I bought this beauty a year ago. I've always kept it in the bathroom, and honestly, I hardly paid it any attention, and it was always doing great. Until December, when the leaves started curling. I thought it was due to a lack of humidity (it has a radiator above it, but I hardly ever use it). I moved it to the living room and put river stones in the green pot and filled it with a little water to "create more humidity." Nothing changed…
I've been away for two weeks, and two days ago I took it out of the plastic pot and saw that the roots at the bottom were curled up; it seemed like they didn't have enough space. So I uncurled them a little and transplanted it to a slightly larger plastic pot and watered it by immersion. Two days have passed, and the soil is still damp, and I don't see any improvement… I'm desperate. I hope you have some ideas… it would help me a lot 🙏🏼
by Beart92
3 Comments
Curling leaves usually means it’s trying to retain moisture by blocking surface area of the leaf to prevent water loss. I know you said you don’t use the radiator much, but this is a plant that is very sensitive to drafts and that with combination of dryer air in December (assuming you’re in the north hemisphere) can do a lot to a calathea. I think repotting was the right choice (if you only potted half a size to a full size up) if it’s drying out fast and the roots are swriling at the bottom, but you shouldnt mess with the roots since that can cause more damage and shock the plant.
For now, I would leave her be. You might see more leaves drop over the course of the season, but she will be back in the spring as long as you don’t over water her. 🙂
Yep, same thing is happening with my peacock calathea right now😕 I got an oil based pest solution into her soil and it “coated” her roots, preventing her from being able to take up any moisture, even though I had watered her and then her roots started to rot. She’s lost over half of her leaves😢 So yours probably has something to do with her not being able to take in moisture through her roots and she is trying to retain it by curling her leaves in. Do you have her in an airy mix or is it pretty dense? Also, did you notice any rotting roots when you repotted?
The calathea wasn’t sitting in water, right? You should never ever let the pot sit in water directly. When you were away, how did you water it? Was it dry when you came back? Did you repot? If the soil was never completely dry, then you can be sure it’s not underwatering and you might actually be hurting it now by overwatering (overcompensating). A plant with less leaves need less water and prefers it more dry. A plant with lots of leaves can actively soak up excess water around the roots and try to excrete/evaporate it, but a culled plant can’t and is thus more susceptible to waterlogged soil.
If things stay the same all the time and then change suddenly at once I’d suspect pests first. Otherwise, did you give it anything different: A full dose of fertilizer, pesticide…? Did you vent the room once fully with cold (freezing) air?
Does it even receive enough light in the bathroom? Humidity is good and well, but honestly, it’s the last thing on my “things they care about” list. If everything else is well, they grow well even in low humidity – the leaf damage they could get will normally still be quite minor compared to all the other things that can go wrong.