Calatheas & Soil Aeration
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- I had a soil aeration issue come up this last week with my Calathea Warscewiczii. Hang out with me while I correct the aeration in the soil and see the results over a three day period.
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I've noticed that root aeration is key with calatheas. After owning over 20 different kinds, and killing a couple of them. I have come up with the best soil for calatheas: 25% Coco Coir 25% Peat Moss 15% Coco chips or bark 15% Perlite 10% Vermiculite 10% Worm Castings and of course you can add charcoal. I do not use fertilizer anymore unless its fish fertilizer. That is by far the best mix for calathea and I've come up with due to trial and error. Trust me!
This is so interesting! I stopped making my own potting mix, which was an altered 5-1-1 inspired mix last year. Materials became harder to get a hold of over winter and then my suppliers closed in March and are only now starting to open again. I'll have to see if I can get things together to try this out. Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
@@AddyBeez The coco chips I got off amazon... it's a HUGE bag and should last you your entire life lol... You want some vermiculite bc you want the soil to hold a little moisture and worm castings are your safest bet. There is a couple different coco coir soil you can get by Fox Farms: Coco Loco and Koko Bop soil
Thank you for the recipe!
Wow.. Daniel.. that is awesome.. Here's why:
I'm new to this. Saw a DragonScale last november, was sold, now I has 30 something plants 🤣🤣😂
Been looking forward to repotting the plants and as the time nears to do so, let some weaponized autism loose on the whole soil-mix part of having plants. This is what I came up with for my Calatheas.. It's almost identical to what you posted 😺😺😺
Soil
50% peat water retention and nutrients
40% coco drainage and aeranation
10% bark drainage and aeranation
additives
40% vermiculite water and nutrient retention
60% perlite drainage
Compost
20% coffee grounds adds acidity removed by vermiculite, keeps cat away
20% worm casting nutrients and bio organisms
60% store compost nutrients and bio organisms (because I'm also cheap)
Mix
50% soil
40% additives
10% compost
Toplayer (1 cm)
20% soil
20% additives
60% compost
(yeah, I copy-pasted that.. hence verbose.. 😸)
Seeing your description match what my mind made up for me.. dude.. Confidence +75 😺😺
So Much Thanks 🤜💖🤛
Can I do this with 50% coco coir to replace the peat moss?
Everyone's home is different -- different humidity levels, temperatures, light. Given the number of thriving Calatheas in your home, I think you know what you are doing! Lol! I love how people are so quick to criticize! Hope you are well. 💚
Yes, I feel like calatheas make people quite passionate! I really hope I can make some progress with my warscewiczii--I struggle with it so much more than the others. And--I hope that you are well, too, and that you had a wonderful Sunday. 😊💚
@@AddyBeez Would you share your home situation? winter/dry?
@@AddyBeez I too was hoping you’d share what type of environment you live in. I am a fairly new Prayer plant mama and I have been starting to aerate them b/c I feel like the soil in my home struggles to dry out (no matter how much perlite is in the mix). For example, I have a corn plant that goes months and still reads at about a 10 on the moisture meter. With min days, the plants are looking better since aeration.
I've found, for me, that all the soils that I use has a large amount of orchid bark, charcoal and only recently I've started to use perlite. The perlite I can't comment on as I have only used it for the last month, but have a mix with a heavy amount of orchid bark has always worked for me. I tried to emulate what the plants grow in while in nature but following a strict soil recipe will not work for everyone. Its totally dependent on your climate, your household heating and humidity etc. I also add plant friendly fungus while potting and water with aquarium water or tap water if I have added a dechlorinator (or a fertiliser that has a dechlorinator added). I also add worm castings from my wormery when potting but I mix it into the soil mix for the required soil to hold onto water. My calatheas (triostar and jungle calathea) are looking amazing and have been for the last 2 years. Last year my jungle calathea bloomed 🌱❤️ my home is naturally humid though due to the open topped aquariums and the style of my home so none of my tropical plants suffer too much from drying out. If your perlite heavy mix works for you, then that's what your plants like. Back seat plant lovers can not tell you what is working for you! You seem knowledgeable and understand what your plants need, so any negativity aimed at your planting style can pass right by you. You're doing awesome! 🤗
Thanks so much for this!! I didn’t realize how important aeration was for Calatheas. I’m still learning the basics. I’ve almost totally lost several prayer plants after repotting them a few weeks ago and I think it’s because there’s not enough perlite. Plus, I compacted the soil with my hands. Going to try and save them today! Failing that, I’ll clip under the nodes and start the propagation all over again. Cheers. 🪴
So.. how did it go?
