Browning Leaf Edges of Calathea Orbifolia: The major reasons are low humidity, bad quality tap water, root rot or damage, small pot, and lesser room space.
Use a humidifier or place your pot on a tray with water and pebbles, check for root rot if it’s good don’t disturb the soil. Use filtered water in case of chemicals in tap water and final resort repot carefully without damaging roots.
Calathea orbifolia is a magnificent choice to grow as a houseplant. This beautiful tropical plant is a famous species of American prayer plant.
Its big and elegantly designed foliage can embrace the interior of your house spectacularly. You just need to provide the plant perfect climate to keep their leaves as much shinier as they naturally grow.
You can embrace the beauty of that tropical look efficiently, as long as the foliage stays stunning. Here are some basic caring tips we came up with, to keep those huge silvery-green leaves remain vigorous with the veined patterned perpetually.
Let’s check them out and bring this showstopper houseplant to your place without any apprehension-
Calathea Orbifolia Care (South American Prayer Plant ):
Soil: Loamy, well-drained potting soil, prepared with peat moss and perlite
Water: Regular watering
Fertilizer: Any slow-release fertilizer, once a month
Sun Exposer: Partial to full shade sun
Climate: Medium indirect light with high humidity
Hardiness Zones: 9 to 11
Looking for some giant plants, check the list of beautiful large foliage house plants.
How to Take Care of Calathea Orbifolia Expertly:
If you are determined to get the best thriving form of your calathea orbifolia plant, you have to provide the plant with its required growing condition. This prayer plant is quite particular about its basic needs. Let’s learn what the essential growing prerequisites are for a healthy calathea orbifolia plant from our discussion below-
Soil and Potting Mix:
- This plant requires soil prepared with peat moss and perlite, mixed with normal potting soil
- Try to make the soil a little acidic and keep the pH level between 5.0 to 6.0
- You should remember that soil must drain well and never gets soggy ever
- Apply a small amount of organic material during the plantation to make the soil fertile enough
Water Needs:
- Calathea orbifolia is a thirsty plant, thus water it regularly
- You need to keep the soil evenly moist continuously, so check for the dryness of the soil
- Once you find that the top surface of the soil turns a bit dry, water it thoroughly again
- And every time make sure that your potting soil drains the excess water properly from the bottom
Quick read: How to save an overwatered peace lily.
Fertilization:
- Don’t worry much about fertilization of a calathea orbifolia plant, as it is a low-feeder
- You can use any organic plant food like manure, compost, coffee ground, etc. here
- Always use the diluted form with one-quarter strength of any organic fertilizer
- During the growing season, try to do the fertilization once a month and avoid it during the winter and fall seasons
Perfect Climate & Humidity Requirements:
- A calathea orbifolia plant can thrive under the sun with partial shade in low-medium sunlight
- Maintain a temperature between 65 to 75 degrees F with high humidity climate
- Keep your planter away from windows or doors to avoid direct sunlight
- You can keep your plant in your bathroom or kitchen area to provide it the best-growing condition
Pruning:
- Your indoor calathea orbifolia doesn’t need much pruning session due to being a single-leave stem plant
- Try to trim off the dead shots and discolored leaves only to keep the rest part healthy
- It also enhances the overall appearance of your plant effectively
- And you should always use fully sterilized garden tools to do the job securely
When to Repot:
- Your calathea orbifolia is a big-foliage plant and thus, it needs to be repotted every year
- If you don’t want to replant it often, try to repot your plant at least once in every alter year
- To do so, wait till the plant overgrows its current planter noticeably
- After that simply bring a 2-3 inches bigger pot with a new set of potting mixes
- Take out the whole plant carefully from its current planter and clean the root balls properly
- Now, fill the pot halfway with the potting mix and place the plant inside it cautiously
- Fill the rest half with the remaining potting mix and water it thoroughly
- Finally, place the planter in a warm spot with shaded sunlight and let it thrive like before
Also, have a quick read on the list of low-light indoor house plants and easy-to-grow climbing house plants.
Pests and Foliage Care
You should always be prepared with some effective solutions to keep your plant safe from some common troubleshoots.
- Calathea orbifolia plants grow oversized and fleshy foliage, thus, they easily get attracted by some annoying pests or bugs
- Aphids, mealybugs, thrips, etc. are some common insects you need to deal with this plant
- This plant also gets caught by some mold or mildew issues with improper watering methods
- And one more common issue you can face with a calathea orbifolia is brown tips on leaves or discolored foliage
Learn more about fuzzy white mealybugs and how to get rid of aphids.
How to Troubleshoot Issues:
- To treat pests and bugs, apply neem oil, soapy water, rubbing alcohol, etc. home remedies
- Try to maintain a well watering habit and good drainage quality, to keep the soil of your plant healthy,
- To keep the foliage shiny or healthy, place the planter in a warm spot with indirect sunlight
- And to avoid any other problems of a growing calathea orbifolia try to provide it with the perfect growing condition
How to Propagate Calathea Orbifolia:
Propagation of your calathea orbifolia can be tricky sometimes if you don’t follow the process accordingly. This plant gets easily disturbed and can’t grow from cuttings or divisions easily. Don’t forget to divide the root very carefully while dividing the propagation process.
Ref: Only plants Youtube – House plants enthusiast Indonesia
Here is a quick and easy guide of this process of regrowing through rhizome in step by step method for you-
- Wait till your plant reach the period of repotting and take the entire plant carefully during this session
- Clean the root balls carefully and cut one or two pieces of tuber with a sterile cutter
- You should try to separate the tuber with one stem and 2-3 leaves
- Prepare a new planter with fresh potting soil and plant the tuber prudently into it
- Water the plant thoroughly and place it in a warm high humid place where it can get indirect sunlight consistently to boost its thriving.
How often to water Calathea Orbifolia:
Despite describing the watering methods clearly, here we suggest a few important tips of do’s and don’ts in this regard. During the watering session of a calathea orbifolia plant, you must keep these tips in mind. These will prevent any kind of unwanted and unhealthy mishaps of your growing calathea orbifolia session expertly-
- Water your plant every time you find the soil surface turns dry a little
- You should make the soil evenly moist by regular watering as well as frequent misting
- If you ever find that the soil is partially dry, check for the water-logging issue immediately
- Make sure the excess water is draining well, every time your water the plant
- Use a water measuring device to keep updated about the water level accurately
- If you ever keep your plant underwater, your plant will start dropping leaves
- While overwater can damage the root and eventually the entire plant shortly
- And you should not let the soil stay soggy ever during its whole growing season to get a successful outcome of your plantation experience.
