---
title: "I have been struggling with this calethia since the day I brought her…"
description: "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…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/ChIJdYlN6SzYFJ7uiDysHX"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "🪴R😍BIN🪴"
published: "2025-06-01T21:00:11.758063Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/_-SdJFkkoJaC9AkL5_jcW4w41Zgj6S9lppsAxNwp4Hw/CU9-27ENRUGaexn5dfIXPg.webp?size=large"
---

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# I have been struggling with this calethia since the day I brought her…

_Posted by 🪴R😍BIN🪴 on 2025-06-01_

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.

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/_-SdJFkkoJaC9AkL5_jcW4w41Zgj6S9lppsAxNwp4Hw/CU9-27ENRUGaexn5dfIXPg.webp?size=large)

## 3 comments

### Dory commented on 2025-06-01

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

### K commented on 2025-06-01

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.

### Ems commented on 2025-06-02

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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