clear access. Measure the narrowest point on the route and tell us on the booking call. Standard access is included in the price, and anything unusual is quoted and agreed with you before work begins. What happens on installation day

Looking for a larger size?

Sizes shown are the sizes we currently source in this species. If you need larger specimens, project quantities or a size not listed, our sourcing team can look for it through our national supplier network. We confirm your exact stock with you on the booking call before anything ships.

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Request Project Pricing

You order. We do the rest.

After checkout, our team contacts you to confirm site access and book a day that suits. Most orders are delivered and planted within 2 to 4 weeks of your booking call. Nothing else for you to organise.

Registered Australian business, ABN 33 683 675 603. Public liability certificates available on request.

Product Details

Overview & Specifications

Price includes everything: the plant, free delivery and professional installation by our planting team. One price, whole job done.

Cuban Cigar Calathea - Calathea lutea

Calathea lutea is the largest of the calatheas grown in Australia, throwing paddle-shaped leaves up to a metre long on tall upright stems to build a clumping tropical thicket. The undersides of the leaves carry a distinctive powdery white waxy bloom, so the plant flashes silver whenever wind turns the foliage. Its common name comes from the flower bracts, which are stiff, waxy and cigar-brown, held on their own stalks above the clump. This is a structural foliage plant, used for scale and texture rather than flowers.

Why Cuban Cigar Calathea

Leaf Scale: Individual leaves reach around a metre, giving instant tropical mass that few shade plants can match.
Silver Reverse: The waxy white leaf underside creates a two-tone effect as the clump moves.
Cigar Bracts: Rigid maroon-brown bracts appear through the warmer months and last for weeks, cut or on the plant.
Clumping Habit: It spreads by rhizome into a controlled clump rather than running through a bed.
Shade Performance: Filtered light and shade suit it, so it fills the difficult ground beneath palms and large trees.

Ideal Applications

Tropical understorey: Planted beneath palms, heliconias and gingers for a layered rainforest effect.
Poolside screening: A clump gives soft, moving green privacy around a pool in warm climates.
Shaded courtyard: Large pots in a protected courtyard where the leaves are safe from wind shredding.
Indoor atrium and light well: Suited to bright, humid interior spaces with plenty of headroom.

Specimen & Installation

Spacing (screening/hedge): 1 to 1.5m
Spacing (feature/avenue): 2 to 2.5m
Best Planting Season: Spring and summer while soil is warm, year round in the tropics
Soil & Drainage: Rich, moisture-retentive soil with plenty of compost, free draining but never allowed to dry out
Establishment Care: Water frequently and keep humidity up, as the leaf edges brown quickly in dry air or drying wind. Mulch heavily, feed with a balanced fertiliser through the growing season, and cut damaged canes to the base to keep the clump looking fresh.

Plant Details

Height: 2 to 3m
Width: 1.5 to 2.5m as a spreading clump
Growth Rate: Fast in warm humid conditions
Foliage: Evergreen
Light: Part shade to filtered light, protected from wind and frost
Native to: Tropical Central and South America and the Caribbean
Flower Colour: Waxy maroon-brown bracts with small yellow flowers

Delivery & Installation

Delivery and installation are included in your price

No freight calculators and no separate installation quote for a standard installation. Your price covers specialist plant transport, positioning and professional planting by our installation team. The whole job, handled.

Delivery & installation Included
  • Wrapped, secured and transported by specialist plant freight.
  • Professionally planted, staked and finished by our install team.
  • Our team confirms site access and schedules a time that suits you.
How It Works

Installation

Professional installation included, never extra

Every plant we sell is planted by our professional installation team, and it's already in the price. We coordinate the delivery, the machinery and the planting for standard site access, so your only job is choosing the tree. Unusual access or engineering requirements? We'll confirm everything with you after checkout before any work begins.

Questions? Send An Enquiry

Why Nursery Direct

Every price includes supply, delivery and installation

Buying a mature tree often means three separate jobs: the plant, the freight and finding someone to plant it. We price the whole job as one: the tree, the delivery and the professional install.

  • One price: supplied, delivered and installed
  • Mature trees and specimen palms at every scale
  • National sourcing for hard-to-find stock
  • Residential, estate and commercial projects
Contact Our Sourcing Team

How It Works

Place your order. We do the rest.

1

We Supply

Premium advanced stock, selected from a national network of wholesale growers.

2

We Deliver

Specialist plant freight brings your order to your door. Free, anywhere in Australia.

3

We Install

Our professional team plants, stakes, mulches and finishes the job on site.

Good To Know

Questions, answered

What exactly is included in the price?

Everything for a standard installation: the plant itself, free specialist delivery to your property, and professional installation by our planting team into prepared or accessible ground, with no freight fees added later. If your site needs a crane or other difficult access work, that is quoted separately and agreed with you before anything is booked, never after. Difficult access has its own question on this page.

How does installation work?

After you order, our team contacts you to confirm site access and book a day that suits. On the day, your plants arrive by specialist freight and our installers position, plant, stake and mulch them, then leave the site tidy.

When will my order arrive?

Most orders are delivered and planted within 2 to 4 weeks of your booking call. After checkout, our team contacts you to confirm details and book the delivery and planting day, so you have a date before anything ships. Timing can vary with stock location and your area, and we confirm your exact day with you.

What if my site has tricky access?

Standard installation covers planting into accessible ground and is included in every price. If your site involves cranes, tight access or special machinery, we assess it with you after you order and agree on everything before any work begins. Always before, never after.

Do you offer a plant guarantee?

Yes, and it runs well past delivery day. Every plant is inspected before dispatch and protected in transit, and we guarantee it arrives alive and in reasonable condition. Beyond that you have a 30 day plant guarantee, and a 1 year conditional replacement warranty: if a plant fails within 12 months of delivery despite following our care recommendations, you can submit a claim for assessment. Claims need photographs of the plant and the planting site plus details of watering, drainage and soil, because living plants depend on the conditions they are put into. The full terms are in our refund policy.

What if the exact plant or size I order is not available?

Every plant is sourced to order from our grower network, so before anything ships we call you to confirm the exact stock we have secured, the size and the delivery day. If the plant you chose is not available in the size you wanted, we tell you on that call and go through the options with you, whether that is a different size, a close alternative or waiting for the right stock. Nothing is loaded onto a truck before you know what is coming. Full details are in our refund policy.

Can I plant outside the best planting season?

Yes. We deliver and plant all year round. The best planting season shown on each listing is about ideal establishment, not a restriction: planting in that window usually means less watering and a faster settling in period. Our team adjusts how a plant is installed and watered in for the conditions on the day, and if you are planting through peak summer heat or a cold snap we will talk you through the extra care it needs on your booking call.

Will this plant suit my climate?

Australia covers a lot of climates, and a plant that thrives in Brisbane can struggle in Ballarat. Every listing states the mature size, the light it wants and where the species comes from. If you are not certain a plant suits your frost, heat, wind or coastal exposure, send us an enquiry before you order and we will tell you honestly whether it is right for your site. We would rather talk you out of the wrong plant than replace it later.

Can I order for a large project?

Yes. For project quantities and commercial supply, use the Request Project Pricing button on any product and our sourcing team will put together a complete package: supplied, delivered and installed.