Calathea plants, also known as prayer plants, are tropical houseplants with colorful and patterned leaves. They prefer indirect sunlight, providing 8-10 hours of light and no direct sunlight. If you notice symptoms like brown edges on the leaves, it’s time to reassess your fertilization routine. Addressing nutrient needs promptly can restore your plant’s health and vitality.
Calathea plants grow well indoors in bright rooms that get plenty of indirect sunlight. The best potting medium should be lightweight, rich in organic matter, and slightly acidic. Water the plant enough to keep the soil moist but not wet, and fertilize it once a month except during winter.
Calatheas need specific care to thrive, including a consistently warm spot and bright but indirect light. They prefer a well-draining potting soil or mix, which should include ingredients like compost, pine bark, coco coir, worm castings, and perlite. Calatheas don’t thrive on neglect, but care is as simple as regular watering and giving them a light mist every few days.
Calatheas thrive in warm, humid conditions, so keep them in a warm location where temperatures rarely drop below 65°F. To plant, grow, and care for a calathea plant, follow these steps:
- Provide 8-10 hours of indirect sunlight.
- Water the plant regularly, but not too much.
- Mist the leaves frequently to prevent brown edges from appearing on the leaves.
In summary, calathea plants are tropical houseplants with colorful and patterned leaves that require proper care and attention.
📹 How to care for your Calathea | Grow at Home | RHS
Calathea come in many different shapes and sizes – they are beautiful plants that can brighten up corners of your home and are …
📹 How To Care For Calathea | Houseplant Care Tips
I recently added the Calathea Orbifolia, and Zebrina to the family. My first Calathea was the Ornata and then I got the Lancifolia, …
This past year ive started to get loads of plants to decorate my new home but im learning to care for them the hard way. Trial – error – trial – error… Ive made so many mistakes! Many plants have almost died but Ive managed to bring them back to life. They will never fully recover or look exactly as they used to, but Im happy with my bunch of recovering babies 😂😂😂
I have a Rattlesnake Calathea and the new leaves are very pale. It’s in a light room and gets humidity with a spray bottle. I water it only when it’s dry to an inch down. Should I liquid fertilise it? Or give it some loose leaf green tea to help darken leaves? It’s still in its nursery pot but not root bound.
Royally confused about what type of water to use with Calatheas and other Marantaceae? I listened to actual growers who said do not use chlorinated and fluorinated tap water. Never have had any leaf brown tips, etc. Distilled water is less than $1 a gallon where I live and I also use recycled water from my dehumidifier. I’m an ambassador for healthy Calatheas. Why not take the relatively minor extra effort to use non-chemical water?
Tap water? Nope!! Filtered water at least. My advice for Calatheas – just don’t. They’re proper divas. Take a picture in the shop it’ll save you a load of grief and it’s the best it’ll ever look. They’re beautiful but a royal pain in the bum. We’ve got around 30 houseplants of all different varieties from succulents to orchids and the Calathea is the only one that gives us any trouble, basically been on life support since we got it.
I bought a zebrina a few weeks ago. Drove me nuts! “I’m too hot” Moved it to the coolest spot in the house. “I’m too wet” Repotted to all new soil, watered slightly. “I’m too dry” “Shut up and go play outside” So now it’s planted in the garden with my other happy tropical plants. It’s still complaining but at least it’s not sitting on my dining table putting me off my food.
In the beginning of my plant journey my boyfriend got me a calathea as a present. At that point I did not even know what it was called and there were no care instructions but I kept her in a quite low light room but after moving her to a medium light room a few monthes ago she just keeps and keeps on getting new leafs. Had her for a little over a year now and she only has two brown tips. Let’s pray she keeps on being happy
I bought a Calathea last summer, put it on the edge of my desk, done. I’m watering it when the soil is getting dry (and I have to admit it has been dry for days sometimes), it gets liquid fertiliser when all the other plants get it too. That’s all. Depending on the season it gets sun or it doesn’t get any, the humidity is whatever it is, it’s still in it’s original container, never misted it. It’s doing splendidly, not a brown spot in sight, producing leaves like crazy, actually starting to flower now. I had no idea these are supposed to be difficult plants until I stumbled across some articles and this article.
