You are so right about consistency and the type of water! Have had several for years and they keep putting out new foliage They do just fine in 40% humidity as long as they get water when they need it. They love rainwater, they don’t seem like fertiliser much (worm tea seems fine though) Of course I still get some small crispy tips sometimes when my watering timing is off… Overall great plants!
So what you're saying is I should just move to the rainforest and I would have all the plants I could ever imagine, without any crispiness, but how long I survive is up for a lot of debate 😬
Thank you for your video. Calatheas are easily my favorite plants. They are gorgeous 😍 Interesting that they need the consistency, but it makes a lot of sense. I keep mine tucked against a big shelf and grouped together with other plants. It seems that even though the humidity in the room is dropping and rising, it stays fairly consistent in the little nook. I found that it also helps getting baby plants, so they grow into your environment and get used to it. I only have about 40-50% humidity, but no problems so far. As for browning edges: those with large, round leaves tend to be more susceptible to the brown edges than long, thin leaves, in my experience. Also I only top water my calatheas, so that the soil is regularly washed out, to prevent built up of salts and other minerals. I had great success so far with them. They are one of my easiest plants tbh.
Good video. I agree with you wholeheartedly. The key word is consistency. They dont need heat or high humidity to thrive but they do need a consistent environment to live in. I grow any calathea, ctenanthe and maranta and I do not have problems with browning leaves. Through winter they live in a room heated to no more than 12 degrees. They are in a moderately bright room well away from any windows as they do not like any direct light. I find consistent watering to be very important. I use rain water exclusively and I keep my plants moist. Calathea do not like to dry out at all and I find this to be the worst cause of browning leaves. Use a moisture retentive potting mix but do not be tempted to over water.
Hi Annette am nursing a poorly calathea orbi she was in my kitchen on a shelf about 4 metres from the window . I was watering her 2-3 times a week . She thrived for around 6 weeks . But now her leaves are right down crispy edges an her leaves feel really thin . The stems are just separating. I repotted her with orchard mix , perlite an tiny bit of compost. Water her every 7-9 days . Even bought a humidifier. Use bottled water on her . Am at a loss even put her in the rain for a few hours in the garden . Placed in a shade on a warm day . Nothing is helping . Any tips ? Thank u I’ve even bought clay balls an moss
I got one for my birthday recently and it wants to curl up and die on me! I was so frustated with it that I threw it in the trash and then felt guilty! I now have it in water only and it's perking back up again, but I am afraid to put it in soil. Keeping my fingers crossed. Appreciate your videos. 😊
I have this plant and was growing it outside. It was thriving outside. As soon as I brought it indoors it started developing brown leaves only on the edge!
I live in Florida, Summer now, what mean the humidity swings is pretty high 😬 …and I have a collection of 7 different calathea varieties … besides one of them that is giving me a hard time, the other ones are loving it and growing beautifully.
As soon as you mentioned chlorine, I started wondering if fish tank dechlorinator would be safe for plants. I'm so glad you mentioned it at the end. I guess my fish and plant hobbies go hand in hand.
It also just occurred to me that dechlorinator breaks chloramine down into ammonia and I know that aquatic aquarium plants can absorb this as a food source, so I hazard a guess that terrestrial plants may do the same. So I guess it's almost adding a bit of fertiliser to the plant too. How cool. Another thought I had is that if your water is only treated with chlorine and not chloramines, the chlorine will actually evaporate out if you leave it sitting in a bucket for a day. So that's potentially another cheap option. (Won't work for chloramines though, only chlorine)
I collect air plants and water them with spring water, so I already have it around for my potted plants. I reuse it a few times and give the used soaking water to my potted plants, so the cost is minimal.
Oooh, I need some air plant advice. I feel that there must be more nuance than "soak once a week for 30-60 minutes". I have about 20 different plants in several different varieties. Twice, with 2 different types, I have forgotten them in their 60 minute upside down soak for 3 days. I was SURE they would all be dead but, no!, they are greener and fuzzier than they have ever been. Now I don't know what to do each week.
Two things have made wonders to my plants the last couple of months 🌱: 1. Reverse osmosis aquarium water with nearly any hardness, salts etc., but many nutrients 2. The moisture meter - Now I give about 50-75% less water
I live in a city where it only rains 30 days a year and the tap water has loads of limescale. How on earth do I purify the water? Even the water filter does not cut the mustard
I started buying baby plants calatheas and i have noticed they adjust better to the conditions at home, also easier for me to water as i had fair share of killing few doing overwatering. At start i was buying grown up plants and after few weeks at home... :( I also made the mistake of misting to increase humidity.. i got a beautiful collection of spider mites instead. I use distilled water and i fertilize with more dilluted fertilizer than recommended because i have noticed they are also sensitive to it. ( If the fertilizer calls for ammount of X per month, i dillute 4-6 times and use weekly, during winter) Making these changes significantly improved how my calatheas look. My take with them is that less is more.
Hmm... Aside from plants that are native to areas subject to regular temperature and humidity swings, I've noticed that environmental stability is important for just about any plant, and for most animals as well. I've got calathea prayer plants growing aquaponically as a marginal/emersed plant in my aquarium, and we'll see how that goes. I've got fog from an ultrasonic mist maker rolling over the surface of the water, so that helps a little with the humidity issue; It's also very consistent, running day and night. Humidity is a huge problem for me, as our house is the place where humidity goes to die. Outside, humidity may be around the 60 to 70 percentile, while it may be half that in the house at any given time. However, if I give them everything else they need, all but the most humidity-sensitive plants will still adapt in time.
Start using weather compensation on your heating instead of on off heating controls. Less fluctuations in heat and humidity. You can also save money and improve your own comfort. The future of UK Home heating is heat pumps that work this way anyway
So are there house plants that don't mind the temp and humidity swings? I haven't put any plants in my bathroom yet because it swings between about 64-79° Fahrenheit and between 67-90% humidity My calathea and maranta stay in my living room and are happy there. So I agree with you that they like consistency 😊
I have tropical fish tanks and a calathea living next to a tank without a sealed lid. Seems to appreciate the steady bit of moisture in the air in that spot. Using tank water is a definite preference to untreated tap water for the plants too👍 Ps, enjoy your videos but have a question, Wednesday or United?
I am fully on rain water, yet calatheas do brown, progressing from dried out edges. Rather consistent environment, and kept as part of gathering with other similar plants not too far from the window. Goes better during warm time outside in the shadowy garden.
Straight up I water my calathea with water thats been filtered after being used in my bong. In the years I have had it it’s grown huge and barely lost any leaves.
I'm a vivid Marantaceae collector and I agree with you 100%. Consistency & water quality are the key. Almost every variety will eventually adapt its home's humidity, but some need more time than others. I use filtered water that's additionally left overnight to water my collection. I used to use a bit of distilled water, with great effect, but it's not cost-effective enough for me to continue. It's really hard to actually kill a Calathea, as they're extremely tenacious plants that will grow back even when you lost all hope. But it can be challenging to make them look good.
Please don't share videos of marine fish aquariums when stating people can use their water to water their plants. What could happen if people actually water their plants with salt water?
My ornata and medallion both dropped a crispy death mid winter. I had the humidifer on and consistent light etc but I think I overthunk and tried to find the "right spot" too much and as a result they were casualties. Had I left them where they normally were they likely would've adjusted and survived, maybe not thrived but they would probably still be around, I've kept them just in case they want to come back but I am losing hope on that as well. If you make a video idea schedule, in a few months a video on how to prepare plants for the winter and the heaters being on that would be great! Esp with what to expect from certain plants like calathea. It's hard on me, a non-plant 😂 to go from 16 hours of light to around 8, plus the cold and heat and humidity changes and I was born here, I can't imagine how hard it is on these plants! 💞
I currently have my calathea and maranta living in pon with self watering planters in my Ikea greenhouse cabinet. I tend to under water my plants so these items have helped a lot. I also purchased a water distiller over a year ago. I use it for all my plants and have a large brita filter for backup while the distiller is doing its thing. Thanks again for all the tips! 🙂
I have a large sunny south-facing room for my plants. No heating, just sunlight. Spray the air in the summer Bd they live it. The reaches into the room.