I love that you know your "kids" so well. They are all different so always follow your instincts!
the mixture that works for me is peat moss, perlite or pumice, and worm castings. and have on plastic liners and put on decorative pot with damp sphagnum moss between the two pots.
where do you get peat moss? all the garden centres only do peat free
thank you!! i took my struggling calathea out of the dirt and it def needed more aeration. Your video helped me realized that it was the dirt. The water stayed wet too long. Although there was no root rot I could tell it was too compact due to not enough perlite.
I'm so glad it was helpful! The first time this happened to me, I panicked.
"on a scale from 1 to 10 this Calathea for me is 25" loved that
'Coco chip' is super helpful. It's like orchid bark but made of coconut husk. You can find it pretty easily now. I bought it for the first time from Logees but then I found it at my local nursery too. It provides aeration and moisture at the same time, highly recommend.
I have similar issues at my house, especially over time when the perlite migrates up in the mix. I've switched to adding more vermiculite (which doesn't migrate as much) and fine orchid mix (for the bark). Different ingredients but similar results. 👍
Oh, this is good to know. I think I've only used vermiculite once--not sure why. I am going to have to look at it some more. 😊
Thanks for this informative video . Now I can also save my dying calathea.
I wish I could say that this was the first time it's happened--but it's not! Good luck with your calathea. 😊
THIS is the video I’ve been looking for. My maranta is suffering and I was doing it all wrong. No oxygen was allowed to the plant. Thank you so so much
This makes me so happy. I hope your maranta perks back up soon!
You absolutely saved my life. I got a handful of rescue calatheas and stromanthes today and luckily I had watched this video and got curious enough to check the roots. I feel like I could have lost my new white fusion if I didn't get it out of that clumping mud the roots were holding onto and I'm hoping this was the issue with the triostar. Thank you Calathea Queen
I love Calatheas and they are so worth trying all you can to save them. I hope your efforts work well for you.
Oh, Diane, I agree! They are my favorite houseplant and I really hope I can figure out how to get my warscewiczii happy and healthy. 😊
Okay I'm on my way to buy perlite thank you so much for this video I noticed my calathea medallion is starting drooping and some bottom leaves started curling a bit and there is NO perlite in it. Thank you so much for this video !
I put my calathea in semi hydroponic and it's doing very well!
Hello, just came across your channel; thank you for this helpful information. I just repotted my Calathea 3 days ago and it’s doing fairly well but I have one leaf that started to curl up the next day. I turned the humidifier back on and later that evening the leaf started to open back up. Then again, this morning I saw that it started curling up again. It’s just the one leaf that’s located at the bottom. A few others towards the bottom are droopy but not curling at all. I’ve not had any leaves droop before nor curl up before the repot. They’ve always laid down at night but then stand up so nicely during the day at some point. I hope he’ll be okay.
Thank you for the message and video. I may live in a tropical country in Malaysia with high humidity at average 80% or more, yet some calatheas of mine still showed discomfort and required attention. Urghh.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It is interesting to learn that even in tropical climates, there are still struggles! 😊
@@AddyBeez it could be tougher in colder climate but then, well, still have to be careful :)
Think this might be the issue I'm having with my Pilea peperomioides. I need to bump up the perlite and maybe use a terra cotta pot instead of glazed. Have you ever tried a slotted plastic orchid pot for aeration with calatheas? I decided to try that with a suffering Hoya wayetii and the results have been amazing. I added orchid bark and tons of perlite to my mix. Now, Hoyas are semi-epiphytic so the orchid pots made sense to me. Do you think Calatheas would dry out too fast in a slotted pot to benefit from the extra air at the roots?
I'd say when it comes to potting compost for plants it's horses for courses. And people's environment in their homes is different. Same goes for different rooms in your home also. One fix doesn't work for all. You stick with the soil your happy with . You can give people tips etc. But plants and environments are all different. 👍🕊🇬🇧
Ps.really like your channel. 😼
No i agree with you ,more drainage .
Okay, I just repotted my zebrina again. I repotted it about a week ago and since then it has looked like crap! So we'll see, fingers crossed. 🤞
My zebrina has really given me some trouble. Fingers crossed for yours! 😊
Hi hun, how’s the plant doing now? I have 12 calatheas and I’m with you on the soil aeration. I’m in Scotland and our humidity is around 60 and the soil from the nursery was forever soggy so I changed it to 50% houseplant mix, 40% perlite and 10% orchid bark and what a difference! Have yours started to turn around since this video? I hope so!
