---
title: "Hello! This is my Calathea Freddie. The first few months of having…"
description: "Hello! This is my Calathea Freddie. The first few months of having her was a breeze, she was thriving and putting out new growth constantly. Everything was…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/65b7bda76880ec7591f324c1"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "Colton"
published: "2024-01-29T15:00:55.727Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wBmy8Fc1zRKsIOwV0Y5ePtVoS_M9eYskhgvuXAMwIxQ/86afcb0eadaf412b943737734618ec0a.webp?size=large"
---

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# Hello! This is my Calathea Freddie. The first few months of having…

_Posted by Colton on 2024-01-29_

Hello! This is my Calathea Freddie. The first few months of having her was a breeze, she was thriving and putting out new growth constantly. Everything was healthy and she was happy. However, for some reason, a couple months ago she started to put out less growth and all the leaves would shrivel or brown. I water her when needed, mist constantly, have her on a pebble tray (she loves it, soaks up all the moisture), and she’s under a grow light. How do I prevent the leaves from browning like this?

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wBmy8Fc1zRKsIOwV0Y5ePtVoS_M9eYskhgvuXAMwIxQ/86afcb0eadaf412b943737734618ec0a.webp?size=large)

## 5 comments

### PlantLady commented on 2024-01-29

Do you use tap water or filtered/distilled/rain water? Calatheas are sensitive to chlorine and fluorine that most cities put in tap water

#### Colton replied on 2024-01-29

I use tab water that I let sit for a day (idk if it actually helps). It’s not really possible for me to filter out any chlorine/fluorine so I can’t really do much there

### Women are Water commented on 2024-01-29

I wouldn’t recommend terracotta for calathea. They are very thirsty plants that do not like to fry out. They also don’t like direct light so I wouldn’t have it directly under a grow light. They love humid conditions with indirect light it will burn the leaves but don’t worry if you make those changes she may come back. Think about where they live in a natural environment. They live in a rainforest under a canopy of trees.

#### Colton replied on 2024-01-29

I didn’t know they lived in rainforests! I usually know where my plants are from…thank you! I hate plastic pots, I’m an huge anti-plastic person so would ceramic work? I’ll move her away from the light as well

### Plant Father commented on 2024-01-30

if you can’t use rainwater or filter and treat the tap water to remove the chlorine i’m sorry to say that your plant is doomed. prayer plants cannot survive with excessive chemicals and minerals in their soil.  
also, i’d caution against misting constantly, it can cause fungal infections and seriously hinder photosynthesis

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