I was just at Home Depot and they were unboxing some perfect looking Calathea Sanderiana’s and because this little temptress of a plant looked so perfect I gave in and bought it. I have a house full of plants but never have taken on one of these after researching them out before in the past cause Calathea’s kinda lure you in with their good looks only to discover they are like a plant that likes a lot of drama in your relationship lol. I’ve seen a lot of plant heart break in owning these but I like experimenting and trying new things so I’ll take all the tips I can get. 🙂
Love your beautiful plants! And here is something I’d like to say. Humidifiers are good for plants. Many people have the misunderstanding that plants who love humidity equals to plants who love water. Watering too frequently will cause root rot, actually most of the brown edges and brown tips are caused by too much water, because those are the places where water finally stays. And people should pay attention to those brown spots which appear in the center of leaves, those are fugal diseases. If that happens, stop any watering, misting or humidifying things, cut off those infected leaves and get your plants a fungicide spay.
I love the challenge that these extremely fussy plants present you. It’s like I’m on a personal mission now to succeed with these plants. I have around 12 now, most are thriving but frustratingly I still have issues with the odd one. My plant room is kept around 20°C, humidity is between 60-70%. My plant room is north facing, which is a must in summer. I never use tap water and I mist very regularly. Also, you need to constantly check for pests, spider mites in particular. All that and I finally think I’m beginning to master these plants. They really are a challenge, but soooo beautiful when you get it right.
My calatheas love bright indirect light from a southfacing window! I originally had them about 6 feet back, but they weren’t doing well. A week after moving them closer, new growth popped up. Once I understood the light situation and the kept the Humidity 60-70%, I haven’t had any issues. Also, fellow Torontonian over here 🙂
My Calathea ( red prayer), Chauncey, started to brown. I quickly removed him from the kitchen ( where all the pothos hangs out and one peperomia Ginny ) and placed him in the sitting room with another Calathea ( pinstripe), Lucretia, by another window but it’s pretty shaded with sheer drapes. Hopefully they will keep each other company and don’t die on me. I’m glad I subscribed because now I know to water them as well as my Ficus, Dorinda, with filtered water. Jeez..
*if you are a beginner I would suggest you not get a calathea* Yea.. wish I would have done my research. I found a warscewiczii at a discount (it had a broken leaf) and I fell in love. But as soon as it entered my house, it started drooping, now it has worms.. I think I’m either going to kill it or propagate the shit out of it. Is my way it the high way!
I chose a Calathea Zebrina for my first ever plant not knowing they were fussy 😳 I had no idea they hated bright indirect light. The leave was browning when I place them close to the window. Nowadays I put them in the corner of the room and they’re absolutely THRIVING. Been pushing out more leaves than ever! 😮 (I also put them in water but they’re so happy!)
We have a clump full of big leafed calatheas in a pot outdoors where it’s shaded in the morning and receives direct hot sunlight in the afternoon and I guess I could say it’s thriving! Their leaves curl up when exposed to direct sunlight but return to normal once the afternoon cools down. I live in the Philippines and I guess it works out since they’re tropical plants lol They’ve been there outside with other calatheas tho some are always shaded, the one exposed to the sun still thrives and putting out lots of new leaves. It’s green velvety leaves are fun to look at and nice to touch sometimes.
Even though I was well aware of the potential fussiness of calatheas, I was stubborn and still bought one as my very first houseplant. At the time, I thought I did my homework on calathea care, which was pretty much everything you mentioned in this article, except for one major thing: water. Within a week of bringing it home, I repotted my calathea and fed it garden hose water(!)… Worst. Decisions. Ever. I probably fussed with the roots too much when repotting, too. I later read somewhere that calatheas sometimes like a tighter fit in their pot, so I probably should’ve done without repotting it this year. All the new growth stopped growing (waaaaah!), and got some major browning on the leaves. Some of the new leaves that unfurled over the first few weeks were half-crispy. Some of the older leaves died altogether. 🙁 I think he’s finally stabilizing now. I’m still learning what “evenly moist” looks/feels like, but I’m following pretty much the same tip you mentioned. I also have pebbles inside the bottom of the pot below the soil to help with drainage. My humidifier is more so an oil diffuser, so it doesn’t create huidity as strong as yours, but I’m thinking it still gets the job done. I have a digital clock with a hygrometer on the same dresser my plants are on, and try to keep the humidity around around the upper 50s. Though half-crispy, I think the new growth is starting to grow again. Still scared for what may happen this winter, to be honest. haha Thanks for the vid, Christian!
