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I have been struggling with this calethia since the day I brought her… | Anything about plants | Planta community

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I have been struggling with this calethia since the day I brought her home. First she lost all of her leaves, then I cut her back and now she’s sprouting new leaves, but it’s taking a while. I went ahead and tried to repot her, but when I removed her out of the plastic pot, her soil was waterlogged. I couldn’t take a picture of it because my hands were all muddy. So I put her back in her original pot after stuffing a bunch pumice in between her roots hoping that would dry things out a little bit. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! I should also add. I purchased this from a nursery and she is in a 4 inch pot. Moving forward I plan on checking her soil with a water meter because it bothers me that she’s so waterlogged right now.

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3 comments

  1. Dory

    I would repot her immediately into dryer soil. Check the roots for rot and make sure she’s getting bright indirect light

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  2. K

    Depending how much pumice you have, I’d really lean into that. Calathea do shockingly well with semi-hydro or semi-hydro adjacent growing because it lets them sit with very consistent water but much lower chances of rot. People make a big deal about humidity for them but tbh as long as you’re over 40% consistently they should be able to adapt. And personally I’ve never bought into the idea that they need filtered/distilled water. I use tap and have zero issues with browning in the 6 months since I switched.

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  3. Ems

    I always put my calathea in orchid pots for extra airflow because they are so prone to root rot. It’s worked really well for me after killing a few. Since switching to orchid pots and soilless substrate I’ve had no issues with wet feet. Highly recommend!

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