I got this Goeppertia Orbifolia from my dad's work a few weeks ago. It seems very happy, it has sprouted 3 new leaves since with a fourth on the way. Some of the leaves get these brown edges though, and i cant seem to understand why. Others stay healty as can be (picture 3).
It gets some indirect light as internet said it should. I water them whenever the soil feels dry, making sure not to overwater it. There is no bugs on the outside, i didnt check the roots tho. I dont know if its humidity, over- or underwatering, bugs, Gods wrath??
Help would be appreciated 🙂
by No_Appearance6094
3 Comments
Orbifolia is notoriously picky. Good practice to avoid brown edges are high humidity and distilled water (calatheas do not generally like tap water). And to not let them sit dry for too long
Humidity shouldn’t be an issue. What’s the average humidity inside your house? You can get a cheap humidity sensor on Amazon. Anywhere between 50-70% is fine. The tropics are not a giant sauna all the time.
This plant, unlike a lot of houseplants that are labeled “low light”, this plant actually grows in the understory. Your light should be fine.
Your don’t need distilled water unless you live somewhere with extremely hard water. Mine grow in semi hydro with tap water.
It’s because it’s a calathea
Lol, jokes aside, the leaves will brown even if you do everything right, it’s because it’s environment has simply changed. If you follow the other people’s advice here, you’ll find that it’s newer leaves will have less brown edging. This was the case with my calathea. They’re not great with change and need filtered water, if you live in an area with hard water. That’s really it 🙂
Just to make you feel better, I’ve seen brown edging like this on calatheas in botanical garden glass houses in Kew. It’s really only natural for these guys, don’t take it too seriously 🙂