This is a bit of a late comment but fluoride does not evaporate from letting water sit for some time. It’s a soluble metal salt that becomes more concentrated if you boil or let the water evaporate. Even some well or spring water may naturally contain fluoride. So the cheapest solution would be gathering rainwater (if you are lucky enough to live where the air quality is good).
I have 5 different calatheas I’ve collected over the past 3 years. I have a maranta prayer plant that is trailing down like a pathos, and I need to repot it. So far I have been successful, but this winter the leaf tips on my rattle snake calathea are turning brown on three of the leaves. I water from the bottom to the top with a big bowl where I let them soak. It seems they are more thoroughly watered and really happy with it.
Glad I didn’t know these are tricky! I bought my mum a big one before lockdown because I couldn’t take her any more flowers. It’s doing great on the neglect of the few carers she feels she can ask to water it for her, and then it’s by the spoonful at a time, every Monday (so she remembers to ask) it s a Sabrina I think I’ve said. Probably got that wrong. His third one. It’s away from the window, check, not humid though. She even has an ac unit! Previously it’s thrived with underfloor heating in the room (it’s on a table thought). The begonias I bought died, but the calathea is doing great. Seems like she’s got the only robust calathea out there!
I have a few prayer plants and they do super well with me (same as fittonias), for the same reason for which one of my aloe plants rotted: I love watering my plants. I have no brown edges and I even managed to rescue one half-dead caleatha from my local supermarket (they scorched it by sun, baaaaad plant people!). I think the trick with them is to always have the soil moist. I use similar potting mix to what you specified (with only difference I don’t do perlite but I do peat instead) and I don’t let them dry to any more than say 60% dry ever. I also have no humidifier but the humidity in my house (I live in the UK) is never less than 50% and often even about 70%. So yeah, hope this helps. Love your chanel! And I send loads of love to all of your plants from a crazy plant and cat lady;).
Great, love your info!!! I just inherited a bunch of prayer plants, and Hoyas, succulents more ferns then I can name,4 diff types of bleeding hearts,Chinese lanterns, call them what you will, none of the plants have died, if anything my mistreating them, they seem to enjoy.I would never have said I have a green thumb, my sister is jealous as weekly I am propagating, I got bored and decided I would graft a red Hoya onto a white one, it worked no prob, so just added a yellow and orange,and hope it works. Thanks for your invaluable information, you’re a great mentor!! 🙃🙏🏼From Australia
Just got my first Calathea! Impulse buy at a little plant shop (after some research, of course). I have a humidifier, and my new humidity meter is saying upwards of 70% relative humidity in my bedroom (IDK if it is broken, might buy a different one to see). Planning on keeping my Ornata on my bedside table- about 10 feet from my Southeast window. Gets good ambient light during the day… Keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn’t crisp up on me!
I’ve had my calathea ornata for about a month (one of my first houseplants), and it has been doing awesome and growing a new leaf. And two weeks ago I got another calathea that I haven’t IDed (because it did not come with a tag). Both doing great and have them hanging out in a corner of my dresser with begonia maculata (and they all thrive).
I have had my prayer plant for 35 years, leaves do die off from time to time, I have moved several times and low light areas seems to stop the growth, high light areas too much sun will wilt, I keep mine about 6 feet from the window, I have never misted this plant but I will try this to see if that would help with growth.
Preach!!! So fussy! But so beautiful! I have one that I have had for four years, he is a division of my mother in law’s plant that she got when she was 18. He is so bad! Once he died off completely and came back happier than ever. Now he looks sad and crinkly (needed a repot) so am awaiting his return to former glory again 😂😂
I got two Calatheas, a zebrina and a ornata, because there are just a few kind of plants, which can be hold with cats and luckily the calatheas are among them. So i went to the garden center in my town and the gardener was like “yes, this one is totally easy, its basically for beginners.” So i bought two of them. Since I have no Idea, how to keep plants alive at all, I am so overchallanged with these beauties. Thank you so much for this article, I think its saving two calatheas lives. So just one more question: When is the best time for changing the flowerpot? I have noticed that the calathea zebrina is quite big for the pot she is in and I am not sure whether I should just change the pot (and when), or I should part the calathea (if thats possible) into two smaller versions? Please help, I just dont know what I do :D”””
I found the same: water quality is important (and no direct light). Quickest & cheapest solution: buying a water conditioner. You use a few drops per litre water so my bottle will last me a few years! Bought it at a pet shop because it’s usually used for aquarium water. Makes sense: if it’s good for fussy goldfish, it’s good for fussy plants. Now never use tap water without adding a few drops, and made the biggest difference to my plants’ health!
