Ok maybe not a mistake, but I bought her for $20 not knowing anything about this plant and from what i've read they're kind of finicky.. I have her next to a north window with a humidifier, but do we think I should repot her with different soi/more perlite? I'm a beginner so any tips and tricks are appreciated, really don't want to kill this beauty 😅
by sour_flower
9 Comments
Oh these ones are easy you just sit back and watch them die /hj
They can be tricky but also very rewarding. I bottom water mine, I would suggest using rainwater or distilled since they can be sensitive to the chemicals in city water (I do not do that, and mine have minimal crispy bits, so it depends on the water where you’re at) as far as light, since it’s a north facing window you might need supplemental light with a grow light or to move her since they like bright indirect light (basically means right next to a window, no sunlight touching the leaves-this can also be achieved by using window films and the thin linen curtains. For the soil, I’d just keep an eye on it, if you bottom water like I do you don’t have to worry about it becoming hydrophobic but it can happen if you top water. Basically you just want to make sure it’s not staying too wet too long, and that the soil doesn’t get too packed down. Humidity should be ok with the humidifier. And a heads up, you’ll likely get brown crispy tips, these babies are prone to them because of their sensitivities but the humidity will help with that. Good luck!🫶🏻
Mines a devil 😈 looked beautiful like yours but today? She threatens to die, but hangs on looking the worst 😂they like distilled water, humidity, some light, not too much now! Not dry but moist…the list goes on and on! Just hope for the best, expect the worst!
What is this plant?
If you just bought this plant, leave it in one spot and bother it as little as possiblefor at least a week. They don’t like much change, so make sure you find it a spot out of direct sunlight and like maybe where the air vent doesn’t blow on it. You can either turn in to one of the people who do very specific and well timed things to keep it alive without any brown edges (purified water, humidifier, grow light, special soil mix, etc etc) …. Or you can do what I’ve resorted to, which is trying to ignore it as much as possible aside from occasionally checking the soil with my finger. Imo these plants are like introverts. They’re happiest when I let them just exist and not fully dry out. Still, it’s much better to let it dry out than to overwater it.
Good luck 🫡
Idk put it somewhere with plenty of light and mostly leave it alone, either it’ll hate it or it’ll deal but that’s life.
They do really seem to appreciate light though, mine did best when I had a panel grow light in my living room that I need to put back up. They don’t prefer tap water, I usually use Distilled (i already use and buy Distilled anyway, or it’d be out of luck tbh).
Distilled water,
Grow light,
Humidifier.
That triple combo is a must for a happy Calathea in my experience 🙂
Congrats on the price! That’s a deal for that plant and its size!
I have 4 calatheas in my sunroom (north west east sun with skylights too). They all hang out in a spot that doesn’t get direct scorching sun but in general it’s very bright in there. Tap water is fine but I’m also just not willing to give my plants anything else so they all get filtered tap water and I lightly fertilize each time (bottom water). Only repot when it’s grown a lot.