Dear Plant community members, I recently bought 4 beautiful tropical plants from a store in NY during my 1 day visit there and because I was in a hotel I had to leave the plants in the car in sub zero temperatures :(. I try to cover it with a blanket tho to give it somewhat protection but apparently that didnāt help. Please advise what can I do to bring them to life? Please help!
Did you buy four different Calatheas at one time? You brave, brave soulā¦ Any leaves that are wilted are goners. The orbifolia and the medallion(?) still have healthy looking foliage, so thereās hope for those two. Prune the wilted/dead leaves down to the base of the plant. Place in a warm area with lots of bright light. Extra humidity will help with new growth and should help stop the edges of the leaves from getting crispy. Recommend watering with distilled water or treating tap water with aquarium water conditioner. Calatheas can be sensitive to minerals in tap water. Water when the top inch or two of the soil is dry. I would hold off on repotting for a couple weeks until you see new growth to avoid further stressing the plants. I donāt know about the other two. They look pretty far gone. Iād say give them a couple weeks of good growing conditions to see they bounce back. Good luck!
2 gillningarThank you for your advice. I really appreciate you taking time to respond. I am going to take all the measures you mentioned here. Thank you!
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YinDeezy I LOLāed at your comment! My first houseplant ever was a fuzzy (rufibarba) calatheaā¦. #RIP šŖ¦ Jyotsna, donāt take it hard if these guys donāt recover, calatheas are notoriously picky. I have over 100 houseplants now and I still canāt keep a pinstripe calathea happy. Hell, my medallion is on its last leg too! My recommendation for these guys isā¦ get a philodendron. š Theyāre super hardy, easy to find, generally inexpensive, and come in just about every āflavorā youād want in a plant!
1 gillaHahaha like you said, Lucy, I was also amused by YinDeezyās āso braveā ācomment well I didnāt know any better, it was just that they looked so beautiful in person I could not resist buying them :). Thank you for your advice as well, I will keep my fingers crossed and do the best I can to revive them but like you said not get disheartened.
1 gilla Thatās the spirit!! I totally get it. Thatās why I keep buying those damn calatheasā theyāre just soooo pretty!! If you ever run into one, I would strongly recommend a rattlesnake calathea (lancifolia, otherwise known as goeppertia insignis). Theyāre tougher than their cousins by far. Iāve had mine over a year and sheās my only prayer plant who regularly behaves herself.
0 gillningarLovely recommendation, I will keep an eye out. Thank you :)
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