Where I live they don’t use chlorine in the water as far as I know. How do I know? I went on vacation to somewhere recently and I couldn’t drink the water because to me it tasted like water from a swimming pool, but the people there seemed used to it. So I’ve been just using tap water for my first Calathea and now I’m hoping for the best haha.
I have good luck with calatheas. I'm sure it's partly that I have good well water and live in a sub tropical environment where we RARELY use heating. One tip that wasn't mentioned was grouping calatheas together to help with humidity. I know that it's somewhat controversial, but I like to mist them also, and it works for us.
Excellent, informative video (again 😁). I have learned SO MUCH on your channel. Viewers: if you haven't done so, SUBSCRIBE to this fine gentleman's channel! Much appreciation from California 🌷
Just a note….the orange and white fish shown is a saltwater fish. I keep freshwater fish like fancy goldfish so don’t know how much salt would be in that water…I do use that water conditioner for my betta, going to try it on my plants ( not the carnivorous ones). This was a really good reference video, thank you! 🌱😊🪴
Some clips of saltwater aquariums/fish. Don't ever use old aquarium water from saltwater tanks. Your calathea will DEFINITELY not appreciate salty water. Also, at least here in the US, a challenge for many is water hardness (dissolved minerals). Rainwater doesn't have any of the minerals we have in our water. But if your tap water is high in dissolved minerals, Brita won't remove them, water conditioner won't remove them, and if you use hard tap water in your aquarium it will still be hard when you do your water changes and use it in your plants.
Mine calathea instead of crispy went all soggy and I'm down to a stump. The roots were all soggy. Don't know how to save it now. I have removed the soggy bits and repoted. Can I save my calathea?
I haven't seen any plant-tubers talking about leaving water overnight for chlorine to evaporate??? Even though it's quite volatile and ought to clear quickly. ??? (It's what i use - water saved waiting for the tap to heat up - seems to work, but I'm still very much a newb.)
I was at my garden Centre on Friday and I was looking at Calithea sanderiana and it said suitable for a hot dry bedroom with low to medium light, is this correct? I’m thinking of buying one for my room but I’ve heard they can be difficult, do they vary between varieties ?
interesting, i watched another video where the guy suggested using liquid gold fertiliser, and that something in it may bond to the bad chemicals such as chlorine, chloramines and flouride - i have no evidence of this, but perhaps worth considering trying, and the added bonus of fertilising which cant be bad. Another option which is used with shrimp keeping is reverse osmosis filtered water - the filters are not expensive any more, and easily connected to a waterbutt for ease of watering. Anyway, the main reason i was researching Calathea is that i keep aquariums, and my tanks that have a lot of plants out of the top such as peace lilies, pothos, spider plants etc. have incredibly decent water quality, so i was considering other plants that may be happy with wet feet, and thought prayer plant families may work - whatdya think?
I'll not complain how hard is to grow calathea. My peacock plant has an abundance of new leaves, no brown tips and even blooming! My question is, is it natural for this variety to have a very short stems? With all this foliage the lenght of the stems is no more than 10-12cm.
The plant/aquarium combination is perfect! I love my fish and plants. The only downside is that they're both quite addictive so buyer beware, being greedy will be the downfall of your aquariums and fish and plants.
Hello from someone with MTS (multi-tank syndrome, for non-aquarists)! I've got houseplants set up in almost every one of my tanks, and I definitely love them! Added to the houseplants in pots everywhere, and I definitely love my jungle.
I agree . I also have a few nano tanks set up throughout the house, all with plants growing out. What I find great is if I group my calatheas together near the tanks they get the warm humidity that comes off the tanks water and they thrive ❤️ also when I do a water change on the tanks I save the water to water my plants and the Calatheas love it!
Here in the Netherlands we don't have Chlorine in our drinking water and fluoride just in natural amounts, nothing added. I'm pretty new to Calatheas. I have two now. One is near an east facing window. It's doing pretty good as long as I give it a lot of water. Then I have one in the middle of the livingroom in a spot that's furthest away from all windows and it is doing amazing. That one hasn't gone through the summer yet in my house so we'll see how that goes.
I think it's not going to cause mold running humidifiers in the house if the room temperature is kept normal. I'm not any sort of expert in the field but I think there could be risk of mold if the humidity is high and and the temperature inside the house low. Most of us use heating if the temperature of the house is outside of our comfort zone... This could be related to VPD (vapor pressure deficit) that describes the capacity of the air able to hold moisture. I have made notes of ideal room temperature - humidy numbers for house plants, and here are some: 20 C - 50-65% 21 C - 55-65% 22 C - 55-65% 23 C - 60-70% 24 C - 60-70% These humidity numbers mark the ideal level that plant nerds should be aiming. You can google vapor pressure deficit for the whole table. I think I first found about vpd from Gardening in Canada -channel, because she specifically makes science based plant content that all of us plant nerds enjoy!
I owe you an update, I watched a bunch more of your videos and learnt what I was doing wrong (regular watering schedule) , corrected it and repotted into fresh soil (which was also something I was afraid to do ) This mornin the stump has given a few new shoots 🥹✌️thank you for your content Sir
I've been using the Stress Coat you recommended. While it's still early, I too am not seeing as much browning in my Calatheas as I used to. Thanks to you and other plant enthusiasts for recommending it!
I’ve had an orbifolia for over a year and it barely has crispy edges (only the older leaves really). At first I used to only water it with distilled water but the edges kept getting crispy. I do have a high level of humidity in my home by default (bad isolation) so I just stopped caring because otherwise I’d go nuts and voilà! Tap water and neglect actually have it thriving! 😅 great video!
Thanks so much. I’m adding two rain barrels this month-one for my indoor plants and one for my small flower garden. I’m looking forward to healthier plants and doing my small bit to conserve water in drought-prone Colorado USA.
I have been watching your videos for over a year now and thank you for this tip. It’s truly helpful. I’m going to the pet store with my puppy and I’m going to get that product for my plants. 🙏🏾
I use filtered water for all plants (I have filter tap) but my Calathea’s leaves started to curl up. I moved it recently to cooler room and put it next to my cat’s water fountain. It’s been only a week, so can’t say if that helps but I haven’t seen more curling, so hopefully it’ll work.
I have and use a water distiller unit. I've used it for years for drinking water and distilled water for use for things like making colloidal silver. So I started using it for certain houseplants a few weeks ago, as well as being the only water I use in my terrariums. I've definitely noticed a difference in the health of my calatheas. They're much happier.
My new Orbifolia shoots are coming up with black foliage - any thoughts on why would be much appreciated. I'd like to add a photograph but cannot see how here. 🤔
Thank you - I have been using a Soil Tester S-2 since watching your videos, so only water when that reads DRY; perhaps a day longer between watering will help!? Light is good tbh.
I may have cracked the code on my Rattlesnake Calathea (Calathea lancifolia). It was gorgeous with about a dozen leaves when I got it 6 weeks ago, but it immediately started looking unhappy, with the leaves getting crispy edges and turning yellow. I already water with distilled water, but humidity in my house is low. Typically 35-45 percent and a constant 68 degrees F. I tried the usual remedies, like putting it in a tray of wet pebbles, but that didn't help, and covering it in a clear plastic bag to hold in moisture negates the purpose of owning a beautiful plant. Then I read a suggestion to put the plant next to the kitchen sink, which in my house is in front of a NE facing window and just above the dishwasher, so once a day it gets a bit of steam. I also leave the light on above the kitchen sink during the day to add to the rather dim light near the window. I didn't see much change, but it seemed to stop dying. Then I got to thinking that since this is a Brazilian rain forest plant, maybe it wants rain! And since it was already at the kitchen sink, it was easy several times a day to tip the pot and run lukewarm tap water over the leaves, like I do with all my plants occasionally when washing off dust. Well, tah-dah! The leaves immediately looked better and more colorful, no more brown edges, and I now have 4 rapidly growing new shoots! Very, very happy! It's such a lovely plant.