I was a lost beginner a month ago and my calathea is doing absolutly well!! The biggest thing i did were 1. north facing window 2. spray 1-2x a day with destilled water (twice if room humidity is low, i already have a humidity level and thermomether in my room) 3. destilled water only!! tap water would be fine, if it werent for lime in the water, which is rather common in germany and too high for plants in my house Easy!
I have 4 calatheas now. Such beautiful plants but I’ve watched my rattlesnake one almost dwindle away to nothing. I’m so upset as it was a beautiful lush plant when I bought it. Now it’s two browning leaves. I’ve moved it off my desk and it’s now on a plant stand next to me bed. I’m spraying it often and making sure it doesn’t dry out. Hopefully it will bounce back.
I shower with my calathea Dottie 😂 whenever I take a shower I take my calathea and my monstera deliciosa in the bathroom with me and put them on the bathroom counter, keep the door and window closed while I’m showering, and once I’m done, I fill up the sink with hot/warm water, and only open the door briefly while leaving, and leave the plants in there. It keeps the humidity high for a good few hours! I’m trying to stop my calathea leaves from curling and make my monstera grow faster, so I think it helps. Kind of like a free humidifier!
I got two Calatheas from IKEA, one is an Orbifolia.. It was beautiful, but I think we should’ve broken up already! Nothing I do is enough, it’s constantly demanding attention.. I don’t know what it wants from me! Currently it’s showing yet another brown leaf. I think there’s more brown than green at this point! It does have two new leaves though.. But I’m sure if I turn my back for 5 minutes they’ll be brown! If you can’t keep their green leaves there’s no hope for me! Thanks for the tips 🙂
I’m pretty bad with plants. But I wanted one with nice leafs in the living room thinking it can’t be as hard to keep it living as a blooming plant. Got to the market and bought a calathea. I’m a fool. At least I’m living in a part basement apartment so it’s naturally quite humid here (not mouldy humid though). Maybe that helps keeping her alive. I love her 🙁
I consider myself a beginner with green fingers. 2nd summer trying my hands at gardening. Currently own almost 80 plants half indoors half outdoors. Most are doing well, a few doing ok. I own 3 calatheas. All doing well no brown tips etc. My tip is, group your tropical plants together and they keep the humidity up. I’ve got a table with 10 plants on it and they seem to like being grouped. I supplement them with humidifier on drier days though rarely. I water them with store bought water. Use a moisture metre to determine when they need watering. They’re near my north west facing window. My only gripe is, 2 of them don’t open and close quiet as drastically?
How nice is your livingroom looking? Omg 🤭 Lifegoals hahaha I managed to bring out my Calathea Makoyana’s blossom the second year I had her by doing nothing but living the day/night rhythm of a barwoman as I do most times. So beautiful. Got them all in my bedroom and they keep going well without any extra humidity (living in Germany) 😆
Hi I love calathea orbilifolia killed a few in the beginning learned the hard way. I live in NJ where the air is dry and this part the water has too much chemical so I use rain water to water all my plants in the summer I take them out side on rainy days they love it. I also do the other suggestions that you said. It’s working thanks for the tips because when I started out buying plants there was not much articles on calathea care. They are beautiful but fussy plants. 🙂
I’ve got a Calathea Roseopicta in my bedroom and a Rufibarba in my living room and the Roseopicta has honestly been like looking after a fussy child, but it’s grown a significant amount since I got it 2 months ago with minimal brown spotting. I reckon UK spring weather is pretty enjoyable for calatheas as the humidity has been around 80-90% every day.
I’m a firm believer in only using distilled water and extremely diluted seaweed feed with Calatheas. I generally only get brown edges if I run out of distilled water and resort to filtered water. My Calatheas bloomed this year which was pretty exciting though I quickly cut off the flowers to force the energy back into the leaves.
