Dear houseplant community,

Like the beginning of any good letter, I should probably have written you sooner.

Anyway, a friend of mine had this beautiful plant that she neglected for months, completely drying it out. At the end there were just a few leaves hanging half a meter from the plant itself, completely dried out.

I cut off a piece, gave it roots, potted it, and it went wild! Explosive growth, every new leaf bigger than the last. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

A few months later, it had had enough. Leaves started curling up and withering. Growth halted. I thought maybe I had forgotten to give it water, but that wasn’t it. Moving it to a sunnier spot didn’t help either. Now it’s almost completely dead, and I miss what we once had.

So, a couple of questions:

  1. Does anyone have any idea what went wrong? Did I water it too much? Too little?
  2. What can I do? Can it be saved? Does it need plant nutrition? A bigger pot? I’m afraid of doing anything, as it seems so fragile one bad move would surely be the end of it.

Thank you so much in advance!

Yours truly, Aa

@plants@a.gup.pe

  • orenishii@feddit.nlEnglish
    18·
    2 months ago

    Ohhh the calathea. It’s horrible. We had a few of them and it was never “ good enough “ for them. When I gave up they came back to life. And a few days ago while travelling I saw them at a campsite alive and well just outside. I really like the plant how it looks but its a horrible diva to deal with. Reminds me of this reddit post:

    • fossilesqueMEnglish
      5·
      2 months ago

      The only Calathea I got that survived (I have to have tried them at least 5-10 times now) is the Calathea musaica Network. Heartly little beasts. They are a lot more thicc.

      Not mine. Ironically, other better looking tropicals love me so that’s ok.

        • fossilesqueMEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          Oh yea, they are super vibrant like that too with a bit of sun and not too hard to find. :) Pretty easy to care for and more resilient to underwatering than other prayer plants. 100% good for beginners, especially in apartments with half light.

          • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            2 months ago

            Sounds like a challenging plant for me then. I tend to overwater! Maybe do well with a nice terra cotta pot to get some extra evaporation.

            • fossilesqueMEnglish
              3·
              2 months ago

              No I think you’d be OK, remember they’re tropicals so moisture isn’t bad, it prefers it! Here is an undoctored leafie, and, btw, you can never go wrong with terracotta. :) She would look better if I misted her but no time for that.