I bought two cute little calathea a few weeks ago, I monitor them in a plastic box, with high and consistent humidity, still have a little browning on the tips >
An RO system is also an option, I got one for about 40 quid, also intended for cleaning tap water for fish tanks. I've also got the impression that water filters don't filter out enough to meet high calathea standards
I don't know all the names for each type but mine is the one at 5:39 with long before leaves that are velvety underneath. I've had it already a year but all of a sudden several leaves turned brown. I can only presume it's been the cold winter. It's in an ideal spot in our room away from the window and the radiator but in cold weather i can't afford to put the heating on so in January/February our living room did get very cold. I'm pretty sure this is why it's suffered. I'm trying to give it lots of TLC and I'm seeing improvement but don't know what to do about winter next year.
@@SheffieldMadePlants thanks. Should I leave the "crispy" leaves or prune them? I'm also collecting rainwater and will make sure I use this instead of tap water.
I am afraid that I do not believe this. Our plants are extremely intelligent and they adapt to our household. I maintain the same conditions ( light and temperature) and my Calathea is thriving in Scotland !! I don’t even own a humidifier. I spray my Calathea once every four days, keep her close to a window but not right in front and I do not move my plant around the household. I keep my Calathea close to the hob in the kitchen where she does get higher humidity when I am cooking. I think my flat does a bit of a greenhouse effect because of current good, consistent levels of humidity in the flat. Surprisingly she's my best plant and has never given me any issues
I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We have loads of humidity and I still have dry tips on my Calatheas and I have them outside. They just get brown borders, it just part of the plant.
I do use marina aquarium, salt in my aquariums to boost fish and plant health. I don't use it at levels that would support clown fish. Or even at the regular dosage aquarium salt recommends.
After killing some varieties by giving extra care, i have decided not to buy them anymore. Among the calatheas i have grown the majestica exotica is the least fussy and quiet forgiving. The place where i stay in India is not humid, also never took the effort of keeping the plant in its preferred habitat still it has survived well with no leaf tip drying.
Mine like Evian! But don't like Co-op's lol and yes I'm being serious, before you ask. These are the first plant's I've ever bought, I'm 54, how flippin brave was I!! But I didn't know at the time......they were a little, bit, of, a, pain. I have 3, 1 died off, was beautiful!! about 2ft cost me £60 though!! So I just cut down those that didn't naturally pull out and left it be, to see what it would do, I have twins!! its almost like you actually see them growing, they're doing that well, apart from one has popped up right near the edge of the pot so I don't know if I should do anything? I've basically been winging it so far, but they're no good if you're bad with your nerves, like me haha xx
@@SheffieldMadePlants I know!! fussy little buggers, but the content on the side is different, so musn't like the rocks and stones, and moss and hillls, this wonderful water travels before arriving to us! lol Yes Tiny little green bits grew, then the leaf popped out as they do. The plant is at the side of me, 2m away, and I live on this sofa. Literally, I'm disabled. It's amazing watching it every day, it's like magic! Boom one day the leaves were just there! The next leaves are lining up too! I can send a pic if you like?
Yet another great video from you! You’ve convinced me to get a moisture meter, and now I’m getting a humidity meter too! I’ve been eyeing a few gorgeous calatheas at a local store but wasn’t sure I’d pull it off. Now I’m ready to give them a try!
I'd add that some Calatheas are just way more finicky when it come to humidity than others. Calathea (now Goeppertia but who cares?😊) makoyana is a great, bulletproof species that rarely has issues. Ditto for setosa, orbifolia and insignis. The pink-lined one (ornata) can definitely be a heartbreaker, as can the variegated 'White Fusion.' Usually people report that one growing wonderfully for a year and then suddenly and inexplicably going down. But the most frustrating ones are those with the velvety looking leaves (warscewiczii). Long term, I've never seen a healthy looking one outside of a greenhouse. We're very fortunate here in Seattle in that our water comes from melting Cascade Mountain snowpack. It's soft, minimally chlorinated, and together with New York City, it's considered some of the best in the country. I use it with all my carnivores too, with no problem. But chlorine/chloramine is rarely a real issue anyway. Fluoride is a bigger issue, more for some plants than others.
I use a GE Dehumidifier with two Humidifiers. My lemon Lime Maranta, Red Stripe Maranta and Rattlesnake Goeppertia insignis are all doing well. The Dehumidifier is so important for keeping humidity 50-65. Without it, would be 70 or higher creating mold concerns. The Dehumidifier has a reservoir to collect water. This reverse osmosis water is used for watering all plants.
I got a dehumidifier a few weeks ago and have used the water from it for my calathea, drosera (carnivorous plant) and chlorophytum/spider plant (to avoid the brown leaf tips) ever since. So far, I've not noticed any problems - I think the drosera would show up issues fastest, and she's looking really happy!
I don’t get it, I still have to be doing something wrong I just can’t get them to live and chucked my last one a couple weeks ago. I used only bottled water,stopped misting, moved it to a window without full sun and I live in Barbados so no central heating and only the bedrooms have ac so I never put them in there, and still they seem to be good and then the crispy tips start then they eventually die. I think I’m going to stop wasting my money. I feel like a Calathea serial killer 😢
They can be quite easy going if they are understood even in households, I believe. I have best growing results when I buy them as small plantlets - they adapt much better to my home. I keep all my marantacae (maranta, calathea, etc.) in 60 % humidity and temperatures always above 17 °C. The temperatures and humidity doesn´t swing on weekly basis, but slowly changes through the year. I have quite a lot of them and discovered that they like: - consistency in everything (not yearly, but daily and weekly) and living in peace :-) (i.e. not to change locations, not to touch their roots much, just leaving them alone) - humidity min. 55 % is sufficient enough, but they love and grow super fast at 70 % humidity - water and feritilisier can be an issue - they don´t like chemicals and salts (so I use organic fertiliser and Brita filtered water and it´s ok) - pests: they really taught me a lot about spider mites and thrips (pests simply love them), however with a diligent approach this can be eradicated and kept at bay (regular showers and prevention of outbreaks is the key) In my experience, the best way to grow them is semi-hydroponically: I experimented growing them in soil and Lechuza pon in self-watering system. After a year, my results: they grow way faster & happier looking in pon. I´d not grow them in soil again if I can avoid it. The leaves can be nearly perfect then and the growth is simply incredible. I have same results with alocasia - they love self-watering pon too 🙂
@@irinad.7802 Any self-watering pots/system is ok. Lechuza pots are expensive and not necessary. PON: For water propagated maranta: I have even one in normal plastic pot with holes at the bottom and this sits in 1 cm water in a normal cover pot. When water runs out,I wait 1 day and then put there new water. Also I flash pon with water every 2-3 weeks to clean it and make sure that all roots get water from the top. After flasing with water,I wait 1-2 days for it to dry a little and then I refill the water reservoir. If a plant wants less water than maranta and I don't have some self-watering pot, I use few cm if lecca pebbels,put water there and plastic nursery pot on top so the pot doesn't touch the water. However it is easier with any self-watering pot than what I describe. But if one has nothing or the plant is too small for any self-watering pot,this can be used.
