I am really no plant newbie, but this calathea is something else. I got her last september, she seemed FLAWLESS! And since then, she dies veeery slowly. She was in normal plant soil but needed water like every day and if I was just one hour late she would be a total diva and put down all leaves. Because of that and because I thought there might be a pest issue, I repotted her to PON and transformed her to semi-hydro. I had her in the bathroom with low light, tried it with a sansi plant light, put her to another room with less humidity, tried everything, but it all seemed to make things worse. Now I am so close to putting her out of the pon and just try the last rescue with water only/hydroponics. Anyone any idea? I would appreciate every advice!
by mcstulle666
12 Comments
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This was my calathea. It’s dead now. Not sure what to say but you have my sympathy. Have you checked for spider mites?
The more you move a plant around the more you stress it out. It takes plants a long time to adjust to a new thing. From the way it’s growing I would say it needs more light. And just because of the type of plant it is I would say it needs much higher humidity than most homes can provide.
Way too many changes too fast. Plants don’t like change.
When you switched the substrate you realistically probably damaged the roots a smidge and then the plant has to work on adjusting to pon too. That makes it hard to sustain itself above soil. On top of that, these aren’t great low light plants, so it’s good that you got the sansi but I’m sure that played a part here.
Have you tried using Clonex or other growth hormones to give help with adjusting? These need frequent fertilizing in the spring/summer in general but I find Clonex suuuuper helpful when I’m repotting anything, regardless of if I’m keeping the same medium or not.
Every time I see someone asking for advice for these, the advice is almost always toss in the trash 😂 I’ve never bought one because everyone seems to struggle with them. I can’t handle having another plant hurt my feelings. My alocasia does enough damage to my heart 😂
I’ve never met a calathea that had any will to live
If nothing works out, yeet the leaves, butcher it, leave just the rhizomes and pot those into what you want, it will be dormant for a while and slow at first, but the new leaves it produces should be used to your environment.
And don’t keep it in low light, it should be able to handle even drappled sunlight for an hour or two.
Are they just turning towards the light source ?
Calathea require a ton of ambient humidity.
Humidity?
Trying to keep a calathea alive against her will.
How is your air humidity? These puppies need a lot! Yours looks quite crisp. Also you mention you had to water every day – another sign that it’s dehydrated.
Looks like the pot is too small. (Not the white pot)
Repot it in a larger pot, water well, and give it some Osmocote for house plants.