My Prayer Plant is brown and yellowing

4 years ago

I bought this plant at a farmer's market in the Spring. My prayer plant thrived for the first few months that I had it in my care. It had new growth within a month and was very vibrant in color. However, since I brought it home from college it has really gone downhill. I did over water it for 2 weeks thinking maybe it got too dry. But now I have returned to watering it when the soil is dry and light (like I had been at school).

What I have done differently since coming home:

1) used my home tap water vs the tap water in a different city. I just bought distilled water to water with from now on hoping this helps if the minerals in the water are killing it.

2) Given it some indoor plant fertilizer. I learned my lesson the hard way that I should follow the exact directions on how much to mix with the water. I could have added too much per quart of water. This could possibly be the problem too. I am not adding any more fertilizer in case this is what is killing it. I used it twice during this summer.

3) I had it closer to a window then back at school. At school I had it sitting on a desk about 3-4 feet away from a window. At home I have had a hard time finding a place for it with indirect light that isn't super dark.

4) I just replanted it in a different pot (still plastic) to check the roots. The roots look thin, small, and delicate, but they do not look rotted. I mixed the old soil with some fresh potting soil. I hope this act didn't just cost me the plant life! But I was desperate.

Anyways, I could use all the help I can get. It makes my heart so sad that I am losing this beautiful plant. It is simply stunning when it is healthy.

Also: I propagated this plant in a class 2 years ago and didn't label it. Can someone tell me what it is? I have no idea and I want to care for it the best that I can!!!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

The Silent Seed
4 years ago
Hi,

It is a Maranta leuconeura "Kerchoveana." ("Green Prayer.")

My thought is that the overwatering did this - and potentially the fertilizer.

I would start over - replanting it in a good soil mix, without overthinking the water and fertilizer, and let it rest, and hopefully get going again. You're right; it does not like bright light. Good luck with this - If it dies, I"m happy to send you a cutting or division of mine.
getgoing100_7b_nj
4 years ago
If all else fails, put it bare root or a cutting in water. It should grow new roots within a week or two. The cuttings rooted in this way are easily repotted and take to soil without too much trouble. I found a part of my plant shriveling a week or 10 days back. On further inspection that branch just came off and seemed to have no roots. The leaves were quite leathery and dehydrated. I left it submerged in water for 3-4 days till the leaves and regained moisture and then kept just the stems in water. Sure enough, it now has mostly recovered and growing roots in water. The point of my story is that these plants are very resilient and hopefully it will revive one way or the other. I prefer water for suffering plants that easily root in water because it takes the guess work of good/bad soil, over/under watering out of the equation. Also, any soil born disease or infection. I might just grow this one in water permanently.
Related Discussions
my prayer plant needs help quicklyyyy
Q
Comments (22)
The first prayer plant I had I killed by over watering. There is a fine line between too much and not enough for these plants, and they are not recommended for beginners. Toni is right, you have over potted and now the plant could have problems from too much water. Think about it this way - the plant has a small root system, even though it was growing out of a 4 inch pot - if you put it in a pot three times that size, you have a plant with a 4 inch pot size root system now sitting in a big pot, it's roots surrounded by alot of wet soil. THe plant can only use so much of the water in that soil at a time, so it sits there staying too wet, the wetness keeps oxygen from getting thru the soil and down to the roots, it takes way too long to dry out because the water is not getting utilized by the plant....the whole soggy mess is a recipe for root rot. When repotting a plant, you should only go up to the next size pot, in your case you should repot into a 5 or 6 inch. This is the first thing you should do. Expect the plant to take some time to recover from the trauma of being repotted twice in such a short time. Once you repot, water lightly, use your misting tray and put the plant either outside in the shade or inside in indirect light and just let it alone for a while. Check it every few days to see if it needs water by sticking your fingers at least an inch or two down into the soil and feeling for wetness. When it starts to feel on the dry side down that deep, try watering lightly again. Don't water if the soil feels at all wet, more plants are killed from over than underwatering, best to water when it feels more dry - being a bit dry for a day or so will not kill it like root rot from overwatering will. Don't stress too much if it does not make it, it could have had issues when you got it, and this variety IS a tricky one.
...See More
Need Help With my Monstera Plant - Brown Spots & Some Yellowing Leaves
Q
Comments (2)
Yes, it has drainage holes- I left it in it's nursery pot. I put rocks/gravel at the bottom of the "decorative pot" that sits on the floor and the nursery pot sits on top of the gravel so it won't sit in water.
...See More
Help Save My Monstera Plant: Bottom Leaves Yellow & New Growth Brown
Q
Comments (3)
The pot is placed a few meters from direct sunlight ==>>> its indoors.. it gets NO direct light ... mostly because there is a window in the way ... and its simply too far from the diffuse light from that window ... the third pic seems to show very good new growth ... why do you say its brown?? ... how about a closer pic ... its going through some stress from moving it from one place to another ... all plants shed older leaves ... annually.. it can be increased due to stresses like moving it ... i think you are on the verge of loving it to death ... try to chill a bit.. and settle in.. and try to get it closer to a window... there is a houseplant forum ... where you can learn all about such ... ken
...See More
Prayer plant leaf tips turning brown
Q
Comments (0)
Hello! I have had this prayer plant for ~6 months that is roughly 15 ft away from a south facing window. It is a thriving plant - continues to have new growth, is kept away from direct sunlight, and I water it roughly once/10 days (or when 2 in of soil feels dry). Lately, I have noticed several of the tips of the leaves turning brown and crusty (maybe 4 or 5 leaves look like the picture below). You will also see one of the leaves that turned yellow (this was the only one that did this, and I clipped it shortly after). Does anyone know what might be going on with my plant? Thank you!
...See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
i tend to agree ...

i think you IDd the problem.. and fixed it ...by watering properly ... and then you repotted it ...

perhaps the only problem might be your expectation that it will perk up immediately ...

one might suggest that you continue to water it properly ... get over that stress .. as well as the repotting...

and i bet in 3 to 6 months ... it will just be fine ...

i also note that the tray/plate has a lot of media in it... perhaps when you do water.. you are watering too heavy .. to the point of washing media out the bottom ... i never water that heavily ... but then also might be due to you not having pushed the media in good enough at repotting ...

ken
gardengems
4 years ago
Ditto to what Ken wrote. You did everything I would have done, except the fertilizer. I might have added some worm castings and beneficial microbes. Both will help condition the soil and help strengthen the roots. I often find the soil the grower uses works great for greenhouse situations, but not necessarily for the home owner. Those are just my opinions.

Overall I give you a Grade A. Most would have not thought to be as proactive.

My Prayer Plant is brown and yellowing

Comments (4)

The Silent Seed

getgoing100_7b_nj

Related Discussions

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

gardengems

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US