A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Wilting Calathea roseopicta

Hi all,

two days ago, i left the calathea a bit too long in my balcony which faces the east (ie direct sunlight).

Later in the evening as i came back after work, i noticed that the leaves has since all curled up! I regretted my own action!

The soil was still moist as i make it a habit to water them with half a cup of water every morning.

I try to spray water on the leaves to add in moisture. Heck, i even talked to the plant which i had a nick name for!

Please do help, as what i should do now, as of this morning, i still noticed that the leaves are still curled up!

regreting my own action.

you gave it a sunburn! the curly, crunchy leaves can be removed and it will sprout new ones. but these plants are not fond of full sun, even for a couple of hours.

Hahaha...

so, thre is no way for me to save teh plant except that i cut it all off and hope it sprout new one in a month's time?

Gosh, next time i'll get some sun block for them, is SPF 15 enough?

the plant is salvageable, but the leaves aren't once they go crunchy. i'd leave them till they start to dry out. and, i think spf45 would be better

LOL...Jiffy, many thanks for the note, i've since cropped the dying leaves off as i can't bear to see them suffer.

I've also placed the plant indoor, away from bright sunlight and make it a point to mist it twice a day and only water once every two days.

now i have to battle with my fittonia as some leaves seems to be turning mushy and yellowing by the day! Not enough moisture, or sun? or over watering as the leaves and stalks could be dislodged from the base easily!

sounds like you are watering all your plants too often. and misting isn't really necessary, if you think you need more moisture around the plants, there is a better way.

first, some basics on plant watering. you only want to water the plant when the top of the soil feels dry. if it is drying out in one or two days, you have other problems. stick your finger in the soil. is it dry? is it hard? those are two things you have to worry about. if the soil it soggy, dump the plant out, and repot it in dry soil. water it in, drain the saucer under it after half an hour, and then don't water again until it is dry when you stick then end of your finger in the soil.

now, if you have a plant that thinks it needs more humidity in the air, place a tray with rocks in it under the plant. let the plant sit on the rocks and fill the tray with water just till it almost reaches the plant, but not quite. the evaporation will naturaly hydrate the leaves.

but, with you in malaysia, unless i am wrong about my geography, you should be somehwere where it is pretty humid unless you are running air conditioning all the time. and even then, i run mine and it is still humid enough for my plants.

(except my bromiliads, they don't like a/c!)

Jiffy,

I think you are right, again.

I found out i didn't have fittonia mini, but syngonium mini.

It is wilting because of overwatering and it might be too late to save it as i could dislodge the stem easily from the base...

my calathea is doing well and loves where i put it. Only thing is the rose Picta which is now more like rose Baldy.

I'll try to save that synogium mini...failing which...well...

Yes, malaysia is Hot and Humid all year long. I'll skip the misting for now and concentrate (or rahter not try to hard) to revive what is wilting/dying, i guess that is what gardening is all about, it is not just about buying and replacing plants, but nurturing and baby-ing them!

And many thanks for the advise.

that is my theory. gardening is learning, growing, babying, caring, and all of those things! now, about the plant that mush at the bottom of the stem. even if you have root rot, it is possible, difficult, but possible, to save the plant. start by cutting off the top of the plant at the lowest healthy spot. then put it in water for a couple of days up to a month. if it keeps looking healthy, you can root a new plant that way. you should eventually see some white tendrils growing from the stem into the water. make sure you keep the water clean (change it regularly, about every 3rd or 4th day) and when the tendrils get about an inch (4-5cm) long, pot it up in a new pot with drainage and fresh soil. then, you're good to go!

Jiffy,

will start doing it asap...will try to take and post pictures as per told in some other post of the plants in the abode of mine.

meanwhile, will do as you told to the syngonium tonite. this morning, i see it wilting really bad...

Hey All,

Used the wrong smiley...should be a sad smiley, not something as per my previous post above.

Sorry!