Please help! I’ve done everything I’ve been able to find online about helping bring my plant back to life! More water, less water, more sun, less sun, more drainage, everything but cutting the leaves all off. Can you identify what type of plant this is and if there’s something I’m missing? Is there anything I can do for it now? It started with not standing up straight like it used to and then it yellowed and wilted… What have I done wrong?
Hi,
Your plant is a type of Calathea, which is a difficult plant to care for. Here is a picture of a healthy calathea.
Plant care tips.
Light: A Calathea plant requires bright indirect light but no direct sun. Direct sun burns the leaves of most houseplants and causes their vibrant colors to fade.
Water: The leaves of Calathea plants are easily damaged by the quality of the water you use. Hard water or soft water, water with a high chemical content (fluoride, chlorine, or salt), or water of poor quality causes leaf burn. Water a Calathea plant with distilled water, rain water, or allow your tap water to sit out over night before using it. Calathea plants like moist but not soggy soil at all times, but never allow a Calathea to sit in water. Allow the top 2-3” of the soil in the pot to dry out before watering.
Fertilizer: Fertilize a Calathea plant monthly in the spring, summer, and fall with a basic houseplant food at ½ the recommended strength. Never feed a Calathea Plant, or any houseplant, if it is not actively growing.
Temperature: Calathea plants prefer temperatures between 65°-80°F (18.3°-26.7°C), and don’t do well in cold drafts or temperatures below 55°-60°F ( 12.8°-15.6°C). The leaves of a Calathea curl when the temperature is too warm.
Humidity: Calathea Plants need high humidity. When the air is too dry, a Calathea gets brown leaf edges. Increase the humidity by placing a Calathea plant on a tray of wet pebbles (be sure the container is on the pebbles and not in the water), setting a humidifier near- by, or by grouping plants together to create a greenhouse effect.
You can read all my care tips in the Popular Houseplant section of the website.