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I asked about this a couple weeks ago, but people said it wasn’t an… | Anything about plants | Planta community

OzzPaws

I asked about this a couple weeks ago, but people said it wasn’t an issue. My calathea has had a lot of leaves turn yellow and dry out. I don’t know what the problem is. I’ve been giving it distilled water and it has a watering globe. I’ve heard that dry leaves means it’s not getting enough water, but I’m worried I might be giving it too much water? Also the leaves keep getting kinks in their stems, almost like they’re broken but I can tell it’s just because the leaves are hanging down so low

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3 likes 9 comments

9 comments

  1. CarmiB

    I think it needs more humidity, the brown, curling leaves are what tells me this! They like moist soil, not waterlogged soil. No direct sunlight! It will burn the leaves…… I sure it opens it up much ….. hope it does better!

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    • OzzPaws

      Thank you for the advice! I will look into getting her a humidifier to help help

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  2. Stefanie Cooper

    I have a humidifier around mine

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  3. Whit_Y

    I believe she’s suffering from overwatering. The watering globe is keeping the soil too moist, and the rocks on top are likely preventing airflow, making it hard for the soil to dry out. Checking the roots will tell you a lot — it’s the best way to see how she’s really doing. Trim away any that are soft or rotted, then repot into an appropriately sized pot with a chunky, well-draining mix. Give her a little time to dry out and recover, and I wouldn’t recommend use the watering globe

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    • Bb

      If I may add, watering gloves can sometimes create an uneven watering situation, directing all the water into one area while other parts of the pot remain dry. Agree that perhaps checking the roots is a good idea. I would also ensure, as the last responder has said, to ensure your have good aeration in your substrate. The simplest way to do this is mixing perlite into your soil. I usually aim for about 1 part perlite to 3 parts soil. If you have other ingredients like orchid bark or coco chips, that helps too. A piece of advice I recently learned from someone who has a beautiful calathea collection is the “leave them alone method” 🙃 She says the calatheas in her collection stopped dying back after she stopped fussing over them. So yes to using distilled water, making sure you fertilise during the growing period, ensuring the soil substrate is right but she took a step back from constantly checking the soil and making sure it’s perfectly moist. Apparently after that things started to improve. I’m currently employing the same method and so far so good! Best of luck! 🌿🌿🌿

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    • OzzPaws

      Thank you for the advice—I’ll be sure to check the roots. I don’t put my watering globe in the same spot when I refill it which I was told should help prevent uneven watering as well as aerate the soil, though it could have potentially hurt the roots. I planted her in a tropical soil mix from Home Depot cause I’m still a beginner and also a little too broke to be making my own soil mixes, but I do have some extra pumice I can try mixing into the soil. I’d been trying to leave her be because I had heard before that calatheas are finicky and that other people had the best experience with them by just leaving them alone

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    • Whit_Y

      Tropical soil with a bit of pumice mixed in is perfect, and if you can add some coarse orchid bark, you’ll have a really nice, airy mix that works for a lot of plants. You can skip the water globe — bottom watering keeps the moisture much more even. With my calatheas, I try to be really mindful about overwatering. I use a chopstick to check the moisture and also pick up the pot to get a feel for whether it’s actually ready for a drink

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  4. Rainy

    I would also add to be aware of cold drafts.

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  5. Plant Mama

    I agree with the humidifier idea. With the colder weather here we have the heat on. It's dry as hell in the house. I just watered my plants 3 days ago and the soil in all the plants are completely dry like I haven't watered for weeks. So I turned on my humidifier to a higher setting, watered everyone.

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