---
title: "My calathea orbifola is struggling. It’s watered it fertilized and…"
description: "My calathea orbifola is struggling. It’s watered it fertilized and it’s 3 feet from a west window. What can I do? Brown edges, brown spots and now a yellowing…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/64ceb6b03e9f687bf8f5b740"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "Miami Plant Girl"
published: "2023-08-05T20:53:04.398Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/9E_5Mbyu2VLIXTwCZ8QtABKJ1e1PtkhnSRA6nMPLRf4/37e0b947da814b16ae54095ee134befe.webp?size=large"
---

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# My calathea orbifola is struggling. It’s watered it fertilized and…

_Posted by Miami Plant Girl on 2023-08-05_

My calathea orbifola is struggling. It’s watered it fertilized and it’s 3 feet from a west window. What can I do? Brown edges, brown spots and now a yellowing leaf

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/9E_5Mbyu2VLIXTwCZ8QtABKJ1e1PtkhnSRA6nMPLRf4/37e0b947da814b16ae54095ee134befe.webp?size=large)

## 9 comments

### Plant Father commented on 2023-08-05

it looks a bit sunburnt to me. mine is happy about 8 feet from a northwest window. the yellow leaf also sort of looks over watered. i would move it a bit further from the window (maybe another 3 feet back) and see how it does. how often do you water?

#### Miami Plant Girl replied on 2023-08-05

I’ll move it back and see. I water every 7-8 days

#### Plant Father replied on 2023-08-05

is the soil partially dry when you do water or still moist? i have found this species tolerates a fair amount of drought as long as it’s humid, which it likely is if you’re in miami. i found out when repotting mine that they have water-storing rhizomes underground that new leaves and roots sprout from, which i thought was quite cool. anyway, i wait til the top inch or two of soil is dry before watering

#### Miami Plant Girl replied on 2023-08-05

I guess it could wait a couple extra days until it’s drier. And yes I’m in Miami and we are always humid. I’ll snooze it a couple days and see how it fairs. Thank you for the advice

#### Plant Father replied on 2023-08-05

no problem, i’m happy to help! hope it goes well

### Ana commented on 2023-08-06

Water quality could be another factor. Do you water with tap? Calathea prefer distilled water.

#### Miami Plant Girl replied on 2023-08-06

Ahhh good point! Yes watering with tap, I’ll switch to distilled. My son picked out the plant for me, I really want to make sure it stays alive

### Duragdoctor commented on 2023-08-08

I would prune the dead parts/yellow leaves and allow more time between waterings. I personally only use tap water but water every 10-12 days

#### Miami Plant Girl replied on 2023-08-11

Thank you! I’m letting it dry out a little. Two leaves are now yellow but the other two look brighter and better

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