Hi there! I haven’t had this Calathea for very long, it came to me healthy but unfortunately it hasn’t been liking its new living conditions. The leaves are curling up pretty bad and the app said it was from dry air, like not enough humidity so I have been misting it and leaving on a humidifier but the leaves are still sad! Just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this and if they could point me in the right direction of reviving this baby?! Thank you so much!!
The soil also looks pretty dry! That may be contributing to the curling. Dry soil and dry air can do this to calatheas!
4 likes I’ll have to water more often that’s for sure!
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I agree with Sarah! When they curl mine are usually thirsty. Make sure you use distilled water to avoid the brown crunchy edges to the leaves! Overall calatheas are really picky about their water
0 likes I had no idea about distilled water, I will have to give it a try! Thank you!
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i see people recommend distilled water a lot and i made a post about this recently— distilling water is incredibly resource intensive and produces lots of waste, especially in the form of plastic jugs. if you care about our planet i’d highly suggest you encourage others to use either rainwater or filtered/treated tap water. there are even pitcher filters nowadays with refillable filter cartridges instead of having to throw away the whole plastic filter.
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I also saw someone using a fish tank water conditioner “API stress coat+” in their tap water for their fussy about water plants and it doesn’t change the PH. I’m trying it out now on my Calathea that’s struggling.
1 like I’ve seen that waste from fish tanks can be fertilizer too!
1 like Yea! Some people use fish tanks in a hydroponic system it’s pretty cool
2 likes curled leaves are from stress, which can be due to under watering, dry air, or temperature stress (heat/cold). it looks like under watering since the soil appears bone dry. i would advise against using distilled water as the cost racks up quite fast and it’s also the most wasteful option. i’d recommend filtering and treating your tap water with some aquarium water conditioner. i use that or rainwater. prayer plants are really sensitive to excess chemicals and minerals in their soil so the purer the water the better; i’d recommend flushing the soil thoroughly once the top 1/2” or so has dried. always wait for the topsoil to dry before watering again to prevent rot.
1 like I really appreciate all the advice!! I had no idea they were so sensitive and I actually tried putting a fertilizer stick into the soil so that might part of the issue. I’m going to change out the soil and water with filtered tap water. Do you happen to have any idea what I should do about the two dead leaves?
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