The Way I Found How To Save A Dying Calathea Plant

Calathea plants are beautiful tropical plants that come from South America. People know these plants for their brightly colored leaves and how well they clean the air. But, like all plants, they can have problems from time to time. If you have a dead how to save a dying calathea plant, don’t give up! You can save it by doing a few things.

Most of the time, a calathea is dying because the soil around the root ball is dry because it wasn’t watered enough or often enough. This makes the leaves fall and change to brown color and crispy, giving the plant a dying look. When there isn’t enough humidity, the leaves of the calathea lose their moisture. This makes the edges of the leaves turn brown and crispy, which kills them.

In this blog post, I’ll explain why calathea is dying and how to bring it back to life. Keep listening to find out more!

The Best Potential Way To Saving Your Dying Calathea Plant

If you’re struggling to keep your Calathea plant alive, there are a few potential ways that you can save it.

Place Your Calathea In A Shaded Area

Most plant lovers think that Calatheas need full sun. Calatheas grow in the Brazilian jungle between 77 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. In tropical rainforests, it is hot during the day. To make it hot inside, they expose plants to the sun’s bright light, which is bad for their health and can kill them.

• First, leaves get sunburned. Houseplants get hurt when the sun is too hot. They will turn red after a day, then yellow or brown. Sun rays quickly drain all the water from the leaves, making them lose their lush green color.
• If the leaves of your Calathea are falling off, crunchy, or in different colors, you planted them wrong. Move them to the shade or a point of light with a soft glow. Outside, use plants to block some of the light.
• The area around it may have also hurt Calathea. It might get too much sun and heat if it’s next to a window facing south or west. The sun’s rays dry out the leaves, turning them into pale shells.
• Cold drafts can make the leaves of Calathea droop and die even when it’s cloudy in the winter, and windowsills dangerous places.
• Sunlight and sudden temperature changes can worsen other problems, even if they aren’t the main cause. Keep your plant out of the sun until you figure out what’s wrong. Keep it about 3–4 feet from the windows.

An Excessive Or Insufficient Amount Of Watering

The most important thing for a Calathea plant is to give it water. It will die if you water the plant too much or not enough.

• Calathea might get too much water if you water it more than twice a week. Calathea dies quickly when it gets too much water because the roots rot.
• Soil with oxygen keeps roots healthy. If you overwater, the roots can’t breathe. Wet soil encourages fungal growth and causes plant roots to expand, detrimental to plant health. Root rot affects a plant’s nutrient delivery mechanism, preventing growth.
• If your Calathea smells unpleasant, its roots are probably decomposing. If your Calathea wilts, curls, or gets brown leaf tips, it’s probably sick. Long-term drought kills plants.
• Every two weeks isn’t enough to water a plant. Without enough water, the plant’s leaves may droop and become brown.
• Use a soil moisture meter to avoid overwatering Calathea. Checking the soil’s moisture by touch is another option. Water 2 inches of dry soil. Water the soil when it’s dry, two inches deep.

Low Humidity Is Drying Out Calatheas

Calathea plants don’t need direct sunlight to grow. What they do need is a lot of moisture in the air. Calathea plants love water and do their best in moist soil and air.

The Calatheas need between 50 and 70% humidity on average. Below 50%, the edges and tips of the leaves start to get brown and crispy. If it stays dry for a long time, the Calathea plant loses its leaves because the water evaporates from their surfaces. In the end, plants will die because of the dry air.

Keep the humidity level in your home at more than 50%, but 70% is best if you want your indoor plant to stay alive and healthy.

If you want to know how to keep the humidity steady, read one of my other articles: https://clubgardening.com/best-humidity-for-calathea/

The Temperature Changes All The Time

Temperature changes all the time and is a big issue for calathea plants. Make sure to keep an eye on the temperature in your room and make adjustments as needed. If you live in a cold climate, you may need to bring your calathea inside during the winter.

• Indoor temperature can also destroy a Calathea plant. Calathea is from Brazil’s tropical rainforest and doesn’t like chilly temperatures. Calathea prefers 65 to 85° F.
• Calathea plants can survive temperatures exceeding 80°F if humidity is above 60%. Long-term exposure to temperatures exceeding 80° F kills plants.
• Also, cold-stressed plants are simple to spot. Yellow, white, or red dots appear near calathea veins.
• Below 60° F, the plant’s leaves droop and curl, and it loses firmness. You rapidly remedied cold draft damage by moving it somewhere warm. A few hours in warmer temps would help your plant.
• Calathea can experience cold shock indoors. Even with the windows closed, a/c drafts can create a cold shock. They’ll be better.

Look Out For Plant Diseases And Bugs

Overwatering causes root rot, the most common calathea fungal disease. A yellowing leaf near the soil is the first sign of root rot, and the stem will grow less rigid. To preserve a plant from root rot, take it from its container, scrape off the diseased dirt, wash the roots, and cut off the dead roots. The plant’s roots should be treated with fungicides and transplanted in a new, moist container. Even if all parameters are met, your Calathea plant may die. Check the undersides of the leaves and the stem joints carefully. Your Calathea plant may be infected.