My calathea vittata is exactly looks like the picture you showed in 2:12 or even worse. Half of them are curled, shrunk, and very crispy. It looks like pupa. The rest of them are okay for now. I bought this plant last winter from Amazon, and it didn't look happy from the day i got it. I also found some insects(tiny, white, many legs) crawled up when i watered. I guess i eliminated all of them but this plant never looked happy. Do you think my plant already crossed to where never come back? I am holding a hope for over 3 months that it will recover, but not sure anymore. Thank you for your advice in advance!
@@SheffieldMadePlants thank you for the prompt reply! Back then, i did some research what the insect was and how to eliminate. I discovered that the insect is harmful to the plant and eats up the roots. Yellow leaves can be a indicator of the infection. (don't remember the insect name, though). So i put the entire pot in the bucket with full of water, so that all the bugs came out from the soil. And i cleaned out the root as much as i could do, repotted it to the new pot with new soil. After this step, i never seen the bugs came up when watering, but the plant has not been doing well. How can i treat this plant to make it survive?
@@SheffieldMadePlants Hi! I just want to share with you that my calathea completely recovered from whatever she has suffered! I started giving her sufficient and consistent humidity, enough light, also filtered water. Now she is shooting up multiple new leaves! Of course those leaves which already got crispy and curled crossed the river where they never can't come back. Thank you again!
Hello, thank you for your informative video. I wondered if i could please get some advice? I have a calathea makoyana plant. I bought it recently. Its quite a tall one. I noticed the soil was overflowing so i repotted it yesterday. It was quite rootbound so i really untangled the roots and took away a lot of the soil. I have now repotted it and have used pon soil. The roots were really long so i increased the pot to quite a larger one than what it was in.. A couple if the leaves are really dropping. Perhaps i need to give it some more time to see how it feels but just wondered if you had any suggestions or tips to help it in its new pot? Thank you so much!
Compré esta planta porque se veía hermosa y resulta que es una de las mas difíciles para cuidar para muchos jajaj Tengo la Calathea Vitatta y como acaba de llegar a mi hogar las puntas se han puesto marrones y eso me trajo aquí. Espero que con el tiempo y tus consejos pueda volver a verse hermosa como cuando la compré.
A very timely video as I have recently purchased some calatheas and marantas and a stromanthe trio star. I have them all together and well back and to the side of a huge south facing window. They seem to enjoy this spot and are thriving. In fact my calathea Freddie is blooming. Does this mean he is happy or stressed? I water with well water and we heat our home in winter with wood which is a very dry heat. I don't have any humidifiers either. So you are quite right about consistency. I keep them moist but not soaking wet. Hopefully I can continue to grow them as I think the foliage is very striking. How often do they like to be fertilized? Thanks for your very helpful posts, I'm slowly making my way through all your previous videos.
I put my calathea orbifolia at a sideboard beneath a window 2 months ago when I bought it. It's a window we never open and it gets indirect sunlight a hew hours from above". I've never moved it since and currently a huge leaf is growing. The gardening center where I got it from did not have the best circumstances either. They only had 3 calatheas and all had tiny brown spots but I think they know that when they put it in a more moisture environment, this plant will eventually die at home. We also have underfloor heating and live in a modern aparment. I think this positively influences the humidity in our room. It does not vary and temperature is also very constant. Thus, until now, it's a rather easy plant, I have more trouble with my Tradescantia zebrina, it's very fuzzy and gets dry leaves, I don't know why. BTW: I feel that growing this leaf takes all the calathea's energy right now, it's like all of the plant is putting effort into this one leaf, lol
Thank you so much for all your helpful and useful information on how to water our Calathea plants without killing them. I’m very grateful to you for your advice. Please stay safe and well too xxxx Mags ❤❤❤❤
I am in the process of torturing one to death right now😂 down to only one leaf. I'm going to move it to my bathroom to see if this helps. Then give it a drink of fish tank water. Thanks for the tips 😀
I have my fussier plants in my Ikea cabinet, haven’t got a humidifier in there so it goes between late 60% to early 70% it’s more consistent then living in my bathroom. I’m just hoping they like it in there
Some time ago I decided to give filtered water to all of my plants because here in Brazil we don't drink tap water anyway. This video not only helped me understand more about my dying calathea, but also enlighted me that maybe my water filter wasn't working properly lol good news we had a filter replacement scheduled for that same time.
I do have an aquarium at home and never thought to use the old water after a water change. That's a fantastic suggestion! I'd also recommend Seachem Prime water conditioner if you don't want the aloe vera ingredient that's in the one shown in the video. Now the plant-owners' guilt kicks in, had no idea what I was doing to my poor calathea!
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You are so right about consistency and the type of water!
Have had several for years and they keep putting out new foliage
They do just fine in 40% humidity as long as they get water when they need it.
They love rainwater, they don’t seem like fertiliser much (worm tea seems fine though)
Of course I still get some small crispy tips sometimes when my watering timing is off…
Overall great plants!
So what you're saying is I should just move to the rainforest and I would have all the plants I could ever imagine, without any crispiness, but how long I survive is up for a lot of debate 😬
I think you’ll be alright 😅
Or just keep your home consistently a similar humidity level
Look at the bright side. You might have perfect plants for your entire life, 3-5 glorious days.
Thank you for your video. Calatheas are easily my favorite plants. They are gorgeous 😍
Interesting that they need the consistency, but it makes a lot of sense. I keep mine tucked against a big shelf and grouped together with other plants. It seems that even though the humidity in the room is dropping and rising, it stays fairly consistent in the little nook.
I found that it also helps getting baby plants, so they grow into your environment and get used to it. I only have about 40-50% humidity, but no problems so far.
As for browning edges: those with large, round leaves tend to be more susceptible to the brown edges than long, thin leaves, in my experience.
Also I only top water my calatheas, so that the soil is regularly washed out, to prevent built up of salts and other minerals.
I had great success so far with them. They are one of my easiest plants tbh.
Yes definitely buying small so they grow into your space is great
I have a river in my back yard and that’s what I water my plants with , they love it 😍
Good video. I agree with you wholeheartedly. The key word is consistency. They dont need heat or high humidity to thrive but they do need a consistent environment to live in. I grow any calathea, ctenanthe and maranta and I do not have problems with browning leaves. Through winter they live in a room heated to no more than 12 degrees. They are in a moderately bright room well away from any windows as they do not like any direct light. I find consistent watering to be very important. I use rain water exclusively and I keep my plants moist. Calathea do not like to dry out at all and I find this to be the worst cause of browning leaves. Use a moisture retentive potting mix but do not be tempted to over water.
Thanks. That’s interesting you keep them in cooler temps and they’re happy
Hi Annette am nursing a poorly calathea orbi she was in my kitchen on a shelf about 4 metres from the window . I was watering her 2-3 times a week . She thrived for around 6 weeks . But now her leaves are right down crispy edges an her leaves feel really thin . The stems are just separating. I repotted her with orchard mix , perlite an tiny bit of compost. Water her every 7-9 days . Even bought a humidifier. Use bottled water on her . Am at a loss even put her in the rain for a few hours in the garden . Placed in a shade on a warm day . Nothing is helping . Any tips ? Thank u I’ve even bought clay balls an moss
I got one for my birthday recently and it wants to curl up and die on me! I was so frustated with it that I threw it in the trash and then felt guilty! I now have it in water only and it's perking back up again, but I am afraid to put it in soil. Keeping my fingers crossed. Appreciate your videos. 😊
Thanks!
I have this plant and was growing it outside. It was thriving outside. As soon as I brought it indoors it started developing brown leaves only on the edge!
I live in Florida, Summer now, what mean the humidity swings is pretty high 😬 …and I have a collection of 7 different calathea varieties … besides one of them that is giving me a hard time, the other ones are loving it and growing beautifully.
