Why your Calatheas drying up?

Why are the Calatheas drying up?

A question of the decade, after spending hundreds and thousands of money on these gorgeous foliage plants they still end up bone dry lying in a lonely corner of the room. Countless changes in water, light and temperatures didn’t budge calatheas from their poor fate. At this point, many plant parents have given up on them but the pain of not being able to grow these ornamental plants is unbearable. 

Why are calatheas drying up?

There are numerous reasons for this. It could be little or more sunlight or maybe over or underwatering. Sometimes improper soil mix could also leave the calatheas dried up or rotting, thus affecting the leaves. The symptoms on the leaves reflect what is wrong with the plant. To know why your calatheas are drying up, it’s important to understand the plant requirements. As we discuss the solution you’ll surely understand why your calatheas are drying up.

So what’s the solution?

Calatheas being native to the rainforest region loves humidity. To crack the DaVinci code for these plants, it’s important to understand their natural habitat. Coming from rainforest regions, humidity plays an important role in their growth. To have your calatheas thrive and not dry up, mimic their natural environment. As we discuss each factor you’ll understand its needs and what might be going wrong with your plant. 

Understanding humidity: 

It is the amount of water vapour present in the air. In Hindi, it is called as naami, like how humidity is higher in monsoons and lower during summers. In winter humidity is relatively medium. 

The relation between humidity and temperature is inversely proportional. If temperature increases, humidity reduces; thus, the air will become drier. When the temperature decreases, the air will become wetter; therefore, the relative humidity will increase.

Humidity is a very underrated factor for plant growth. And rarely anyone talks about it. The little science is that low humidity can cause plants to lose water more rapidly, leading to dehydration and poor growth. Therefore, drying of leaves. Higher humidity conditions help to keep the stomata open to maintain the photosynthesis process and minimize the evaporation process of the plants.

Understanding calatheas:

Calatheas are the fufaji of the barat, very picky but once they’re happy they thrive. Their needs are very specific and once they get it, they give you the prettiest foliage.

Light: 

Calatheas need bright and indirect sunlight. Direct sunlight burns their pretty leaves or what we call as dry leaves. So make sure to keep them under a good growlight or under the shade of some plants or net. A good 3-4 hours of sunlight will work best for them. 

Water: 

These plants being native to tropical regions like to keep their roots constantly moist but not soggy. While watering majorly depends on what the soil mix is, watering it as the top layer of soil is dry is ideal. Make sure to keep in mind the frequency of how many times you water the plant rather than the quantity.

Water more during summers, almost every day and in winters the frequency should be decreased depending on how low the temperature gets. 

Coming towards the soil.

Soil:

One of the most controversial topics is soil mix for calatheas. Soil mix here depends on the climatic conditions of your area. But the ideal mix includes a more or less of a soilless mixture. While this might surprise one, the soil being a dense medium leaves the calatheas roots wet for a longer time, often leading to root rots. So a soilless mixture ensures the roots receive moisture along with airflow. 

Cocochips- 20%

Perlite- 20%

Compost– 20%

Sand- 20%

Leaf mould- 20%

All in equal parts.

If you experience dry weather most of the year then making the soil with a bit more compost and leaf mould will keep the Calathea moist for a longer time. 

And if you experience wetter weather with heavy rains, keeping the soil mixed with more sand and perlite will help water drain out better. 

Temperature and humidity:

Calatheas thrive in humidity. An ideal level of humidity is 80%. However, the mature plants can be grown in humidity as low as 35%. As discussed above, more temperature = less humidity, which means to achieve 80% humidity the temperature should be around 27°C. But it’s not always that 27°C will have humidity 80%. Because humidity revolves around how much water the air holds. 

So long story short, keeping plants around a water body or under a humidifier will help you achieve the desired level. But it’s not always possible to have such arrangements. 

How to increase humidity?

Some users suggest using a tray filled with water and pebbles increases humidity. While some suggest spraying calatheas with water but it is useless and often water seeps into the growing foliage leading to leaf and plant rot. Also, it’s very inconvenient to keep on spraying all day!

Keeping calatheas with a group of other plants helps maintain a cool and humid environment. transpiration of other plants aids to more humidity and this surely helps calatheas.

Many have received great results with self-watering pots. And if you can’t find one, you can make one yourself! While repotting your calatheas take a thick rope like a cotton or jute one and add it horizontally along the plant through the hole at the bottom. Make sure the rope sticks out of the bottom hole. Now take a bit bigger container that the pot can sit into. Fill the bigger pot with water up to an inch just enough that the rope touches the bottom.

With the wonders of gravity and osmosis, the rope will absorb water. This water will be absorbed by the roots without ever over-watering it. Make sure the plant pot never touches the water level. Or else the soil will absorb water and sit in water which will lead to root rot. Just the rope stays in contact with water. Whenever the water at the bottom decreases, fill it up again till half an inch. 

This solves almost all the watering problems.

Fertiliser:

Calatheas love mild fertiliser. They are not so fussy about fertilizers but make sure the fertilizer you are using is super diluted so as to not shock the plants. Be it compost or balanced NPK, every 15 days a handful of compost or NPK diluted water (1gm/litre) is the best.

Pruning and propagation:

Most calatheas don’t need pruning. But they shed leaves and you can remove them which is normal. These plants can be propagated by dividing them. You can separate the baby plants from the mother plant and grow them independently. Propagating them in a mixture of sand and compost is best for rooting along with high levels of humidity. 

Do calatheas hate tap water?

It totally depends on the mineral content of your water. Some areas receive hard water while others soft water. Some contain higher levels of fluoride or chloride. And calatheas don’t like these minerals. That’s why they have crispy and brown tips and edges. 

In nature, plants receive rainwater that is devoid of minerals. That’s why they thrive outside but are allergic to tap water. So if you are experiencing browny tips despite giving all the right conditions to the calatheas, try giving the rainwater or RO water. You can also use water from AC vents. These are all mineral-free and will help calatheas grow. 

Additional tip: Keeping calatheas leaves clean and shiny will help in photosynthesis.

Calatheas are one of the prettiest plants and often come off as a tricky plant. But with these tips and tricks, I’m sure you can grow your calatheas into mature plants!

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