table of contents
- causes
- Check location
- Change care
- Check fertilization
- Natural causes
- frequently asked Questions
If the Calathea gets brown or yellow leaves, it is usually because the houseplant is receiving the wrong care. The following article explains how to ideally proceed in such a case.
In a nutshell
- frequent cause is improper care
- wrong location often the cause of discoloration
- Check the humidity in the room
- remove discolored leaf immediately
- Age of the leaf can also be the cause
causes
If the leaves of the calathea suddenly change color, turn yellow or brown, and even curl up, then it is usually not a disease. Mostly it is due to the wrong care or the unsuitable location that the Basket margin reacts with their leaves:
- originally located in the rainforest
- there is light shadow near the ground
- a lot of humidity
- humic soil
- however, trees also need a lot of nutrients
- consider when maintaining and choosing a location
Check location
Compared to other houseplants, the basket margin, which requires a lot of care, reacts quickly with discoloration of the leaves if the plant is in the wrong location. Therefore, this should be checked first in such a case. A leaf can then not only turn yellow or blotchy, curling up is also a sign of a wrong location:
- too much sun exposure
- choose a bright location
- Protect from direct sun
- on window sill with curtain
- Attach the awning from the outside
- Lower the blinds
- do not stand on the south window sill
- Drafts cause brown plant leaves
- put in a protected corner
- not in front of a tilted window
Tip: If you have a heated and humid winter garden or a greenhouse, then the Korbmarante feels most comfortable here. Because their natural environment of the rainforest is recreated in such a room.
Change care
If the leaves are not cared for properly, many causes can be named for the brown discoloration of the leaves. Particular attention must be paid here to the correct pouring. The plant needs a lot of moisture, also from the air:
- Avoid too little humidity
- place a bowl of water next to the pot
- An electric humidifier can also be helpful
- Avoid dry heating air in winter
- Do not let the soil dry out
- Avoid waterlogging
- water regularly and moderately
- water a lot better than once a week
Check fertilization
When it comes to fertilizing, the phrase “a lot helps a lot” does not apply under any circumstances. Because if the Calathea receives too much fertilizer, the plant indicates the over-fertilization with yellow leaves. In such a case, it is not enough just to cut off the affected leaf:
- Take the plant out of the pot
- Free roots from old earth
- Dispose of old soil from the pot
- Wash the vessel well
- Fill in new substrate
- normal fresh potting soil is sufficient here
- do not fertilize for the next few weeks
- thereafter only moderately
- it is better to leave it out than to use too much fertilizer again
Tip: You do not have to dispose of the old soil from the container. For other plants that need a lot of fertilizer, the old substrate can still be used well and can thus continue to be used.
Natural causes
If the leaves of the Calathea are already older, it may well be that one or the other leaf has turned yellow to brown. In such a case, it is not due to improper care:
- Leaf pattern slowly fades
- yellow discoloration is first visible
- later brown
- dries out completely in the end
- affects only individual sheets
- is due to the age of the leaf
- simply remove close to the ground
- so new leaves can be formed
Tip: If you discover a discolored leaf on the edge of the basket, it is important that you remove it as soon as possible. Otherwise the plant will continue to put its energy into the old leaves and less into the formation of new ones.
frequently asked Questions
The answer to this is, you are not doing anything wrong. Because it is a completely natural process with this plant that it turns its leaf styles upwards in the evening. It looks like the entire plant is closing in bloom in the twilight. In the morning, when it is slowly getting light, the basket margin opens again.
If it is warm enough and the place is protected from direct sunlight, then this is not a problem on warm days in summer. It is also important that the soil in the pot does not dry out, which can quickly be the case on very hot days. A lack of humidity in such dry and hot periods could also become a problem on the balcony or terrace. Against this you can spray the tiles or the floor covering with water more often on hot days.
If the calathea leaves are neither yellow nor brown, but simply hang limply, this can have various causes. Here you should definitely check the location for both sunlight and drafts. You should also look at the substrate, because the plant could well be too dry.
The root ball of the Calathea must not dry out and should always be a little damp. However, waterlogging should be avoided. The plant is therefore well suited for hydroponics, as the water level is always checked here the water in the container also evaporates upwards and fertilized with long-term fertilizer can. So you only get a little fertilizer, always enough water and there is always air humidity around the container.