As soon as you mentioned chlorine, I started wondering if fish tank dechlorinator would be safe for plants. I'm so glad you mentioned it at the end. I guess my fish and plant hobbies go hand in hand.
It also just occurred to me that dechlorinator breaks chloramine down into ammonia and I know that aquatic aquarium plants can absorb this as a food source, so I hazard a guess that terrestrial plants may do the same. So I guess it's almost adding a bit of fertiliser to the plant too. How cool.
Another thought I had is that if your water is only treated with chlorine and not chloramines, the chlorine will actually evaporate out if you leave it sitting in a bucket for a day. So that's potentially another cheap option. (Won't work for chloramines though, only chlorine)
💯
I collect air plants and water them with spring water, so I already have it around for my potted plants. I reuse it a few times and give the used soaking water to my potted plants, so the cost is minimal.
Nice 👌
Oooh, I need some air plant advice. I feel that there must be more nuance than "soak once a week for 30-60 minutes". I have about 20 different plants in several different varieties. Twice, with 2 different types, I have forgotten them in their 60 minute upside down soak for 3 days. I was SURE they would all be dead but, no!, they are greener and fuzzier than they have ever been. Now I don't know what to do each week.
Two things have made wonders to my plants the last couple of months 🌱:
1. Reverse osmosis aquarium water with nearly any hardness, salts etc., but many nutrients
2. The moisture meter - Now I give about 50-75% less water
👍👍
I live in a city where it only rains 30 days a year and the tap water has loads of limescale.
How on earth do I purify the water? Even the water filter does not cut the mustard
I started buying baby plants calatheas and i have noticed they adjust better to the conditions at home, also easier for me to water as i had fair share of killing few doing overwatering. At start i was buying grown up plants and after few weeks at home... :( I also made the mistake of misting to increase humidity.. i got a beautiful collection of spider mites instead. I use distilled water and i fertilize with more dilluted fertilizer than recommended because i have noticed they are also sensitive to it. ( If the fertilizer calls for ammount of X per month, i dillute 4-6 times and use weekly, during winter) Making these changes significantly improved how my calatheas look. My take with them is that less is more.
* during winter every 2-3 weeks
That’s a good shout thanks 👍
Hmm... Aside from plants that are native to areas subject to regular temperature and humidity swings, I've noticed that environmental stability is important for just about any plant, and for most animals as well. I've got calathea prayer plants growing aquaponically as a marginal/emersed plant in my aquarium, and we'll see how that goes. I've got fog from an ultrasonic mist maker rolling over the surface of the water, so that helps a little with the humidity issue; It's also very consistent, running day and night. Humidity is a huge problem for me, as our house is the place where humidity goes to die. Outside, humidity may be around the 60 to 70 percentile, while it may be half that in the house at any given time. However, if I give them everything else they need, all but the most humidity-sensitive plants will still adapt in time.
Absolutely 👍
Start using weather compensation on your heating instead of on off heating controls. Less fluctuations in heat and humidity.
You can also save money and improve your own comfort.
The future of UK Home heating is heat pumps that work this way anyway
👍👍
Hey Mr Sheffield! This video by Simple & Fast (?) just popped up in my feed about using sponges in plant pots. 😂
Ok great…link is working. Maybe you’ve seen or heard of that before. It’s so silly!
Yep I've seen that little hack before. Not come across that channel before
I only water with tIn water and still get brown tips. It's from letting it dry out.
you help me to save my calathea .i do your device .thanks
on the line of water quality, Rodi water is also a good choice.
What’s that?
So are there house plants that don't mind the temp and humidity swings? I haven't put any plants in my bathroom yet because it swings between about 64-79° Fahrenheit and between 67-90% humidity
My calathea and maranta stay in my living room and are happy there. So I agree with you that they like consistency 😊
Yes there are. Normally thicker leaf plants like Ficus and even Monstera.
I have tropical fish tanks and a calathea living next to a tank without a sealed lid. Seems to appreciate the steady bit of moisture in the air in that spot. Using tank water is a definite preference to untreated tap water for the plants too👍
Ps, enjoy your videos but have a question, Wednesday or United?
Haha neither. I’m originally from London and support arsenal but moved up about 15 years ago. Thanks for watching
@Sheffield Made Plants I'm gonna boycot your video's after May 20th potentially then 😬🌳
@@andrewcoulson2375 😂
Please can spring bottle water be used
Yep
So in winter I can use melted snow for watering my plants to provide soft water?
Yep
Question for you. What if I boil my water and use it the next day at room temp? 😊
Doesn’t really do anything to be honest. You’d need to capture the steam
I am fully on rain water, yet calatheas do brown, progressing from dried out edges. Rather consistent environment, and kept as part of gathering with other similar plants not too far from the window. Goes better during warm time outside in the shadowy garden.
So frustrating
What is the ratio you use with the water conditioner?
A drop to a little of water
Straight up I water my calathea with water thats been filtered after being used in my bong. In the years I have had it it’s grown huge and barely lost any leaves.
I have seen brown crusty calathea even at the nursery. The nerve!
I'm a vivid Marantaceae collector and I agree with you 100%. Consistency & water quality are the key. Almost every variety will eventually adapt its home's humidity, but some need more time than others. I use filtered water that's additionally left overnight to water my collection. I used to use a bit of distilled water, with great effect, but it's not cost-effective enough for me to continue. It's really hard to actually kill a Calathea, as they're extremely tenacious plants that will grow back even when you lost all hope. But it can be challenging to make them look good.
Spot on. I’m always rehabbing my Zebrina but it does always come back
Please don't share videos of marine fish aquariums when stating people can use their water to water their plants.
What could happen if people actually water their plants with salt water?
Cooled boiled water works. I'm a RHS horticulturist by occupation.
My ornata and medallion both dropped a crispy death mid winter. I had the humidifer on and consistent light etc but I think I overthunk and tried to find the "right spot" too much and as a result they were casualties. Had I left them where they normally were they likely would've adjusted and survived, maybe not thrived but they would probably still be around, I've kept them just in case they want to come back but I am losing hope on that as well. If you make a video idea schedule, in a few months a video on how to prepare plants for the winter and the heaters being on that would be great! Esp with what to expect from certain plants like calathea. It's hard on me, a non-plant 😂 to go from 16 hours of light to around 8, plus the cold and heat and humidity changes and I was born here, I can't imagine how hard it is on these plants! 💞
Very true. I’ll probably do a video on that 😁
I currently have my calathea and maranta living in pon with self watering planters in my Ikea greenhouse cabinet. I tend to under water my plants so these items have helped a lot. I also purchased a water distiller over a year ago. I use it for all my plants and have a large brita filter for backup while the distiller is doing its thing.
Thanks again for all the tips! 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I think I overwatered my calatheas 😢 also they were in my cool bathroom in winter, jungles don't get that cold 😅
I have a large sunny south-facing room for my plants. No heating, just sunlight. Spray the air in the summer Bd they live it. The reaches into the room.
Where I live they don’t use chlorine in the water as far as I know. How do I know? I went on vacation to somewhere recently and I couldn’t drink the water because to me it tasted like water from a swimming pool, but the people there seemed used to it. So I’ve been just using tap water for my first Calathea and now I’m hoping for the best haha.
I have good luck with calatheas. I'm sure it's partly that I have good well water and live in a sub tropical environment where we RARELY use heating. One tip that wasn't mentioned was grouping calatheas together to help with humidity. I know that it's somewhat controversial, but I like to mist them also, and it works for us.
If you use silica it should help with the cell walls and structure. I'm going to have to test it out
Excellent, informative video (again 😁). I have learned SO MUCH on your channel.
Viewers: if you haven't done so, SUBSCRIBE to this fine gentleman's channel!