I heard one botanical gardner about tropical plants, that many of them are too sensitive about any minerals in water or soil, and they use only distilled water. But even though their calathea warscewiczii had those yellowish leaves. I heard calatheas are even sensitive about perlite because it contains fluorine. And good drainage is important. I also have same issues with my calatheas. I’ll try to change the soil, using sphagnum moss and orchid barks for drainage- I heard it’s good. And I’ll try to set it to automatic watering with blumat clay cones – it can provide regular controlled watering to avoid constant issues with these fussy guys like drying or overwatering
Well.. I got told a peace lily is a great starter plant, but mine has been a bastard and took 7 years to settle into its pot. My partner and I had a running joke that (now named) Henry would die for attention every time we were about to go on holiday, as if it knew we were going to leave. It needs daily attention. So I think I can handle a Calathea 😂 I agree with a couple comments about the showering, I take my calathea into the bathroom in the morning. I also once every two weeks use a houseplant fertiliser misting spray which (for now) has kept them bright and beautiful, and use self feeding pots (so they can take water from the bottom up instead of top down). I’ve noticed they can handle pest control, but don’t like fungus sprays, so keep the gnats away! Also, on a side note, HOW COOL is the amount of dancing they do during the day! I hear mine rustling at night as they close and then opening up again in the morning. Hope everyone’s calatheas do well too!
Thank you very much for beautiful article. It was told rain water is good. In this situation can we use stored rain water of one week old? The reason is rain water can’t get all the time. In the absence of rain water can we use mineral water meant for drinking i.e., Bisleri drinking water which sold in India. Another thing can we use ground water instead of tap water as tap water contains chemicals.
I got my rattle snake for free because it had some cold damage ( i live in Finland ) and it’s completely fine. I use tap water but like i said i live in Finland and our tap water is OK. I try to keep humidity over 40%. It wasn’t getting much light for a month because at the moment we only get 6 hours daylight and it’s mostly cloudy but she didn’t care about that either. Seems like mine isn’t a huge diva 😀
I feel like mine hates sunlight. Even indirect sunlight will make them hang. Doesn’t seem to care much for fresh air either when I open the windows. Well, I’m managing at least. There’s been almost no browning so far at least (I think just a little bit on one leaf). It’s fussy, but I feel like I’m getting a handle on it. Also bought a tool to measure the moisture level of the soil since my fingers just weren’t cutting it, a filter for water (probably not necessary where I live though) and a plant spray thingy to wet the leaves once or twice a day. Also there’s no need to use a humidifier. Especially not near the plants. Unless you live in a place with really dry air. But if you have normal air, that kind of level of humidity is enough for them. Consistency is better than constant change.
Hi, I just came across your page and boy oh boy do I love the tips you have given about Calathea. Boy are they fussy. I haven’t killed them yet 😁 so that’s a good sign. I live in Melbourne Australia and for us we usually have 4 seasons in one day..so I have to be careful with these plants. I do have a question about misting. When misting the plants especially the Calathea, do u mist the leaves or just the soil? I would really like to know. I’ve noticed this article was made 2 years ago so I won’t hold my hopes up in a response but anyone else could please let me know that would be much appreciated. Thank you
I have a rattlesnake calathea with mine I mist it every night really heavy . I’ve only “watered ” it a couple times the water from misting drips down the leaves and stems. I’ve only had it a few months and she seems very happy though . also it’s in a corner with mediumish low light also I use filtered water .
