My striped Calathea suddenly started shriveling up! I haven’t changed anything about my watering schedule the only thing I can think of is that it’s getting colder and dry here in the winter. Maybe it needs more humidity or to be in a warmer room? Thoughts? Help me save it!
Yeah. They really don’t like dry air. I had this happen with mine when I first got it. Had it at work, where it was WAY to dry and cold. But I brought it back from this condition and now it’s three plants 😁👍🏻 How often do you water? They like to stay damp. But not soaking wet for too long. Then there is risk of rot. Right now I’m watering every four or five days…when I can tell it’s ready. And is it getting light?
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Keep in mind a schedule is never optimal even though these apps make it seem like it is. I have mine set as a “just in case I forget to check” instead of an actual schedule. Look up how they like the soil and go with that. As the other commenter said, winters are especially hard on them. They hate colder/no humidity and mine always end up losing some leaves because I’m too lazy to use a humidifier lol. That should help just don’t do anything too drastic, too quickly, or you’ll shock it.
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Absolutely humidity is the missing factor here. I've found calatheas are not super stingy with humidity, but they won't thrive without it. So at the very least, you can put it on top of a humidity tray. Otherwise, you'll need a humidifier unless you can put it in some type of enclosure. Once it has a consistent source of humidity, it should spring to life and thrive wherever you want to put it.
0 likesA slightly bigger pot could give it a boost, but it could make the shock from humidity loss worse. Good luck!
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