Careful observation of the plant will tell you if you have watering issues. If you overwater your plant you’ll notice: a. The leaves of the plant can appear yellow and are prone to yellow-brown patches at the tips of the leaves. b. If the situation is serious, severe drooping and curling of the leaves may be observed. This is due to the fact that overwatering can cause root rot and the plant is already having a hard time absorbing more water. If your Calathea is planted indoor, overwatering is all too easy to do with the plant as it cannot tolerate any standing water. The earlier you notice the overwatering the better. If you see standing water or some leaf change, stop watering! Allow the soil to air out over the course of 3-5 days. If you’re noticing signs of root rot, you’ll need to act fast. You’ll have to remove the plant from the pot or ground and then wash off the roots. Remove any dead or decaying roots while trying to keep as much intact as possible. Throw out all the old soil and clean out the pot then add in new soil. If you’re planting in your garden, remove the old soil and replant it in a new location. While overwatering is an issue, so is underwatering. The Calathea is very sensitive to drought conditions and will quickly decline if they don’t receive consistent watering. Signs of underwatering include: -Curled, pendulous, lifeless leaves; -Some leaves will gradually turn yellow from the bottom; -The edges of the leaves will turn brown. Underwatering tends to be easier to fix than overwatering. Simply increase how often you water the plant. If your plant is drying out quickly, the air might be too dry. Consider increasing the humidity so the soil stays moist for longer. You might also think about moving the plant to a different location if you notice it is getting too much sunlight or the spot is too hot in order to prevent extra evaporation.

Generally speaking, you should water the plant around once per week during spring. However, compared to spring you should increase the watering frequency during the summer but decrease that in winter. However, the timing might change based on a variety of factors such as humidity, temperature, soil type, and so on. To further determine the appropriate watering frequency for your Calathea, you should use your finger or Soil Moisture Meter more often to check the soil condition, remember to keep the soil moist but not soggy. Water after the top 1.5-2 inches or so of soil has dried out and build the watering schedule for your Calathea by continually testing. Potted plants are more prone to being overwatered than their outdoor counterparts since it's easier for the water to become contained. Make sure you use a pot with proper drainage holes and well-draining soil. Make sure there’s no excess water in the plant tray before watering. If your Calathea is planted in the ground, rain will allow it to grow better. The Calathea usually needs about 1 inch of rain per week to maintain growth. If rainfall is low, you may need to do additional watering once a week to ensure proper plant growth. Humidity also plays a role in keeping the plants properly watered. Plant can grow in normal room humidity, but it prefers higher humidity if possible - generally around 40 to 60 percent. More humidity means the soil will stay wetter for longer. With indoor plants, you can increase the humidity by placing a small humidifier next to the plant. For outdoor plants, you can mist the plant throughout the day.

There are plenty of viable ways to supply your Calathea with water. If you grow your plant in an indoor pot, for the Calathea in small pots, you can bring your potted plant to your kitchen sink. Then, use the faucet to add water to the container. By holding the pot in your hands, you should easily notice when the water begins to run through the pot’s drainage holes, at which point you can stop watering. The cold temperature will hurt the plants' root system, so please don't do this during winter or in cold climates. Most of the time, watering via your faucet is permissible for the Calathea. However, if the local tap water contains a high proportion of fluorine, chlorine or salts, you should consider using rainwater or lake water. Also, since the Calathea can respond well to overhead watering and watering directly into the soil, you can use a watering can, hose, or just about any tool you’d like to water it. For Calatheaed in the ground, when there is not enough rain, aim the hose at the root system and open the spout for more than 10 minutes to fully water. Tips: The Calathea is quite sensitive to the water you use. They are used to soft, acidic water found naturally. If you live in an area with hard water you can use an at-home water filter to remove any minerals and salts. To get rid of chemicals, you can let your tap water sit out for around 24 hours so that they dissipate. You can also purchase filtered water for your plants. Calathea likes water with 6.5 pH the best. Rainwater is a better choice than tap water, so you can store some rainwater when it's raining for your Calathea.

Calathea needs the humid conditions tend to keep the plants moist. They do not dry out completely between waterings. However, if soggy is retained, it will tend to make its root system rotten. So people will always water after the top 1.5-2 inches or so of soil has dried out. The depth of testing is often related to the depth of the soil. When the soil depth is around 5 inches, it is recommended to test about 1.5 inches or so (about one-third of the soil depth), and more for larger pots. If you have a Soil Moisture Meter, then watering becomes easy by inserting the same position and when the soil meter is found to be around 3, then watering can be done. If it is still greater than 3 then you will need to wait a little longer until it dries out. Keeping it this way will allow you to avoid overwatering your plants.

Pruning your Calathea is a fairly simple process. First, you will need a reliable set of hand pruners or hedge trimmers. You may use a clean pair of sharp scissors if you don’t have pruners or garden shears on hand. It’s important to always clean your gardening tools before and after using them to prevent the possibility of spreading disease or infection to other plants. To prune your Calathea simply allow your plant to go dormant over the Winter. Some time between late winter and early spring – or when new growth starts to appear – take your clean pruners or trimmers and cut away any dying, damaged, yellow or declining foliage. Repeat this process until you reach the base of the plant or until there are no dead pieces left to cut. When pruning, be careful not to damage the new growth that may be emerging near the base of your plant. These parts cannot be restored and pruning can increase the ventilation of the plants and facilitate their growth. Any pruning that is done to this plant should be cut straight across the blades or stems. No angled cuts are required. Diseased leaf blade foliage can be removed as it appears. This could be done anytime when your Calathea is growing.