Hi there I just got 4 mini calatheas from my daughter for Mother’s Day and am hoping not to kill them. I only had snake plants previously which are relatively easy. So first question is: do I water them right away since I just got them? Question 2: they are in plastic planter pots, do I need to repot them so? Will really appreciate your advice . Thanks
Hello! I’ve just found your website and I’m loving it! You have some amazing plants! Some of them I wish I had, but I just can’t find them. You see…I’m from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and though we’re talking about tropical plants, sometimes they’re hard to get in here…believe it or not. I had such a hard time getting a watermelon peperomia (and it’s native from Brazil!!). And even in Rio, which is very humid, calatheas get brown tips… They don’t die easily here, but they can be a little unhappy… I’ve noticed that you don’t have a calathea roseopicta. I find this one less fussy. Mine doesn’t have any brown leaves, as the other marantas and calatheas. Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of your plants 😊
I started with calathea rubifarba and absolutely loveeee it, it’s growing so well and in a corner. It still gets light from my aquarium and very little light from the windows, it has almost no brown tips and it has very very low humidity and I think it’s such a beautiful plant. I recently bought an orbifolia and so far it’s very happy and unfurled a new leaf today. It has no humidifier but I will set one beside it if it becomes sad, currently it just has a few dishes of water surrounding it
Bought a Zebrina and a Peacock because I fell i love with their leaf patterns. The seller told me they’re easy to grow, just make sure they stay out of the sun, keep it moistured and place it in the most humid part of the house. Did as I was told and before the week ends, my Zebrina hated me. All the leaves started to yellow and I was so scared I placed it somewhere else and started using rain water to water it. The yellowing still continued and I am already confused. I have it beside the Peacock and my purple Anthuriums, both of which are thriving but my Zebrina is really not liking something. Now I have it on a plant rack in front of my house, along with my white Anthurium and Snake Plants. It’s a shaded area, still no direct sunlight. I mist it with an herbal plant grower twice a week. Right now 3 of the 4 leaves are 25% yellow/brown and I hope this new setup will yield positive results… 🥺 Footnote: I live in a tropical country so I thought humidity is not a problem…but well, there it goes… ☹️
Thanks great article, I actually would have loved it if you showed us how you water them, like the full dreanage example or so. I just bought a small Calathea Ornata and the soil was really wet. Most +++ I would say. So all my plants i just poor water in..and never let water run trough and make it come out the wholes….So ones this pot was dry I tried this method today and im hoping for the best. Ooh maybe a tip from my side which I have not seen you talk about. I Have the Calathea Ratle snake I believe it is called there. From all my plants this one seems to get the most dust on the leaves. So when I see to much on it I clean it with a wet towl.
I inherited (rescued?) a calathea rattlesnake from a co-worker. She came in a burger shop plastic cup and was watered with zebra mussel stinky water. 🙁 She’s in a brand-spanking new clay pot with yummy soil, and I water her as much as I can, but she’s taking a long time to relax. Her leaves are hot-dog folded still, so I may try adding humidity to my list of rehab solutions.
I recently got a Jumbo Calathea plant for my b/day Oct 8 2022. I notice that the dreams are fuzzy,also some brown fuzzy type growth in some of the steams.Do you think that’s normal???? I recently put the plant in pebbles in a tray.The plant does close @night as it should, however concerned about the fuzzy steams and fuzzy brown pollination???? Hope you can answer these questions for me.Thanks🌿☘️🌵🌱🌷🌹🌻🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿Crazy Plant Guy.
I have 5 different types of Calathea, I use a mixture of potting soil & Orchid potting soil-water I use distilled water- when Autumn comes I have a 4 tier greenhouse with a plastic a covering that I can place in my apartment, Hopefully I will create a Greenhouse effect, you can use a plastic bag just make sure to take it off everyday.
The only reason I got a calathea was because I bought an alocasia on impulse and I’ve heard alocasia can be just as finicky if not more so than calathea. Plus there was only one calathea left and it was black and pink. No label. It has a broken leaf because my sister was a bit rough with it. I think it will be okay though. I have it in front of the humidifier now. It’s not a plant humidifier though. It’s a medical one that’s like 30 years old. But I still worry about my fussy plants, especially because where I live is in extreme drought and there’s hardly any rain…
I just got my Calatheas or from what ive been told Rattlesnake plant I keep my humidity up as I have all tropical plants sitting in my living room an so far it is doing well I mist mine once or twice a day depending on how dry it is mine sits on the east side of my living room across from a west window bright light but not full sun an he loves it there he is only in a 4 inch pot what im wondering is how big do they get an are they toxic to pets Thanks love your website
I just started collecting plants, two weeks ago. I’ve been doing research for months now because I wanted to be prepared but a prayer plant is the first I bought & I have had no problems whats so ever shockingly lol. He opens new leaves constantly & super happy. Maybe the prayer plant is a easier specie’s.
Thank you so much for the info!! I love your articles, super useful and fun! 🙂 I recently got two calatheas and I`m wondering whether to replant them into permanent pots (without the holes at the bottom) or to leave them in the plastic pot and put a ceramic pot to cover the plastic one (which I`ve seen you typically do). If I do this, how do you water them so there`s no water standing in the ceramic pot? do you take them out of their pots to water them and put them back once there’s no water running out of the holes? Big thank you!!!!
