A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Poorly Calathea

Hi everyone.

Someone gave me a lovely Calathea last year, but in the past few months the leaves have gone brown on the edges and even the baby ones that still appear turn crinkly shortly after 'birth'. I think I understand the cause; apparently the plant prefers semi-shade to which I have now moved it. However, no site I've found tells me whether I need to remove the leaves or just leave them to sort themselves out. Any advice from anywhere? I've even put it outside for a night to get some fresh air (being in the south of France with a tropical plant I thought it would do no harm - knowing my luck I've probably killed it for good.....)

Hope someone has the green fingered Calathea approach for me. Thanks in advance.

the brown crinkly won't get better on those leaves, only on future leaves. removing them is your choice. what i do is take scissors and trim the crinkly part, leaving the healthy part of the leaf. that way the plant has leaves while new ones are growing, but i don't have to look at the brown crinklies.