Geez! I never saw one do that. Too wet or too dry. Your soil look wet in the picture. I would repot it into a plastic pot. Clay pots dry out very quickly. They only want bright light. Do you have it in a sunny spot?

Yes. It's right next to the window in my office. I've tried both watering it more and letting it dry out a bit... neither worked. I had just moved it into a larger pot when it started the leaf curling (though both were clay) so I don't know if that could've had something to do with it...?

This is what it looked like two months ago before it went into the larger pot...

Hmmmm......Well, it's upset about something. I'm thinking the pot is too big, and the light is too bright. Mine needs lower light or it gets a funky color, like how you would picture a plant getting sick to it's stomach. I know that sounds strange but it's the only thing I can compare it to, sort of a gray/yellow. But I have had one long enough to know their roots need to be tight in the pot for them to be happy. Then water when the first 1" of soil is dry. If it dries out too much it complains again.

If you can move it to a smaller pot, and away from the direct light that would be my first step, then see how it goes.

Thanks Sara. I think I may need to move it back to a smaller pot... which means a new one since I already repotted something in its last pot!

It needs water. Never let it dry out, ever. Don't make it sit in water but do not let the soil dry completely out. Plant it in a 5:1:1 mix. Prayer plants are very thirsty. Give it a good soak and see if the leaves unfurl. Clay is perfect for this kind of plant when the clay pot has returned to normal color it's time to water again.

I don't know the cause of those symptoms, but, if I wanted to cause those symptoms, I would over fertilize, a lot, like, maybe, more than 3 tbs/gal of soluble fertilizer, because that looks as though excessive solutes in the potting media are preventing water entry into the roots.

I suggest that you percolate the potting media with water for several hours just to see whether that helps. For example, put in under a slow trickle from a faucet overnight.

When you moved it to the larger pot, how did the roots look?

Might be too much sunlight. The red on the leaves is a clue. Might have some root issues going on but post back with how the roots looked when repotted.

Jane

Jane - the roots looked fine both when I repotted it and when I took it out again recently to check the roots to double triple check. Like I said, new leaves are growing, which I feel like that wouldn't happen if the roots were dead but I don't know a lot about plants. I've put it back in a smaller pot to try to make it happier again. No great progress over the weekend but I am monitoring it with my fingers crossed!

I think it has shocked due to the re-potting, as roots may have some air.. I said that because of the new growing leaves. I think also the older leaves will turned to yellow and you have new babies then.

What ended up happening?

It died. :(

The same thing happened to my prayer plant. I read different articles and one said to give it a good soaking, and then another good soaking 1 hour later. Surprisingly enough, the leaves went back to normal. I had another one that did the same thing and I threw it away. If I had known this, I probably could have saved it.

Prayer plants require bright but INDIRECT sunlight, and need to be watered every 7-10 days or when the tops two inches of soil are dry. I also have some leaves on a new prayer plant I just purchased that won't open. That's why I am here. How ever I have 4 other prayer plants that have had zero issues.

Good luck! I hope it came back for you!