My fella turned from his beautiful textured leaves to a crusty brown, I was spraying him daily with water and then watering once a week. I repotted him and new babies have sprouted up, since their appearance I have cut away all the brown leaves in the hope that they will sprout up again but god only knows! I should note I live in Ireland and the weather is up and down but usually windy rainy and not particularly warm so perhaps he froze? I’m ragen because I loved him… anyway my question is was I right to cut down to a short stem the brown leaves??
Envy!!! Would you consider selling me some of the Zebrina for propagation? It’s nearly impossible to get them in Norway 😩 And after perusal Planterina’s article on Calatheas I’ve fallen totally in love with the Zebrina and Warscewiczii types. I do have a Medallion already and it seems to be doing good
I have two that are really chill, no issues just giving them tap water but I live in Scotland so the water is pretty soft. Tbh they are growing too fast my orbifolia is almost a meter tall o.o Edit- the orbifolia really needs the soil to be very moist or it goes floppy, I can’t let mine dry out at all. If it was to become 90% dry as he recommends mine would definitely dry out and die
I’m in the market for a humidifier. What are your thoughts currently about the humidifier you mentioned in the article? Preferably looking at a humidifier that could last 10 hours or more before refilling, and or automatic shot off. I too have a calathea orbifolia that I hunted for over a year until my friend purchased two for me, and he had it shipped from all across the u.s. I have them for a little over two months. They were in a sad state when they arrived and they look as off they’re really trying to hang on to life :/ I constantly monitor them. I do live in San Diego…so thinking a humidifier is the best bet. Anyway. Sorry for the long message but any thoughts or tips from you or the community would help. Thanks in advance…. Also laughed really hard at your intro bc that’s exactly what I say to them 😄
Oh yeah, she’s fussy. Mine got brown leaves even when I misted her about twice a week, and watered her twice as much as my other plants. I started applying a harsher treatment – I just briefly shower her (no distilled water etc.) every two-three days and guess what? She loves it. I no longer water her as much, just keep showering her and she’s greatly improved.
Now I am afraid I just bought a Zizi and Calathia Rosario. So pretty but. I would have never bought it if I had known. I put it on a pebble tray for humidity and filled a water jug with tap for when I water it in the next day or so. Praying to the plant Gods. @crazyplantguy. Put in a good word for me.
I just got 4 of these for my birthday. They’re sooo beautiful but while googling how much to water them (I tend to over water my plants) I found a bunch of articles saying they’re fussy and hard to care for. And so I’m misting them each day, I bought a humidifier and a hygrometer. I’m so scared they’ll die on me 😂 watering is challenging for me. When I stick my finger in, the soil feels a bit moist, but not wet. But I’m not sure if that means I shouldn’t water. When I bought the soil, I thought it felt just as moist in the bag as it is in the pot right now. So is that moist enough? Some say it’s moist enough when you stick your finger in and the soil sticks to your finger. It does a little bit, but not like I just stuck my finger in the mud. I’ve killed so many plants in my life, I want these to survive 😂
I had two of 4 of the focused plants in this article … unfortunately they are both passed on to plant heaven. They did well at the beginning but eventually the leaves turned brown and this happened during the winter. I have a humidifier (3 in total) but it didn’t make a difference. I live in NYC and it gets so dry here that my skin suffers from it but the moisture from a humidifier at times is a bit much b/c my couch, floor, sheets, etc feel yucky (tmi). Anywho, I’ve sprayed, humidified, used the pebbles, and group my plants… I even used the open plastic bag to keep the humidity around the plant and yet the leaves dried and the plant eventually dried. I realized that I did let the soil dry out one time too much. I am afraid to get these plant again but they are so beautiful. I will try them again once we move and I have a terrarium to put them in or a green house. By the way yours look great. I am searching for that plant you showed where you couldn’t remember the name. I found it online at Logees.com but it is a bit pricey for the size. I’m going to FL next month and I am hoping that I will find it out there. Thanks for the articles.
I have a calathea mandella (I think) and it was doing amazing then all of a sudden all the leaves turned brown from the outer edges in. My other two prayer plants are doing great. I give them the same care, low/medium light, I’ll mist them every couple of days and water once a week if needed. I’m not sure what happened to the other plant, there is some new growth and I repotted it to see if that helps at all and the roots looked good.