Wow, I just did this earlier today, but saw your video now. I heavily amend the succulent mix with perlite, as you are, but also had some fungus gnats come home with a gifted peperomia, so began to add some diatamaceous earth as well. I noticed with nursery pots, my dirt was staying too wet and where other plants like my peperomias and monstera would suck up the water, the calatheas would just sit in mud, so I am also trying clay pots try to keep the roots from staying too wet . My Pinstripe and Medallion are doing much better. Hoping that my rehab Beauty Star works well with this as well.
Fungus gnats are the worst! Well, and spider mites. I like clay pots, too! I am so glad that your calatheas are enjoying them. 😊
I love calatheas they are fulfilling if they do well
I think for calathea aeration is key for its survival, Compacted soil reduce its survival.Soil mix should be Cocopeat or peat moss or spaghnum moss , Coco Husks or orchid bark , Perlite or pumice , if u can u can try add clay balls.
Its over watered.
And make sure you soil is easy to drain water.
Here in Philippines.we use rice hall and carbonize ricehall to easily dry the water.
I changed the soil of my calathea zebrina because I think its too clayish but when I add rice hull, carbonized rice hull and loam soil and some tree barks after 6 hours it drooped and folds all its leaves. I am so devastated, its so depressing seeing her drooping while she was just this beautiful and lush.
HI AB, WHY NOT TRY ADDING AQUARIUM GRAVEL AND ORCHID BARK OR COCO HUSK. I USE ALL OF WHAT YOU USE PLUS WHAT I MENTIONED. BECAUSE THESE PLANTS LIVE ON OR NEAR THE BASE OF TREES THEY WOULD BE GETTING ALL THE LEAF MATTER AND BARK FROM THE TREES ABOVE THEM. HOPE THIS HELPS. MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU, ANNETTE QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA.
I will try this to my calathea . I’ll keep you posted. But I really do believe this is the answer. Cross your finger.
Every home has different light, air, humidity. Everyone has different watering habits. So everyone needs to know what works for them. If 100% perlite if what your house needs, do it. I’ve realised there is no right or wrong potting mix which works for everyone. I recently went for 100% perlite because I was tired of trying several things. Seems to have worked. Drama queen seems happy.
Good advice!
Wow I love your information! I have one Calathea at home. It's outdoor plant but her leaves curl up and have dry brown edges. It's beautiful but never be easy to care for 😭😢
What about some help from soil microbiome Im using some of those to help every repotting I did no matter hows my soil its seems to help my plant less stress or transplants shock ... its like little buddy for your calathea roots
Hmm. I'm gonna try this. My calathea fascinator looks quite like yours in this video. It was after I treated for spider mites, nd after I repotted her. That she went from beautiful big fan, to floppy thin an curly. I have her staked up with a chopstick because her back shoots won't even stand upright... can think of anything other than maybe soil aeration now since this looks the most similar to mine
Agree, aeration is really important for calathea.
Mine are so sensitive to it! I try to manually aerate it once a month with a skewer but not even that is enough once the soil gets to clumping.
Maybe repot in a more porous clay pot?
Actually i failed at every calathea i took care of. I am saddened by the fact that i just can't seem to raise them properly. 😢
you might wanna try a porous container (eg. terra cotta or concrete) instead of glazed ceramic or plastic for calatheas
Nah those are the worst for calatheas because it drives way to quickly. The one time I had one of my calatheas in a terra, it was drying out far too fast. 😢
@@DreamOfFireFlies heh, you had borderline root rot on that plant and that's not because of your original soil mix - it's because of your glazed ceramic pot that doesn't breathe and your medium stays wet for too long. your roots weren't happy not being able to breathe and staying wet for too long hence the curling
What about adding some grit or sand? Has anyone tried that?
Have you tried pumice instead of or along with perlite? I find pumice doesn't tend to float up to the top of the soil. Thanks for all of your wonderful videos!
I have! It's harder to get in the stores around here though so I tend to stick to perlite. Good point.
@@AddyBeez Yeah, I can't find it local either so I ordered from Amazon. I still mainly use perlite but add a little pumice too.
Everything makes sense now! My house is just like yourss!! Thank you so much
And water it with rain water. Mine has sprouted four new shoots doing this. ( plus i talk to it to encourage it😂)
My sisters calathea was doing terrible and when i Unpot it. It was so so so soggy. Like it probably couldn't breathe. Leaves curling like crazy. Not sure if it will survive. I didn't water it. Because it was extremely water logged i sprayed it with some water so it's moist but haven't watered it in im scared it promotes more rot
Try adding pumice, perlite, rice hull, coco chips, or orchid soil mix
Wow really good information. I have so many Calathea's are not good some are dead.I have one left I have to repotted that one.thanks for sharing.
