Help! Plant Dying-Looks like Peace Lily but has Purple Underneath
Hi Judy,
I just found your website. I have an indoor plant that I absolutely loved until it started dying. The place I bought it never had it identified but I fell in love with its green on top leaves and purple on the underside sort of fuzzy leaves. Attaching pictures need your help to know what it needs. Thank you!
Hi Debbie,
Calathea rufibarba plant
Your plant is a Calathea rufibarba. A Calathea plant requires high humidity to keep its leaves from getting brown edges and is not an easy-care plant, but like many unusual houseplants, well worth the effort. Here are a few care tips to help you:
Light
A Calathea Plant requires bright indirect light but no direct sun. Direct sun burns the leaves 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 the plant to sit in water. Allow the top 2-3” of the soil in the pot to dry out before watering.
Fertilizer
Fertilize a Calathea monthly in the spring, summer, and fall with a basic houseplant food at ½ the recommended strength. Never feed if it is not actively growing.
Humidity
Calathea Plants need high humidity. When the air is too dry, a Calathea Plant 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.
