Calathea: Diseases and Remedies (Explained for Everyone)

NOTE: In this article, Calathea and Calathea may be used interchangeably; in fact, Calathea is the botanical name for Calathea.

Some of the most beautiful tropical plants in the world can be found in the genera Calathea. Calatheas are also referred to as prayer plants, a common name that other species use as well, due to the plants’ eye-catching stripes and veining.

Why does my Calathea roots have rot?

Root rot on your Calathea (Calathea) can be fatal if not treated with care. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you follow our guide to keep your plant alive if the symptoms occur: Root soft and blackened.
Calathea

Why does my Calathea have gray mold spots?

Gray mold spots are a type of fungus that is found a lot in flowers, and spreads quite rapidly. If you notice brown (or gray) spots, it is probably this fungus. Don’t ignore these symptoms, as they may end up killing your plant.

Our Solution

The solution is quite logical when you know the cause of the problem. Most of the time, it is due to overwater of the Calathea. We advise you to remove the infected parts of the plant, cut off the infected roots and leaves, then repot your plant using sterile potting soil and a clean pot.

Why does my Calathea have leaf spots?

Leaf If your plants exhibit symptoms like rapid color changes in the leaves or leaves that wilt or droop, we give you all the information you need to recognize them and rescue your plants. For owners of Calathea, this kind of illness is among the most distressing.

Why are my Calathea leaves turning yellow?

This is probably the most common problem in the gardening world, yellowing leaves. There are 2 main reasons for this phenomenon, overwatering, or a lack of nutrients.

Reduce your watering frequency when you fear your plants are being overwatered, and follow these steps to determine whether they may be lacking in nutrients:

Here are some signs of yellowing caused by the many deficiencies on the Calathea in question:

  • Magnesium deficiency starts as yellow patches between leaf veins on older leaves. Veins stay green as yellow moves from the leaf center out. Leaf edges turn yellow last.
  • Iron deficiency also shows as yellowing between leaf veins, but it hits young leaves on plant tops and branch tips first.
  • Sulfur deficiency starts with the newest leaves, turning them yellow throughout.
  • Potassium deficiency shows itself when leaf edges turn bright yellow, but the inner leaf stays green. Older leaves show symptoms first, and leaf edges soon turn brown.
  • A lack of nitrogen is indicated by a widespread yellowing. Older, inner leaves are the first to yellow. As the yellowing progresses, it eventually touches young leaves as well.

Our Solution

According to the symptoms mentioned above, you just have to act accordingly. You can reduce your watering frequency, or fix a deficiency in Potassium, or Nitrogen, for that, you just have to buy a special soil for your deficiency, a consultant in a gardening store will know perfectly well how to inform you.

Is my Calathea sunburned?

You can easily tell if your Calathea (your Calathea) has a sunburn. In this case, your plant will change color, starting to turn yellow or white, much like it does on us.

Sunburned

The leaves of your Calathea can also change color in case it gets too much water or not enough light, as we saw above.

However, there is a way to tell if it is sunburn; look at the bottom of the yellow leaves, the ones that have a shaded area closer to the root, if this area stays greener, it is probably sunburned, not something else.

Why are my Calathea leaves turning brown?

The classic sign that a plant has been overexposed to direct sunlight and sunburned is the development of browning leaves. Rest assured that while this may probably save your plant from dying, it will adversely affect its growth.

Should I leave my Calathea in direct sunlight?

No! Don’t leave your Calathea (or Calathea) in the sun if it displays the symptoms mentioned above; that’s why it’s in such a bad situation.

Our Solution

As explained in the paragraph above, the solution is simple, just place your Calathea in a place where the light does not reach it directly, in this way and with a correct watering, your plant should resume its life rather quickly.

Why are my Calathea leaves drooping or wilting ?

When you become dehydrated, this usually happens. Large plants are more vulnerable since they need more water on a regular basis than smaller plants.

Drooping

You may quickly determine if your Calathea plant needs water by under-weighing its pot; if it seems light, the soil and roots are probably fairly dry and require water.

Our Solution

In order to ensure that the roots of your plant receive the water’s benefits, you must first moisten the soil in the container if it is absolutely dry. One common error is to immediately drown the Calathea after a dry period in the belief that it requires a lot of water.

This is true, but the easiest way to end it is to give too much water at once. Instead, you should water the soil properly, returning to a peaceful watering rhythm.

Caring Tips for Calathea

Water Occasionally

Water is necessary for your plant to live, but timing and amount of watering must be balanced. Overwatering could have disastrous effects on your own name, as we already mentioned.

Touching the soil will let you know whether your plant needs water or not; if it still feels damp, it’s generally best to wait a few more days.

Always keep temperatures stable

It is also a good idea to keep your Calathea at a stable temperature (especially if it is kept indoors!). At GreenShack, we generally recommend staying in the 65 and 85 degrees F range. Of course, do not place your Calathea near a source of hot (or cold) air such as A/C units, radiators or the like.

Keep your Calathea Dust-Free

This one relates to indoor plants. Just like your furniture, dust collects on the leaves of your indoor plants. The issue is that this can block the photosynthesis process from starting, which would cause the plants to gradually lose their color.

For your Calathea, this would be a true descent into hell, and it would also appease the pests.

To remove the dust from the leaves of your plant, take a microfiber cloth and gently rub the leaves. You can wet the cloth to make it easier to remove the dust, but never use corrosive products (such as rubbing alcohol!)

Keep drainage in mind

If you tend to overwater, you need to pay attention to your drainage, and we advise choosing a saucer and a pot with drainage holes if they are not already there.

In the meantime, if you don’t have holes in your pots, you can add volcanic rocks (or any rocks with holes) at the bottom of your pot, this way it will create a channel so that the water doesn’t stay in your skin too much (to avoid that roots start to rot!)