I have a calathea and it was growing fine until recently. Every time it begins to grow a new leaf, one of the older leaves begin to die. It’s almost like the new leaf is sucking the nutrients from the dying one. Do I need to get a bigger pot or put in new soil? This is one of my first plants, so I’m new to this. Any advice would very much appreciated.
Take the plant out of the pot, if the roots are all over the soil, you need to repot, but if not maybe it needs fertilizer
2 Me gustaDoes this look like it’s probably time?
Check for mites. These are prone to mites and if the old leaves are dying, but new ones look good, could be because the mites haven’t gotten to it. The top left leaf looks like it has mites
1 me gustaI don’t think there are mites, I don’t see any and I spray with water which I’ve heard helps
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Calathea’s can be a bit dramatic at times, are you using distilled or rain water? Can you describe the soil it’s currently in? They usually like a well draining mix
1 me gustaI honestly have no clue, it’s the same soil that I bought it in
0 Me gustaAnd then I honestly use tap water which hasn’t seemed to be an issue?
1 me gusta That might be your issue, Calathea’s thrive with distilled water (or rainwater), I’ve only used distilled in my experience. Calathea’s tend to experience browning tips on the leaves when watered with tap water. I would try swapping to distilled water and see if that helps. I usually buy distilled water at the grocery store for about $1-2 a gallon. When you are ready to eventually repot, googling “Calathea potting mix” will give you some good recommendations of what to include in your soil to help your plant thrive. Best of luck 😊
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