With good care, diseases rarely occur in the calathea or basket marante. If the Calathea gets brown or yellow leaves or the leaves even hang down, care errors or a bad location are usually to blame.
What diseases can occur in Calathea?
Diseases in calathea are rare and usually due to care errors. Common problems include brown leaves (too much sun, drafts), yellow leaves (overfertilization), curling leaves (too sunny, drafty, not enough water) and drooping leaves (too dry, wrong location).
Illnesses caused by incorrect care
Real illnesses are extremely rare. When the leaves of the Calathea
- color brown
- turn yellow
- roll up
- hanging down
it is almost always due to incorrect care or an unfavorable location. Above all, correct watering is a problem when caring for the basket marante. The calathea neither likes dryness nor waterlogging.
If the leaves of the basket marante turn up in the evening, this is not a sign of illness or care errors. This is a completely natural process.
Brown leaves of Calathea
The Calathea gets brown leaves when it is exposed to direct sunlight. Too little moisture or drafts can also lead to brown leaves.
Yellow leaves of the basket marante
If the leaves of the Calathea turn yellow, you have fertilized too well. In this case, you should immediately repot the houseplant into fresh substrate. You must not fertilize the basket marante for several weeks after transplanting.
Rolling Leaves
The Calathea reacts to a location where it is too sunny or too drafty by rolling up its leaves. This symptom can also indicate too little water.
Drooping Leaves
The basket marante lets the leaves hang if it is too dry. Sometimes it can also be in a drafty or too sunny location. Increase the watering quantities, but avoid waterlogging.
Pest infestation of the Calathea
Spider mites are quite common when the humidity in the room is too low. You can recognize an infestation by the small webs that form in the leaf axils.
Cover the substrate and place the Calathea under the shower. As a preventative measure, you should increase the humidity in the room by setting up water bowls (€32.00 on Amazon) and regularly spraying with low-lime water.
Tip
The Calathea requires a bit of care, but it is relatively easy to propagate. You either cut shoot cuttings or divide the roots to grow new offshoots.