Much appreciation from California 🌷
Thank you very much 😊
Honestly, I'll just throw it in the bin xD
Just a note….the orange and white fish shown is a saltwater fish. I keep freshwater fish like fancy goldfish so don’t know how much salt would be in that water…I do use that water conditioner for my betta, going to try it on my plants ( not the carnivorous ones). This was a really good reference video, thank you! 🌱😊🪴
Thanks 🙏
Some clips of saltwater aquariums/fish. Don't ever use old aquarium water from saltwater tanks. Your calathea will DEFINITELY not appreciate salty water.
Also, at least here in the US, a challenge for many is water hardness (dissolved minerals). Rainwater doesn't have any of the minerals we have in our water. But if your tap water is high in dissolved minerals, Brita won't remove them, water conditioner won't remove them, and if you use hard tap water in your aquarium it will still be hard when you do your water changes and use it in your plants.
My calathea ornata wants me to suffer every day, I know it.
😂
😂😂😂❤
Mine calathea instead of crispy went all soggy and I'm down to a stump. The roots were all soggy. Don't know how to save it now. I have removed the soggy bits and repoted. Can I save my calathea?
Give it lots of light and patience and it might bounce back 🤞
I haven't seen any plant-tubers talking about leaving water overnight for chlorine to evaporate??? Even though it's quite volatile and ought to clear quickly. ???
(It's what i use - water saved waiting for the tap to heat up - seems to work, but I'm still very much a newb.)
I think most water companies use chloramine now which doesn't evaporate
I was at my garden Centre on Friday and I was looking at Calithea sanderiana and it said suitable for a hot dry bedroom with low to medium light, is this correct? I’m thinking of buying one for my room but I’ve heard they can be difficult, do they vary between varieties ?
I’m not familiar with that variety. They’re tricky to keep healthy generally. Medium light sounds about right
If you've got the room, build a greenhouse
🤔
interesting, i watched another video where the guy suggested using liquid gold fertiliser, and that something in it may bond to the bad chemicals such as chlorine, chloramines and flouride - i have no evidence of this, but perhaps worth considering trying, and the added bonus of fertilising which cant be bad. Another option which is used with shrimp keeping is reverse osmosis filtered water - the filters are not expensive any more, and easily connected to a waterbutt for ease of watering.
Anyway, the main reason i was researching Calathea is that i keep aquariums, and my tanks that have a lot of plants out of the top such as peace lilies, pothos, spider plants etc. have incredibly decent water quality, so i was considering other plants that may be happy with wet feet, and thought prayer plant families may work - whatdya think?
Yep they should work
Fabulous to know. Is the prayer plant a part of the calathea family? Love and Peace.
Yep, just looked at 61 different varieties. Holy smokes some of them are breath taking. Peace.
I'll not complain how hard is to grow calathea. My peacock plant has an abundance of new leaves, no brown tips and even blooming! My question is, is it natural for this variety to have a very short stems? With all this foliage the lenght of the stems is no more than 10-12cm.
I think that just means it’s getting lots of light and not stretching itself
The plant/aquarium combination is perfect! I love my fish and plants. The only downside is that they're both quite addictive so buyer beware, being greedy will be the downfall of your aquariums and fish and plants.
Nice!
Hello from someone with MTS (multi-tank syndrome, for non-aquarists)! I've got houseplants set up in almost every one of my tanks, and I definitely love them! Added to the houseplants in pots everywhere, and I definitely love my jungle.
@@dawnt6791 awesome
I agree . I also have a few nano tanks set up throughout the house, all with plants growing out. What I find great is if I group my calatheas together near the tanks they get the warm humidity that comes off the tanks water and they thrive ❤️ also when I do a water change on the tanks I save the water to water my plants and the Calatheas love it!
Here in the Netherlands we don't have Chlorine in our drinking water and fluoride just in natural amounts, nothing added. I'm pretty new to Calatheas. I have two now. One is near an east facing window. It's doing pretty good as long as I give it a lot of water. Then I have one in the middle of the livingroom in a spot that's furthest away from all windows and it is doing amazing. That one hasn't gone through the summer yet in my house so we'll see how that goes.
Thanks for sharing
I think it's not going to cause mold running humidifiers in the house if the room temperature is kept normal. I'm not any sort of expert in the field but I think there could be risk of mold if the humidity is high and and the temperature inside the house low. Most of us use heating if the temperature of the house is outside of our comfort zone... This could be related to VPD (vapor pressure deficit) that describes the capacity of the air able to hold moisture. I have made notes of ideal room temperature - humidy numbers for house plants, and here are some:
20 C - 50-65%
21 C - 55-65%
22 C - 55-65%
23 C - 60-70%
24 C - 60-70%
These humidity numbers mark the ideal level that plant nerds should be aiming. You can google vapor pressure deficit for the whole table. I think I first found about vpd from Gardening in Canada -channel, because she specifically makes science based plant content that all of us plant nerds enjoy!
Great information thank you 👍
Please share with us where you buy your plants in Sheffield. I live here as well and never know where to go
Ferndale normally. It’s near me and seems the best. Quite expensive though
sigh, gonna let this Calathea go, call it a learning curve and just get a resiliant plant man at this point
I owe you an update, I watched a bunch more of your videos and learnt what I was doing wrong (regular watering schedule) , corrected it and repotted into fresh soil (which was also something I was afraid to do )
This mornin the stump has given a few new shoots 🥹✌️thank you for your content Sir
I've been using the Stress Coat you recommended. While it's still early, I too am not seeing as much browning in my Calatheas as I used to. Thanks to you and other plant enthusiasts for recommending it!
Wonderful!
I’ve had an orbifolia for over a year and it barely has crispy edges (only the older leaves really). At first I used to only water it with distilled water but the edges kept getting crispy. I do have a high level of humidity in my home by default (bad isolation) so I just stopped caring because otherwise I’d go nuts and voilà! Tap water and neglect actually have it thriving! 😅 great video!
Thank you 👍
Thanks so much. I’m adding two rain barrels this month-one for my indoor plants and one for my small flower garden. I’m looking forward to healthier plants and doing my small bit to conserve water in drought-prone Colorado USA.
Sounds great!
I have been watching your videos for over a year now and thank you for this tip. It’s truly helpful. I’m going to the pet store with my puppy and I’m going to get that product for my plants. 🙏🏾
You are so welcome!
I use filtered water for all plants (I have filter tap) but my Calathea’s leaves started to curl up. I moved it recently to cooler room and put it next to my cat’s water fountain. It’s been only a week, so can’t say if that helps but I haven’t seen more curling, so hopefully it’ll work.
Might be thirsty. Curling leaves normally means plant is conserving moisture.
I have and use a water distiller unit. I've used it for years for drinking water and distilled water for use for things like making colloidal silver. So I started using it for certain houseplants a few weeks ago, as well as being the only water I use in my terrariums. I've definitely noticed a difference in the health of my calatheas. They're much happier.
Nice 👌
My new Orbifolia shoots are coming up with black foliage - any thoughts on why would be much appreciated. I'd like to add a photograph but cannot see how here. 🤔
Maybe a lack of light or too much moisture in the soil?
Thank you - I have been using a Soil Tester S-2 since watching your videos, so only water when that reads DRY; perhaps a day longer between watering will help!? Light is good tbh.
I may have cracked the code on my Rattlesnake Calathea (Calathea lancifolia). It was gorgeous with about a dozen leaves when I got it 6 weeks ago, but it immediately started looking unhappy, with the leaves getting crispy edges and turning yellow. I already water with distilled water, but humidity in my house is low. Typically 35-45 percent and a constant 68 degrees F. I tried the usual remedies, like putting it in a tray of wet pebbles, but that didn't help, and covering it in a clear plastic bag to hold in moisture negates the purpose of owning a beautiful plant.
