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Posted 1M ago by @FinestCacto

Any suggestions to save calathea?

Hi. I have a Pinstripe calathea that is now dying :(
I wanted to see if there's anything I could do to save it.
The plant used to be great until I re-potted the plant 3 months after I bought it. After re-potting it, the leaves started wrinkling one by one. The last unwrinkled leaf that was left is curling up too. I've tried placing a humidifier beside the plant and running it half-a-day every day. But this created too much moisture, and I started seeing gnats around the plant. Because of that, I use the humidifier once in 3-4 days.
Would appreciate any ideas to save the plant. Thanks.
#calatheacrew #plantsmakepeoplehappy #happyplants #plantaddicts
Hi @FinestCacto mine is in much worse shape, you have green so maybe you can save it. Looking at your plant card it says your pot doesn’t have drainage, is that correct? You can cut the dead leaves off but your plant will need drainage. Make sure you’re watering with rainwater or distilled water.
@FinestCacto I have a prayer plant and these plants are finicky. If it were me, I would start by taking it out of the pot and checking the roots. Make sure the pot is not too big for the root ball. Too big of a pot and too much soil holds too much moisture after watering. This plant also likes indirect sunlight. Mine is about 2 feet away from an east facing window, but I have a blind so it filters the direct sunlight. I only water when the top layer of the soil is dry and it is FINALLY doing very well. But act quickly! Best wishes!
@Momof83ans The plant does have drainage. I forgot to set it up on the plant card. If I cut the dead leaves, is there a chance that they would grow back? Thanks for the reply :))
@PlantHapppy Thanks for the suggestions. I'm gonna try repotting it back to a smaller pot. The last time I repotted it, I did move it into a bigger pot. So maybe that's what went wrong.
@FinestCacto it may take sometime, but I think so.
Keep the humidifier near so the new leaves don't get crispy. Maybe put her in a clear pot so you can see when she gets dry. I know you're not really supposed to, but I let mine dry out almost completely before watering to discourage any gnats. Clip off the dead leaves and repot the plant again. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth on top of the soil. It only works when dry, so don't use immediately before or after you water. It works within the hour, but the eggs stay in the soil. So you have to do it weekly for at least a month. I saw a few fungus gnats on my Calathea and wiped them completely out with this method.
@FinestCacto Yes, you should have new growth in no time once the plant is stabilized. They’re the type of plant that one day you’ll think they’re dying and another they’re thriving. I guess it’s all of that praying. ;-) Seriously, they’re a little effort but they’ll do great once they are happy.