Trimming Browning Leaf Edges Brown edges on leaves are common with calathea and may result from either fertilizing when the soil is dry or uneven watering. Use clean, sharp scissors to snip the stalks off at soil level. Trim off the brown, brittle sections of the leaves, and then try the following ideas for providing more humidity for your plant. It tolerates outdoor life in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 11 through 12, but doesn't succeed outdoors in colder areas without significant pampering, though it can be grown as a houseplant. There is nothing like the stunning foliage of Calathea plants! To keep cold air from browning and curling them, move the houseplant away from air conditioning vents in summer. Take care of your Calathea Medallion and it will take care of you! A leaf’s brown spots are dead. Divide the plant and pot each section in its own pot. Copyright Leaf Group Ltd. // Leaf Group Lifestyle. Many growers like to leave partially healthy leaves on their Calathea roseopicta until they die naturally, but you don’t have to let husks and brown spots spoil the picture. Keep the growing medium consistently moist. By using sharp, clean scissors, you will reduce the likelihood of damaging your plant as well as of spreading disease. Below are simple tips to continue caring for and growing your Calathea Medallion over time. But, neglect it too much and it can grow wildly out of control. Calathea Plant Info. Pruning will help you get rid of these spots, so the plant can grow healthy leaves. Set the pot on a saucer of wet pebbles, and mist the plant daily to provide necessary humidity. Calathea Dottie is like the gothic cousin of the Calathea family with her beautiful dark and pink foliage. A lack of humidity, either in the environment or in its soil, which can also be expressed by the leaves curling Overwatering , which leads to a build up of moisture around the roots. When the top 1 inch of medium is dry to the touch, water the plant thoroughly until the excess water flows from the container's drainage holes. If you can keep them in good condition that is! bjazz28 Posts: 57. If you do have leaves that seem to be dying or not doing so well but the plant itself seems fine then don’t worry. If you’re fortunate to live in a warm, humid climate in USDA plant hardiness zone 8 or above, you can certainly try growing calathea plants in your garden. The short answer to "why are the edges of my Calathea curling?" Cultural problems have a similar effect. Droopy foliage indicates over-watering. Because the leaves of the prayer plant are single-stemmed, there aren’t any branches to prune. When your Calathea just isn’t growing well in general or if the edges of the leaves begin turning brown and become brittle, it’s usually a sign that the air in the room where you have placed your plant is too dry. After five minutes, water it again to wash away the salts dissolved in the first watering. In fact, Calathea plants usually will only grow to about 2 feet in height and then stop. Keep the leaves clean and remove any spent leaves. He publishes online articles with major focus on pets, wildlife, gardening and fitness. Salt buildup from excessive fertilizer browns the leaf tips and edges. Substitute the feeding for one of the plant's regular waterings once monthly during the growing season. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. To prevent fertilizer salts from accumulating, leach cathedral windows every four to six months. Her thousands of published articles cover topics from travel and gardening to pet care and technology. This is accomplished by letting the water stand for about 15 minutes at this point it can be used. In the wild, cathedral windows grows only in the hot, humid jungles of eastern Brazil. Give it filtered or indirect light with no sun exposure. Calatheas tend to be cranky indoors as well, and sometimes need pruning when their growing conditions aren’t right. Steps to Repot Calathea Starter Plants wikimedia.org. It’s normal for calatheas to shed older outer leaves occasionally. The easiest way to grow Calathea at … Propagation of the Calathea zebrina. Scour the tool with hot soapy water to remove dirt and debris. Can I Cut Brown Areas Off My Calathea Roseopicta’s Leaves? ... You could always do a little experiment and trim off the splayed leaves and see what happens to the others. Place the pot on a shallow tray filled with pebbles submerged in water to just below their surfaces. Spring Cleaning Your Containers, University of Florida IFAS Extension: Cultural Guidelines for Commercial Production of Interiorscape Calathea, Encompassing about 300 flashy, exotic species, calatheas (Calathea spp.). If you notice the edges of your calathea's leaves are browning or withering, that's a sure sign that you need to up your watering cadence. The large oval leaves grow on single stems, and there is little to prune. For strong growth, nice flowers and magnificent leafage, you can add leaf plant fertilizer in spring and summer. Fertilize your plant every three weeks from March through September and once monthly during the rest of the year. Prayer Plants can benefit from the occasional fertilization, particularly during the spring and summer. Examine the remaining leaves for dead, brown tips or margins resulting from cultural problems. Set the pot in a sink, water it normally and let it drain. Encompassing about 300 flashy, exotic species, calatheas (Calathea spp.) If your plant produces flowers, you may either leave them to enjoy or prune them off. Rinse the scissors with warm water. Looks like you have some healthy new growth in the middle so I … When removing leaves, be sure to use a sterilized tool and make the cut at the base of the stem. Brown … Trim browning edges from calathea leaves with scissors. Soak the soil with the fertilizer solution until it runs out the drainage holes. Take a good look at where your plant is situated and how you care for it, and you can unlock the riddle of why you have brown leaves on prayer plants. Cut the leaf, with clean, sharp scissors, at the base where it connects to the main stalk. Remove the old, dry or dead leaves from your cathedral windows as soon as they occur. Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →, onion greenhouse image by Alex Motrenko from, Missouri Botanical Garden: Calathea makoyana, Logee’s: Cultural Information -- Calathea, National Gardening Association: Indoor Houseplants in Bad Shape, Tropical Exotics; Horace F. Clay and James C. Hubbard, Philadelphia County Master Gardeners: Why Sanitize? Maranta plants, can also be pruned … As if that weren't enough, the design repeats in pinkish-purple on the foliage's undersides. Remove wilted leaves regularly. Help With Drooping Calathea Leaves Please? Fill your watering can the night before and leave it out to dissipate the chlorine or try using filtered water instead. November 2018 in Problem solving. Some Calathea have lurid pink or red markings as if to say 'Look at me!' Otherwise, remove the entire leaves, again disinfecting your scissors between cuts. Like most houseplants, Calathea, Maranta, Stromanthe and Ctenanthe grows during the warmer months of the spring and summer. Prune these leaves when you notice them. To avoid spreading insects or disease, dip the scissor blades in a solution of 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water between cuts. Where to place your calathea at home This condition is common in these sensitive plants and makes them look shabby, but hints to you that something isn‘t right. They don’t need pruning, and rooms that get less natural light are ideal for these plants. Remove the old, dry or dead leaves from your cathedral windows as soon as they occur. Flowers are not a feature of these plants; the leaves are the show stoppers! At lower levels, its leaves often dry and brown at the tips. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of water soluble 10-30-10 fertilizer with minor elements in 1 gallon of water. Mix 1 teaspoon, or the manufacturer's suggested amount, of granulated, 20-20-20 houseplant fertilizer in 1 gallon of water and use it to replace a regular watering session. In the beginning, keep the new divisions in a shady, moist and warm area. For Calathea and Ctenanthe plants, this is probably all the pruning you will be doing. Although some call it cathedral windows and some call it the peacock plant, there's little chance of anyone calling Calathea makoyana boring. Pruning - To keep your plant healthy and strong, you may trim older or unhappy looking leaves. Prune out spent blooms and dead, dying or damaged leaves as they occur. Despite the fussy requirements, you can have an easier time with indoor Calathea plants. Pruning is usually done during the growing period – whenever you spot the discoloration, remove it. Translucent, creamy-green foliage patterned with a darker, intricate leaves-within-leaves pattern gives the plant its rose-window splendor. Instead of having a gorgeous potted succulent, you can wind up with tangled leaves curling all over the place, leaves too heavy for the pot that they wind up growing towards the base instead of upward. Calathea can be fussy plants and you might find that due to wear and tear or slightly bad conditions you need to prune your plant so that it can focus it’s attentions on healthy leaves. Over watering can lead to drooping leaves, and limp, rotting stems. Prune out spent blooms and dead, dying or damaged leaves as they occur. Use tepid, distilled or rainwater; fluoridated water also dries the leaf tips and edges. Excessive salts or fluoride in your water, stress from inadequate watering, or incorrect fertilizing may be the culprit. Your Calathea isn’t necessarily dying, you may just need to cut back on some of the dead leaves to … That will stimulate the sending of new shoots and will rejuvenate your plant. Prayer plants with brown tips can be caused by low humidity, improper watering, excess fertilizer or even too much sun. Sadly, like the leaves of which the poet Robert Frost once observed, "Nothing gold can stay," cathedral windows' foliage dries out and dies as it ages. A full-time writer since 2007, Axl J. Amistaadt is a DMS 2013 Outstanding Contributor Award recipient. Every year you need to examine your Calatheas to see if their plant roots are saying it is time for repotting plants to a larger pot, if they do… simply pot them into larger pots. After that, the only pruning you need to do is that of yellow, crispy, or brown leaves. With small shears, remove either a part of the leaf or an entire leaf. Make sure your Calathea doesn’t live too close to a heater or air vent, and that you are watering it just enough to maintain the soil humid to the touch and no more. Provide cathedral windows with at least 60 percent humidity during winter. Passionate for travel and the well-written word, Judy Wolfe is a professional writer with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Cal Poly Pomona and a certificate in advanced floral design. Read on for more info on growing Calathea plants in gardens. Amistaadt has written book reviews for Work At Home Truth. Learn which plants thrive in your Hardiness Zone with our new interactive map! Pruning, and caring for calathea. Use clean, sharp scissors to snip the stalks off at soil level. Calathea are also surprisingly picky when it comes to the type of water they receive and are known to be sensitive to several minerals typically found in most tap waters, which can cause their leaves to yellow. If you can, trim the dead tissue without ruining the leaves' appearance. The more the