Thank you! 😊
Calatheas fav plant. Thanks for the video. I use a lot of perlite as is so this video made me very happy
They are my favorite, too! Glad I'm not the only one using a lot of perlite. 😊
Thank you for sharing what seems to be working for you. I had purchased one also and I am struggling to keep it alive and trying to get it to look halfway decent. It's fighting me all the way. I have been trying different things, moving it around to different windows, and turning and misting it. I did notice that when I first got it I did tend to water it may be a little more then I should have so I pulled it out and put it in drier soil with pearlite so now waiting to see if I get some fresh-looking leaves. Appreciate all your input, who would have thought a plant could be so touchy?
They really can be tricky. I really struggle with humidity the most probably, hence all of the crispy tips on this one. And it isn't just lack of humidity--I had poor air circulation in my plant room and the humidifier left a ton of moisture on the surface of my plants' leaves that began to look like bacterial infections. I'm going to get this right one day. 😊
I didn’t put perlite into the potting soil 😮 it’s already in shock so I’m afraid to do anything else yet.
Thank you so much my calathea plant (dottie ) was in so so shape when I got her, hopefully I can help her 😁
The soil looks super dry! Just place it in 2 in of water... just add styro at the bottom of the pot. Add cocopeat.
Aeration isn't an issue really. In the tropics, we grow em in all soils. They even do well in hard/sticky clay soil as long as they stay moist.
Oh! I cut out some of the footage because I thought this video was getting too long but it probably would have been more helpful to keep it in. I had actually watered this calathea the day before it started its massive curling--and the soil under the surface was sopping wet around the roots when I got it out of the pot, though the surface looked okay and even a bit dry. I actually almost just watered it again because the surface did look dry! However, this isn't the first time soil has compacted like this in my house--and I wish I knew more about altitude differences, etc.
@@AddyBeez Weird. Altitude does stuff to Calatheas? How high are you from sea level? 😆 Calatheas grow like weeds here and we're barely above sea level in the tropics.
@@jakeryker546 I too live in the tropics yet I have problems with my calatheas compelling me to search for solutions all over the internet. Also "altitude does stuffs to all living being including calatheas". Lastly, if you are such an expert why don't you create your own channel so people can benefit from your knowledge instead of bashing other people who are trying to help others. I would surely subscribe if you do.
@@jakeryker546 now you're just being a sarcastic, know-it-all, feeling expert prick.
I dot use ceramic and terra cota pots for my calatheas. I use hard plastic pots with lots of holes. I did not see holes in the pot that you used.
There's a drainage hole in the center of the pot.
I have the same plant and I am struggling to keep it looking nice. Now I have yellow leaves. I think it may be mites? OR they got burned with the light 20-20-20 fertilizer I use on my orchids?? After watching your video, maybe it is time to repot mine..... I this a big plant and would hate to lose it!
Thanks for sharing...will try using perlite
Hope it helps! 😊
Your videos are the best. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Rachel. It honestly makes me so happy that that you like them. 😊
Thank you for this, since I always wanted to know more details about your soil mix. You are truly the Calathea Queen. I have picked up a Calathea roseopicta and medallion because of you to add to my Calathea collection. I absolutely love all calatheas even though they are definitely dramatic.
Oh, thank you so much, Karli! 😊 I will probably start making my own mix again soon, now that I can supplies again and will share how it goes. While I love all the calatheas, too, my Warscewiczii probably doesn't love me back very much right now.
Thank you, this video is very interesting! I have new hope for some of my suffering beauties
How long does mixed soil stay good for in a container like that?
My soil mix looked just like yours, loaded with perlite. I noticed my calatheas were still staying wet for weeks at a time. Even though I live in a very humid and hot part of the US and my calatheas are in lower light, this still alarmed and worried me. I lost 3 to root rot due to the perlite migrating to the top with each watering. I very recently moved all my calatheas to husky mix, (lots of bark, coco coir) just an overall chunkier mix that allows more air into the roots. I'm hoping that provides the answer for my calatheas 🤞🏻 Looking forward to your updates!
