Houseplant is in bad shape! What happened?

[yadonwins]

A few months ago, I started nursing this houseplant. I was bringing it back to life. It was great! It healed and was lively. I had this plant in the kitchen window, which gave very little sunlight. It molded 3 times and I replanted it 3 times. On the 3rd time, I moved this plant to my bedroom. I placed it in front of the window and every morning before the sun comes up, I open the shade for it. It gets a tremendous amount of sunlight! It's been in my room for almost 3 weeks. The mold has stopped. The are growing new leaves and are reaching out for the sun. They are blooming (in December!). They looked happy which made me happy. Now, this week, I am so saddened. It is starting to die! I don't know what I'm doing wrong at all! I water it when it dries out. I never over water (there's never any water in the tray). I am using filtered water from the fridge because the ph level is perfect. I use a spray bottle to spray the plants...

What's wrong with it? What can I do? I love it. (also, maybe it'd help if I actually knew what this plant is called). Also, I don't use any fertilizers or nutrients... last time I did that and it started turning black.

[imafan26]

That is a marantha or calathea. They look alike. They are low light plants so bright light from a relatively dark place is good and bad. I think it is a better place because you said it was growing new leaves and it is lankier than it should be even for an understory plant. Your soil is too dry. See how the soil is pulling away from the sides of the pot. That is the soil contracting. Instead of watering by the cup full, I think it needs a good soak in a bucket to thoroughly moisten the soil. When you water a potted plant it is important to flush the pot thoroughly to keep salt from building up and to make sure the entire root ball gets evenly watered. I don't know about your water quality but mine is good so I use water from the hose. If it is raining where you are you can catch rain water in buckets and save it for watering plants. Marantha will slow its growth and go semi dormant in cooler areas. You won't have to water often, but it should be thoroughly. It likes warmth and humidity so misting is good. It should also get good air circulation. A fan will help to keep the soil from staying too wet for too long.

Marantas and calatheas can be divided or you can take stem cuttings in the Spring and root them.


My marantas are in the ground under the trees so I just keep them under control. The arrowroot (also a maranta) has tubers so around Oct-November the tops start to dry. I cut off the leaves dig it all out. Put more compost in the bed and replant some of the tubers. The rest I toss, or it gets too thick. For the ornamental calatheas and marantas under the trees, we just cut out the dry leaves and thin them and divide the runners to keep them in check.

[Allyn]

I agree, it's probably a tricolor marantha. It looks like the plant is too dry. You said there's never any water in the tray. That tells me it's not getting enough water. They are very susceptible to drought. Do as imafan suggested and give it a good soak in a bucket or in the sink. Let the potting mix get thoroughly wet and then take the pot out of the water and let it drain. After about 30 minutes or so, empty any remaining water in the tray.

If the temperature in the room is comfortable for you, it's fine for the plant, but the plant likes good indirect light. A north or east-facing windowsill is better than south or west or use a sheer curtain to protect it from bright, direct sunlight.

[LIcenter]

Prayer plants require moist but not soggy soil. This houseplant also is one of the few houseplants that does not like its soil to dry out between watering, so try to keep the soil consistently moist at all times.

Here's a link for taking proper care of this plant.

http://houseplants-care.blogspot.com/20 ... -tips.html