Then I read a suggestion to put the plant next to the kitchen sink, which in my house is in front of a NE facing window and just above the dishwasher, so once a day it gets a bit of steam. I also leave the light on above the kitchen sink during the day to add to the rather dim light near the window. I didn't see much change, but it seemed to stop dying.
Then I got to thinking that since this is a Brazilian rain forest plant, maybe it wants rain! And since it was already at the kitchen sink, it was easy several times a day to tip the pot and run lukewarm tap water over the leaves, like I do with all my plants occasionally when washing off dust.
Well, tah-dah! The leaves immediately looked better and more colorful, no more brown edges, and I now have 4 rapidly growing new shoots! Very, very happy! It's such a lovely plant.
Cool Thanks for the tip
Agreed!! Spot on!! Practicality is key! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for watching!
I bought two cute little calathea a few weeks ago, I monitor them in a plastic box, with high and consistent humidity, still have a little browning on the tips >
Yeah might be the hardness doing it
Should I be worried if my calathea peacock not moving?
You mean at night? Don’t think so
@@SheffieldMadePlants yes,I used to see it move now it’s leaves stay down.
An RO system is also an option, I got one for about 40 quid, also intended for cleaning tap water for fish tanks. I've also got the impression that water filters don't filter out enough to meet high calathea standards
Great tip!
A plant that's picky about clean water?
My reef 6 stage rodi: my time has come
I don't know all the names for each type but mine is the one at 5:39 with long before leaves that are velvety underneath. I've had it already a year but all of a sudden several leaves turned brown. I can only presume it's been the cold winter. It's in an ideal spot in our room away from the window and the radiator but in cold weather i can't afford to put the heating on so in January/February our living room did get very cold. I'm pretty sure this is why it's suffered. I'm trying to give it lots of TLC and I'm seeing improvement but don't know what to do about winter next year.
Calathea Elgergrass? Hopefully it bounces back with better weather
@@SheffieldMadePlants thanks. Should I leave the "crispy" leaves or prune them? I'm also collecting rainwater and will make sure I use this instead of tap water.
@@dejayne8246 if very crispy then I cut them out. If slight edging then I leave for the time being
I am afraid that I do not believe this. Our plants are extremely intelligent and they adapt to our household. I maintain the same conditions ( light and temperature) and my Calathea is thriving in Scotland !! I don’t even own a humidifier.
I spray my Calathea once every four days, keep her close to a window but not right in front and I do not move my plant around the household. I keep my Calathea close to the hob in the kitchen where she does get higher humidity when I am cooking. I think my flat does a bit of a greenhouse effect because of current good, consistent levels of humidity in the flat. Surprisingly she's my best plant and has never given me any issues
I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We have loads of humidity and I still have dry tips on my Calatheas and I have them outside. They just get brown borders, it just part of the plant.
👍
The plant behind your right shoulder - need help with mine, was nice now browning and not looking happy - any tips please 🙏
Sorry left shoulder! Must be one of the calatheas!
Yes it's an elgergrass. Very forgiving. Mine does has some brown tips. Quality of water and medium light for this plant
Fungal issues
I do use marina aquarium, salt in my aquariums to boost fish and plant health. I don't use it at levels that would support clown fish. Or even at the regular dosage aquarium salt recommends.
After killing some varieties by giving extra care, i have decided not to buy them anymore. Among the calatheas i have grown the majestica exotica is the least fussy and quiet forgiving. The place where i stay in India is not humid, also never took the effort of keeping the plant in its preferred habitat still it has survived well with no leaf tip drying.
Greatest video and thanks
Use at RAIN water,dehumidifier water and filter water best for calathea,c’tanthea, and maranta family
Thanks Firoza
I live in the tropics and my Calathea has crispy edges. They’re very tricky to propagate too.
What a video!! Showing 5 years update and progression. Showing your passion and love for the hobby. It’s so inspiring. WOW!
Thanks so much!
Mine like Evian! But don't like Co-op's lol and yes I'm being serious, before you ask. These are the first plant's I've ever bought, I'm 54, how flippin brave was I!! But I didn't know at the time......they were a little, bit, of, a, pain. I have 3, 1 died off, was beautiful!! about 2ft cost me £60 though!! So I just cut down those that didn't naturally pull out and left it be, to see what it would do, I have twins!! its almost like you actually see them growing, they're doing that well, apart from one has popped up right near the edge of the pot so I don't know if I should do anything? I've basically been winging it so far, but they're no good if you're bad with your nerves, like me haha xx
Funny. They’ve got food taste 😂 So new leaves are sprouting from the soil? Don’t think it matters if it’s at the side
@@SheffieldMadePlants I know!! fussy little buggers, but the content on the side is different, so musn't like the rocks and stones, and moss and hillls, this wonderful water travels before arriving to us! lol Yes Tiny little green bits grew, then the leaf popped out as they do. The plant is at the side of me, 2m away, and I live on this sofa. Literally, I'm disabled. It's amazing watching it every day, it's like magic! Boom one day the leaves were just there! The next leaves are lining up too! I can send a pic if you like?
@@red-inmy-50s-temper-dont-match I’m on Insta
Yet another great video from you! You’ve convinced me to get a moisture meter, and now I’m getting a humidity meter too! I’ve been eyeing a few gorgeous calatheas at a local store but wasn’t sure I’d pull it off. Now I’m ready to give them a try!
You’ve got this ✊
I'd add that some Calatheas are just way more finicky when it come to humidity than others. Calathea (now Goeppertia but who cares?😊) makoyana is a great, bulletproof species that rarely has issues. Ditto for setosa, orbifolia and insignis. The pink-lined one (ornata) can definitely be a heartbreaker, as can the variegated 'White Fusion.' Usually people report that one growing wonderfully for a year and then suddenly and inexplicably going down. But the most frustrating ones are those with the velvety looking leaves (warscewiczii). Long term, I've never seen a healthy looking one outside of a greenhouse.
We're very fortunate here in Seattle in that our water comes from melting Cascade Mountain snowpack. It's soft, minimally chlorinated, and together with New York City, it's considered some of the best in the country. I use it with all my carnivores too, with no problem. But chlorine/chloramine is rarely a real issue anyway. Fluoride is a bigger issue, more for some plants than others.
The Zebrina is an absolute stinker
@@SheffieldMadePlants Yep. A true "why even bother if you don't live in a jungle" plant. :-)
I have a dehumidifier, can I use that water too?
I use a GE Dehumidifier with two Humidifiers. My lemon Lime Maranta, Red Stripe Maranta and Rattlesnake Goeppertia insignis are all doing well.
The Dehumidifier is so important for keeping humidity 50-65. Without it, would be 70 or higher creating mold concerns.
The Dehumidifier has a reservoir to collect water. This reverse osmosis water is used for watering all plants.
I got a dehumidifier a few weeks ago and have used the water from it for my calathea, drosera (carnivorous plant) and chlorophytum/spider plant (to avoid the brown leaf tips) ever since. So far, I've not noticed any problems - I think the drosera would show up issues fastest, and she's looking really happy!
I don’t get it, I still have to be doing something wrong I just can’t get them to live and chucked my last one a couple weeks ago. I used only bottled water,stopped misting, moved it to a window without full sun and I live in Barbados so no central heating and only the bedrooms have ac so I never put them in there, and still they seem to be good and then the crispy tips start then they eventually die. I think I’m going to stop wasting my money. I feel like a Calathea serial killer 😢
Is this the only type of plant that struggles in your house? They like moist soil could be that?
@@SheffieldMadePlants I have other plants but I’ve had about 5 Calathea’s and they are the main problem
They can be quite easy going if they are understood even in households, I believe. I have best growing results when I buy them as small plantlets - they adapt much better to my home.