I bought a calathea freddie last week it looked perfect.. But now, I got some yellow are curled up leaves. I watched several care tips articles and read some articles but still can’t figure out what exactly is his problem. I put him in my room in the basement which has no room. I bought a grow light and humidifier for him. i also used distilled water but it appears that few more leaves are starting to curl up. Temperature in the room is 21 degrees celsius and RH is at 80%. I wonder if there’s anything else you could suggest I should do, or if there’s anything I’m doing wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated 😊 Thank you 😊
Hey! I have a Calathea that I’ve had for some years now. Super hardy thing and I love it. I just decided to split it up because it was getting really crowded. When I found the roots I had a super hard time teasing out the individual plant bits and I almost had to break them apart. I’m worried I left it for too long before repotting. Should I pull apart the ones that I kept with the mother plant?
What is the media you have it in? I have one that is barely surviving. It was beautiful and now there are only like 6 leaves left and all of them have brown edges. Not sure if to repot and downsize the pot. Right now with just 6 leaves is in an 8″ pot. I have it next to my other Calatheas which are doing well. I water it with Distilled Water every 4 days and it get indirect bright light. I also have a humidifier running at least 8 hours a day and the humidifier meter reads 84%. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Hey! I’ve been perusal and reading about caring for my Calathea for like an hour now 😂 Mine has is getting yellowing leaves, about 3 a day! I have it next to my red prayer plant & my prayer plant is happy as can be and growing like crazy. I spray the Calathea, sometimes daily but at least every other day. I have a potting mix of organic regular potting soil, a bit of orchid bark & a bit of horticultural charcoal. I also put it on a pebble tray 2 days ago & im still getting yellowing leaves! What can I do? Any advice ? Edit to add: it is a zebrina
Are there any fertilizers you would recomend for a calathea? Ive had mine for 7 months now. Its by my fire place receiving indirect light and I water it according to how the soil feels, I mist and water when ever the soil isnt too moist. the pout has good drainage and overall it was growing really well but now i feel like its not and the new leaves die before they get fully grown.
my calathea ornatas leaves tips are shrivelling and curling up and i don’t know how to fix it i’ve tried having a aroma diffuser next to it, pebble tray under it, taking it into the shower when my I have a shower and also when other people in my family have a shower. I have also been used brita filter water and it’s been getting low indirect light and i also water it so that it is moist but not soggy😅
Yes I’m asking a guy named Christian what’s wrong with my prayer plant. It’s a green one and it has those little dots on it that looks like rabbit footprints in the snow. I just got it and I have it in bright light but it looks kind of pale and it doesn’t fold up at night – does that mean it’s non denominational? LOL!
4:40 What? All of the chemicals are removed from letting tap sit for hours? Isn’t it just chlorine that will start to evaporate right away from water? I’m sure distilling it will seperate the chemicals and heavy metals from tap (inculding the toxic waste called fluoride), but 4:40 I’m not so sure. Can someone share info?
Yes, my red my Red Prayer Plant requires the most care compared to my other plants lol I bought 1 & divided into 3 plants & they’re all doing great EXCEPT ONE 🙁 Lol I accidentally broke one of them in half. I put the top half that broke off in water to root but the bottom half that was planted in the soil wilted & the leaves are curling 🙁 you think it just went into shock?? Will she make it after that butchering?? Lol Help! 😂
My Calathea medallion has some new growth that’s turning brown on the tip almost halfway through. I watered it (with distilled water) and the top feels quite moist. I have a humidifier going in the room as well. It’s in a terracotta pot with the soil mixture you suggested so I am assuming it’s not root rot. Anything else I am doing wrong? It does get some minimal late afternoon sun. It’s near a northwest facing window.
I just purchased my ornata with other calatheas for almost a week now. They’re still small. My ornata only has 6 leaves so it’s quite young. How much water should i give them? Im scared i might over/under water them I also mist them everyday, and now i just downloaded a humidity/temp sensors app on my phone and it says that the humidity is above 40% here, do I still have to mist them everyday? I’m from the Philippines and it’s basically a tropical country. It’s also above 20°c here. I need help. I dont want them to die.
Hi, I have 2 tiny starter orbifolias with around 4 leaves each. They are doing well except one leaf is transpiring like crazy and turning translucent and brown in the same area. I planted it in a 4″ plastic container which sits in a plastic planter with pebbles inside. The water is below the top pebbles so it’s not sitting in water. I have small diffusers running all day around it so humidity is always 50+ and it receives medium filtered light. Im using a moisture meter to make sure it’s not dry or wet but just moist. Not sure what else to do. Any help would be appreciated!