I don't think the perlite is all floating to the top. Just the top inch of soil loses the "dirt" and that's why you are left with more perlite at the top. The perlite doesn't magically float to the top from the bottom of the pot. Interested to see how your mix does. Was thinking about vermiculite and orchid bark already. Maybe adding a bit in of each couldn't hurt. I'm not sure about peat although I do often buy calatheas already planted in a heavy peat mix.
So far, my usual perlite content seems to work. I just repotted the rufibarba that I mentioned in the video, as it had the same soil composition as the one in the video. We'll have to see how it recovers. I stopped making my own potting mix, as it has been really hard to get certain materials. I think in the long run, I may need to go back to it as more bark did work well in my old mix. Good luck with your calatheas! 😊
Thank you for sharing! Very informative video. How are your Calatheas doing now? Have they recovered/showing progress?
When I repotted my Calathea all of them is getting dry and I thought they start dying. I think it is about the soil I used
I've had some soil problems myself this last year. A lot of my trouble comes with soil not draining/getting to compact. Some of the things people use in their calathea soil work so well for them but just don't perform the same in my house.
I am struggling with my Calathea and I just got it from a friend. The leaves are drooping and curling. I have watched for sunlight, humidity, watering, temperature and it's been a week with no change. I thing she is still recovering from the reporting schock and I would like to avoid messing with the root again so early by adjusting the soil. What would be best to do here? Wait a bit longer or add perlite to the soil asap (there isn't any in the soil that my friend used)?
I just saw on another channel that they are sensitive to hard water. They recommended rainwater or distilled water.
Ugh you may have saved my a lathe as lives. I just repotted them all. Fingers crossed lol 🤞
Good luck!!!! 🤞
Niiice ¹☕️🫚🤓🙌
Try sphagnum moss too. I use both
That's a good idea!
I have two calatheas. I treat them the same. Water them the same. Same sunlight. Yet one is dying and the other is just fine. ☹️
I would like to know what will happen to them further... will a change of a soil work? Very, very interested, because ive repotted two my beautiful and plum calatheas, one ive lost, another is having drying edges... so it will really help me - will this trick work in a long time?
I would like to see more about marantaceae, because the answer with them is not humidity... its more complex...
Historically, the repotting works for me. However, the curled leaves can be a variety of things. From my experience, leaves curl to protect themselves from too much light. They also curl up when dry. And, for me, when the stems start to fall down and the leaves are curled, it's usually a problem with aeration. I wasn't really sure until I looked at the mix and realized I hadn't amended it correctly (at least for my home). I am concerned that repotting both of the calathea I mentioned will probably stunt some of their growth this season. The rufibarba is pretty tough but anything is possible. The warscewiczii always struggles in my house and I determined to find out why! Regarding browning edges, I've had this both from humidity stress (I am in an arid climate though the humidity in my house is usually around 50%) and also from fertilizer burn. It can be so hard to tell though sometimes.
super informative, thank you
What is in your mix?
Did you use dry or wet repoting mixed? If dry did u water the newly planted calathea right away?
The new mix was dry and I did give it a little water but waited a minute. From what I've read, once the environment turns anaerobic, the plants has trouble taking in oxygen and water, so I did want to give it a drink.
The mix should be moist to the touch but not wet. I add warm water a little at a time and mix thoroughly. Also it depends on how much peat rococo coir is in the mix- they need to have some moisture to develop desired soil structure and to adequately mix with other ingredients.
whay my Caletha Zabrina leaves curl and crispy ? please help thank you
Hard water, use distilled.
can i use sand instead of perlite.? i am staying in a humid country.
In my experience fine sand can sometimes retain more water
HOLY DAMNNN this is what happend to meee o.O
Rip for my barely surviving Calathea. I can't buy any perlite.
How can someone else tell you that the ratios you use for YOUR PLANTS IN YOUR HOUSE is too much. Some of my ratios are "unbelievable" but my plants love it. I use A LOT of orchid bark. Whatever it takes 🤷🏾♀️
Orchid bark sounds wonderful and I'm sure your plant must love it! 😊
I think it can be hard to believe just how different the environments in and outside of our homes are from day to day.
It might have something to do with the fact that the planter pot your using has no drainage holes...
Oh, this pot does have a drainage hole. When my pots don't have drainage holes, I drill them myself.
@@AddyBeez that pot your'e showing has NO drainage hole. I see price tag glue. You drill your own holes, in ceramic/clay pots? I highly doubt that. I think those pots are to place plastic pots in. Not for actually planting in
Just love the Calathea. Wanna be friends
I love them, too! We can be calathea friends!
Thanks its informative one. I love it. I vusited your housr. I hope you will bisit my house too. Thank you and Godbless.