I keep all my marantacae (maranta, calathea, etc.) in 60 % humidity and temperatures always above 17 °C. The temperatures and humidity doesn´t swing on weekly basis, but slowly changes through the year. I have quite a lot of them and discovered that they like:
- consistency in everything (not yearly, but daily and weekly) and living in peace :-) (i.e. not to change locations, not to touch their roots much, just leaving them alone)
- humidity min. 55 % is sufficient enough, but they love and grow super fast at 70 % humidity
- water and feritilisier can be an issue - they don´t like chemicals and salts (so I use organic fertiliser and Brita filtered water and it´s ok)
- pests: they really taught me a lot about spider mites and thrips (pests simply love them), however with a diligent approach this can be eradicated and kept at bay (regular showers and prevention of outbreaks is the key)
In my experience, the best way to grow them is semi-hydroponically: I experimented growing them in soil and Lechuza pon in self-watering system. After a year, my results: they grow way faster & happier looking in pon. I´d not grow them in soil again if I can avoid it. The leaves can be nearly perfect then and the growth is simply incredible. I have same results with alocasia - they love self-watering pon too 🙂
Great stuff thanks for all the tips 👍
I’ve copied and saved your entire comment for future reference. I’m considering getting several calatheas and marantas, so I want to be prepared!
Also a question - do you also use Lechuza pots with their pon or any other self-watering pot will do?
@@irinad.7802 Any self-watering pots/system is ok. Lechuza pots are expensive and not necessary.
PON: For water propagated maranta: I have even one in normal plastic pot with holes at the bottom and this sits in 1 cm water in a normal cover pot. When water runs out,I wait 1 day and then put there new water. Also I flash pon with water every 2-3 weeks to clean it and make sure that all roots get water from the top. After flasing with water,I wait 1-2 days for it to dry a little and then I refill the water reservoir. If a plant wants less water than maranta and I don't have some self-watering pot, I use few cm if lecca pebbels,put water there and plastic nursery pot on top so the pot doesn't touch the water. However it is easier with any self-watering pot than what I describe. But if one has nothing or the plant is too small for any self-watering pot,this can be used.
@@SparkleInMoonlight thank you for the tips, much appreciated!
My calathea vittata is exactly looks like the picture you showed in 2:12 or even worse. Half of them are curled, shrunk, and very crispy. It looks like pupa. The rest of them are okay for now. I bought this plant last winter from Amazon, and it didn't look happy from the day i got it. I also found some insects(tiny, white, many legs) crawled up when i watered. I guess i eliminated all of them but this plant never looked happy. Do you think my plant already crossed to where never come back? I am holding a hope for over 3 months that it will recover, but not sure anymore. Thank you for your advice in advance!
Sounds you got it when it had bugs. Are they still there? Needs a treatment for it to be happy
@@SheffieldMadePlants thank you for the prompt reply! Back then, i did some research what the insect was and how to eliminate. I discovered that the insect is harmful to the plant and eats up the roots. Yellow leaves can be a indicator of the infection. (don't remember the insect name, though). So i put the entire pot in the bucket with full of water, so that all the bugs came out from the soil. And i cleaned out the root as much as i could do, repotted it to the new pot with new soil. After this step, i never seen the bugs came up when watering, but the plant has not been doing well. How can i treat this plant to make it survive?
@@Kayla.H2024 just needs time in good light etc to recover probably
@@SheffieldMadePlants i see! I'd better be patient. Thank you so much for your help!
@@SheffieldMadePlants Hi! I just want to share with you that my calathea completely recovered from whatever she has suffered! I started giving her sufficient and consistent humidity, enough light, also filtered water. Now she is shooting up multiple new leaves! Of course those leaves which already got crispy and curled crossed the river where they never can't come back. Thank you again!
Hello, thank you for your informative video. I wondered if i could please get some advice?
I have a calathea makoyana plant. I bought it recently. Its quite a tall one. I noticed the soil was overflowing so i repotted it yesterday. It was quite rootbound so i really untangled the roots and took away a lot of the soil. I have now repotted it and have used pon soil. The roots were really long so i increased the pot to quite a larger one than what it was in..
A couple if the leaves are really dropping. Perhaps i need to give it some more time to see how it feels but just wondered if you had any suggestions or
tips to help it in its new pot?
Thank you so much!
It’s probably going through some shock. I recently repotted a calathea and some leaves dropped. They bounce back
Compré esta planta porque se veía hermosa y resulta que es una de las mas difíciles para cuidar para muchos jajaj Tengo la Calathea Vitatta y como acaba de llegar a mi hogar las puntas se han puesto marrones y eso me trajo aquí.
Espero que con el tiempo y tus consejos pueda volver a verse hermosa como cuando la compré.
Fingers crossed 🤞
Ok ... Now I will collect rainwater from now on 💚🤩🌱
A very timely video as I have recently purchased some calatheas and marantas and a stromanthe trio star. I have them all together and well back and to the side of a huge south facing window. They seem to enjoy this spot and are thriving. In fact my calathea Freddie is blooming. Does this mean he is happy or stressed? I water with well water and we heat our home in winter with wood which is a very dry heat. I don't have any humidifiers either. So you are quite right about consistency. I keep them moist but not soaking wet. Hopefully I can continue to grow them as I think the foliage is very striking. How often do they like to be fertilized? Thanks for your very helpful posts, I'm slowly making my way through all your previous videos.
A flowering plant is a happy one! You've got your care routine and placement spot on! I fertilise once a month in spring and summer.
I put my calathea orbifolia at a sideboard beneath a window 2 months ago when I bought it. It's a window we never open and it gets indirect sunlight a hew hours from above". I've never moved it since and currently a huge leaf is growing. The gardening center where I got it from did not have the best circumstances either. They only had 3 calatheas and all had tiny brown spots but I think they know that when they put it in a more moisture environment, this plant will eventually die at home. We also have underfloor heating and live in a modern aparment. I think this positively influences the humidity in our room. It does not vary and temperature is also very constant.
Thus, until now, it's a rather easy plant, I have more trouble with my Tradescantia zebrina, it's very fuzzy and gets dry leaves, I don't know why.
BTW: I feel that growing this leaf takes all the calathea's energy right now, it's like all of the plant is putting effort into this one leaf, lol
Fingers crossed it continues to do well. The Zebrina doesn't seem to want to live inside!
Thank you so much for all your helpful and useful information on how to water our Calathea plants without killing them. I’m very grateful to you for your advice. Please stay safe and well too xxxx Mags ❤❤❤❤
My pleasure 😊
I gave up on mine 😅
😬
I am in the process of torturing one to death right now😂 down to only one leaf. I'm going to move it to my bathroom to see if this helps. Then give it a drink of fish tank water. Thanks for the tips 😀
Thanks for watching
I always thought these plants prefer colder temps. Summer heat is too harsh and dryness of spring and autumn is also not good.
Hmm maybe 🤔
Evaporative humidifiers, everyone needs to know! They come in much larger, energy efficient sizes and I run mine at 55% easily in an open layout house
Thanks for the tip 👍
I have my fussier plants in my Ikea cabinet, haven’t got a humidifier in there so it goes between late 60% to early 70% it’s more consistent then living in my bathroom. I’m just hoping they like it in there
It should do 👌
Some time ago I decided to give filtered water to all of my plants because here in Brazil we don't drink tap water anyway.
This video not only helped me understand more about my dying calathea, but also enlighted me that maybe my water filter wasn't working properly lol good news we had a filter replacement scheduled for that same time.
Great stuff 👍
I would call that room a fridge 🥶
I do have an aquarium at home and never thought to use the old water after a water change. That's a fantastic suggestion! I'd also recommend Seachem Prime water conditioner if you don't want the aloe vera ingredient that's in the one shown in the video.
Now the plant-owners' guilt kicks in, had no idea what I was doing to my poor calathea!
Thanks for the recommendation. It's not too late for your Cala 😁