Once you’ve pruned your plant, you should dispose of the stems and leaves either by composting the healthy ones or throwing out the diseased parts. You can also fertilize just before or after pruning, which gives Calathea a little vitamin boost that can provide it the nutrients needed to better protect itself from any nearby pathogens or diseases. Do not water the Calathea immediately after pruning as this can lead to fungal infestation of the plants through the wounds. You don’t need much after care when you’re done pruning. It might benefit from light watering and some liquid plant food to encourage new growth.

Early spring and late winter are the best times to prune your Calathea on a large scale. If you want to control the size of your Calathea, you can prune them as you wish, but be careful not to prune more than a third of the size of the plant. Yellow and diseased leaves may appear during the summer months when the Calathea is growing vigorously and these types of leaves need to be pruned back immediately. These parts of the Calathea cannot be restored and pruning increases the ventilation of the plant and facilitates its growth.

Strategic pruning is usually done at different times of the year or during certain stages of growth depending on the plant. However, knowing when to prune your Calathea depends on where you live and how established your plant is. For example, if your Calathea is a new resident, it’s a good idea to wait until the plant starts to grow back before you start pruning. On the other hand, if your plant is already established, you will want to prune the dry or dead parts in plant before new leafy growth appears in early spring or late winter. This is the time of year when plants are dormant and pruning causes the least damage to them. This is also the best time of year to do more extensive pruning. It’s important to note that if Calathea is pruned too late in the season, it can leave new growth at risk for damage or disease. However, if your Calathea is indoors this is not a problem and you can prune at any time. Since this can affect the long-term health and appearance of your plant, it’s important to keep this in mind when deciding when and how to prune. As your Calathea grows larger over time, you can trim it as needed after annual pruning. Dead, damaged, or diseased leaf blade foliage can be removed as it appears. This could be done anytime when your Calathea is growing.

Calathea needs full sun every day, and these plants rely on a minimum of six hours of sunlight to keep their leaves, roots, and blooms in a healthy state. Even though most perennials need six hours of sunlight a day, plants like the Orange Daylily or Giant Coreopsis could live off less sun for a minimum of three hours daily. Even though these perennial flowering plants can live with only three hours of direct sunlight, they won't be able to thrive like they would in sunnier conditions.

The few Perennial Flowering Plants that don't like excessive heat in warm climates might react poorly to too much sun if they have heat damage. These plants may wilt or dry out from too much sun and may also develop growth issues if they're regularly in the sun during the most intense heat of the day. Some plants don't need protection from the light afternoon sun, but those that are harmed by intense afternoon exposure should be provided some shade in warmer climates. Gardeners could give these plants plenty of shade by planting them in spots that don't receive direct heat during the afternoon, like under trees or behind bushes.

While many perennial plants need plenty of sun to bloom to their fullest extent, some of them benefit from less sun in warmer climates. For example, people who live in hotter climates might want to provide shade for their flowering perennials in the hot afternoon sun, and this is even more true for months in the summer. Even though some perennial flowering plants will benefit from partially shaded in the hottest climates, plants like the Giant Coreopsis aren't intimidated by too much sun. They might sit outside in the full sun in hot weather and still thrive.

If you're growing Calathea and you aren't getting enough sunlight, you'll notice signs of inadequate requirements in your plants. Most plants won't produce as many blooms as they would if they had full sun exposure. Some plants will develop dry spots on their leaves, but most of these plants will still bloom in the inadequate sun. Even though they bloom, the flowers will be smaller and less full.

Calathea is great flowers in gardens and will have optimum blooming if it gets six hours of sunlight a day minimum. Sometimes, flowers stay fresh longer if they're partially shaded during the really hot parts of the day. When Calathea is young, gardeners want to ensure their younger plants are getting plenty of sunlight but don't have to endure intense heat during the afternoon sunlight. If you have a fully mature plant, provide it with plenty of sun so it may keep up its growth properly.

Calathea will need a minimum of six hours of light to best support their photosynthesis cycles. These flowering plants need the sun to help their foliage and blooms grow. However, certain perennial flowering plants like the Giant Coreopsis might need anywhere from eight to twelve hours of full sun a day to maintain their large flowers and healthy foliage.

If you want your Calathea to grow healthy and bloom as much as possible during its blooming season, you should try to give your plant six hours of direct sunlight. Some perennial plants might even do more sunlight and could sit in the sun for up to twelve hours, depending on the heat in the area and the general environment. Plants like the Red Hot Poker and Giant Coreopsis thrive in much hotter climates and might sit in all types of strong sunlight. Some home gardeners have to use grow lights because their spaces don't allow for tons of outdoor sunlight. Most perennials could grow happily in grow lights, but they will need anywhere from eight to fourteen hours of artificial light to stay strong since these lights don't have as much power as the sun.