Spider mites, fungus gnats, aphids, and mealybugs love calathea. White powder on plant leaves and stems indicates a pest assault. Spider mites feed on a plant’s sap, as evidenced by webs on its leaves and stems. Mites can penetrate plant cells and kill the plant. Neem oil can kill spider mites, although a serious infestation may require further insecticides.

Because pests can spread quickly from one part of a plant to another and other indoor plants, timely action, and treatments are needed to control their spread.

• Rubbings Alcohol: The underside of the leaves of your Calathea is cleaned by pouring some alcohol onto a cotton swab and rubbing it on the leaves. It won’t be long before the spider mites are gone.
• The spray made with oil of rosemary: The rosemary oil harms spider mites. The oil extract has the potential for usage as an insecticide. It is useful in treating spider mites. Make sure that the oil is diluted with a quarter of an equal amount of water.
• Apple cider vinegar: The problem with the spider mites might be helped by using a nice, old-fashioned apple cider vinegar. Put one gallon of water in a spray bottle and shake it well. You should add a spoonful of baking soda, two drops of dishwashing liquid, and a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar to the mixture. The acidity level of the mixture will be unsustainable for the spider mites.
• Neem oil: Neem oil is a good pest repellant. You can produce an insecticide by taking a glass of lukewarm water, adding one tablespoon of Castile soap and two teaspoons of neem oil to it, and then applying neem oil directly to the leaf using a clean towel. Alternatively, using a clean cloth, you can apply neem oil directly to the leaf. Spray this concoction onto the portion of the plant that is diseased.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Save Your Overwatered Calathea?

Follow these steps to save your Calathea plant if you see that its leaves are turning yellow and that the soil in its pot is soggy.

• Set up a clean, slightly larger pot and fill it with moist soil.
• Dig a hole in the soil where you want to put the plant.
• Choose a clean, flat surface for this step.
• Carefully pull your Calathea plant out of the soil, so the leaves and stems don’t get hurt.
• Take away all the wet soil that is stuck to the roots.
• Shake the roots and pour distilled water over them.
• Carefully look at the roots and cut off any rotting or damage.
• When you prune, use a sharp knife or shears and make sure your tools are clean and free of disease.
• After pruning, put the plant in the new pot at the same height as it was in the old pot.
• After you replant it, don’t water it for a while because it needs time to get used to the wet soil.
• You should water the plant if the top two inches of soil are dry.
• The plant will start to grow happily in a few days.

Can A Calathea Plant Survive Without Its Leaves?

Calatheas can lose all their leaves and still come back strong, which isn’t true of many other plants. Calatheas are known for having leaves that seem to grow all the time and for being able to take a bit of abuse. You shouldn’t abuse your plant to find out if that’s true. But it’s good to know that you are wrong.

• Even if all of their leaves fall off, prayer plants can grow new ones.
• This plant is forgiving and can live through many mistakes in the garden.

Prayer plants are easy to take care of if you put in a little extra time to ensure they get what they need. Your plant’s leaves should grow back quickly if you give it enough water, light, and humidity for a few weeks.

Why Does My Calathea Have Brown Tips?

The brown tips on your calathea may indicate that the plant is experiencing stress. When plants are under stress, they may exhibit various symptoms, including changes in leaf color and shape. Even though this is not always a sign of a plant’s health, you should keep an eye on it if the tips of your calathea are brown.

How Long Does It Take To Bring A Calathea Back To Life?

It is often difficult to revive a Calathea from the dead. Some factors that can lead to a plant’s death include over-watering, insufficient sunlight, and inadequate air circulation. However, the most common cause of death for these plants is overwatering. When waterlogged, the cells in a plant’s tissues burst, leading to decay and death. It generally takes about two weeks for a calathea to die and 3-6 weeks for it to become viable again.

Should I Remove The Dead Calathea Leaves?

Removing the dead calathea leaves can help improve plant health and vigor. Still, there are some risks associated with this process.

• First, you should note whether calathea leaves are poisonous or not if ingested.
• Second, removing the leaves can damage the plant’s underlying structure.
• Finally, the leaves may release harmful chemicals if damaged or destroyed.

Overall, the removal of dead calathea leaves is a reasonable step to take to improve plant health and vigor.

How Do I Know If My Calathea Is Happy?

To determine if a calathea is happy, one should look for indications that it is thriving and healthy. These signs may include a robust appearance, new growth, and a healthy root system. Additionally, the plant’s leaves and flowers should be colorful and well-formed. Suppose any of these indicators are not present. In that case, the plant may be unhappy and must be treated accordingly.

Final Thoughts

Bringing back to life a Calathea about to die is hard, but if you follow the steps we’ve listed above, you’ll have the best chance of success. While the plant is on the road to recovery, lavish it with lots of tender loving care, and in the future, keep a close eye on how well it’s doing. You can give Calathea a fighting chance at life by being patient, taking care of it, and having a little luck on your side.