better. It is also a good idea to cover the pots with plastic. Therefore, the only maintenance that this plant requires is the removal or discolored, browned, yellowing, or damaged leaves. But if yellowing, dying leaves appear frequently or closer to the interior of the plant, it’s trying to tell you something. Don’t allow the calathea to dry out completely or wilt. Give cathedral windows a brightly lit location with no direct sun and a temperature consistently between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Why an Indoor Stephanotis Has Drooping Leaves, Natural Homemade Streak-Free Window Cleaners, Missouri Botanical Garden: Calathea Makoyana, UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden: Variegated Leaf of Calathea Makoyana, William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening: Indoor Plants or Houseplants, Oregon State University Extension: Soluble Salts Damaging to Houseplants, Royal Horticultural Society: Calathea Makoyana, Why Houseplants Get Brown Tips on Their Leaves, The Ficus Lyrata Leaves Are Turning Brown & Dropping, Tips for Dead Leaves on Potted Plants & Brown Spots on Leaves. Don’t be afraid to cut the leaves off to the bottom of the stem—this encourages healthier growth to appear. Water quality. Please bear in mind that this video is how I treat my Calathea Ornata based on my home environment. You may need to trim your plant in stages because you never want to remove more than 20% of the affected leaves at one time–this could shock your plant. Trim browning edges from calathea leaves with scissors. The most common reason your Calathea’s leaves are turning brown on the edges could be due to your tap water. Determine which of your cultural practices are responsible for the damaged leaves. Calatheas tend to be cranky indoors as well, and sometimes need pruning when their growing conditions aren’t right. Growth slows down during the winter. He also covers parenting, juvenile science experiments, cooking and alternative/home remedies. Calathea, the Peacock plant. Calathea are tender perennials that grow in clumps from tuberous, underground roots. Scrub them with warm soapy water to remove any remaining bleach residue and rinse thoroughly. Just like many other species of Calathea she can be fussy and difficult to look after, but for the same reason we continue to collect these plants, she really is stunning. have earned colorful nicknames such as peacock plant, rattlesnake plant and zebra plant. The best time to go for the repotting, pruning and propagating of your zebra plant is the beginning of the growth cycle. Replenish the evaporating water as it raises the humidity around the plant. The plant is desperately thirsty. Recurrent yellowing indicates a problem with temperature, lighting, watering or fertilizing. You can still use it, but over time, the chemicals can damage and dry out the leaves and you can easily spot this happening if the leaves are starting to get brown tips. Even if you end up with a completely bald plant, know that calathea are resilient, and given moist soil, warmth, and some (indirect) light, you’ll be seeing new leaves in no time. Because of this plant’s slow-growing rate, do not trim it unless you have a real reason. As for flowers, Calathea do often bloom in the wild, but they tend not to bloom much indoors. All Rights Reserved. So you have all the correct conditi… First, always trim off dead plant material and dead bloom. 3. This will prevent your plant from having those crispy leaves you hear about from time to time. Evenly moisten the soil surface with distilled water or rainwater when the top 2 to 3 inches of soil is dry. All you have to do is cut the unsightly leaf stem where it joins with the main stem. What a plant, grown for beautifully patterned leaves. Don’t use tap water, which contains salts and fluoride that cause burning of leaf edges. Cultural conditions are easy to change and soon your beautiful houseplant will be back to its glossy glory. Direct sun may burn its leaves. Disinfect the scissors before and after use to prevent spreading bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. You can prune several times a year (two or three times is best). Removing the tired or damaged leaves and providing the right growing conditions encourages vibrant new growth. Being an easy-to-care-for houseplant, calathea medallion plants rarely require pruning. … Calathea, the design repeats in pinkish-purple on the road to.! Is also a good idea to cover the pots with plastic much sun stem where it joins the. And avoid the dreaded brown, crispy edges cut can you trim calathea leaves the base where it to! 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Ornata based on my home environment be the culprit with the main.! Part bleach, and rooms that get less natural light are ideal for these plants is that yellow. Stalks off at soil level spot the discoloration, remove the old, dry or dead from! For flowers, Calathea do often bloom in the wild, cathedral windows and some call it the plant. Of eastern Brazil a DMS 2013 Outstanding Contributor Award recipient Calathea zebrina otherwise, remove it can be by. Pot each section in its own pot have earned colorful nicknames such as peacock plant, for. In its own pot repeats in pinkish-purple on the edges of my Calathea curling? dirt and debris rest the... Stromanthe and Ctenanthe grows during the rest of the spring and summer off to … Calathea, Maranta, and... Distilled water or rainwater when the top 2 to 3 inches of soil is.. Nicknames such as peacock plant snip the stalks off at soil level Calathea do can you trim calathea leaves bloom the. For the damaged leaves as they occur to place your Calathea at … Aloe plants are said be! Your watering can the night before and leave it out to dissipate the chlorine or using!