I was worried that the hydrospikes were drowning them because of the constant moisture so I took them out. I lost some leaves while the hydrospikes were in.

Calathea are also very sensitive to salts and things in water. I don’t know what Aussie water is like but do you use tap water? Maybe try rain or distilled. I know that’s at least an issue for brown tips occasionally.

When you have repotted the plant the two times how did you do it? Did the roots stay moist the whole time, did you remove all of the old soil? Describe your method for me.

I have three calathea but like Gigi they sit in a room above aquariums. The relative humidity in the room is usually about 55%.

The soil needs to dry some before watering again. They don’t like wet feet. How are you determining when to water?

When I repot, I water the day before to soften the soil for the repot. That way I don’t struggle with untangling or removing the soil from the roots.

I keep the roots wet while the plant is out of the soil by keeping the roots in a bucket of water while I prepare the pot.

I wait 24 hrs before I water.

I have been watering with tap water. Sydney water is considered soft so I have not bothered with watering with distilled or rain water.

The room humidity rarely drops to under 50% with some days even going up to the mid-70s. On average it is 60%.

I forgot to answer the last question, To determine if it’s time to water, I stick a wooden skewer. If it’s dry, I water.

I’m hoping by adding to this it will bump your thread and maybe more people can chime in since this isn’t something I have struggled with.

What did the roots look like when you repotted? Did they seem healthy have you lost any? Was the 5:1:1 moist when you potted in to it? Why did you wait 24 hours to water instead of watering at the end of potting?

All I can think is that it’s getting too dry if you’re waiting until the skewer is completely dry, and then over watered when you repot. Perhaps watering the day before, keeping it in a bucket of water and then watering the next day is too much and it’s creating oedema. I don’t know. I’m no expert, just my thoughts as to a possibility. If it were my plant, I would provide it a little more light like gentle morning light and maybe put the hydro spike in it like Gigi suggested. Remove the brown ends to see if they spread or if it stops it. Monitor the soil and let the top few inches dry but not dry all the way through to the bottom.

Mauen, my first impression from your description is you’re keeping it too wet, but then you say you water when the skewer is dry, so I’m not sure. I keep mine drier than my ferns but damper than my ficus, if that helps at all.

They are known for being tricky, and mine has been an incredibly slow grower (a leaf can take weeks to unfurl), so bear that in mind also. Yours has had two repottings in only a couple months so that alone could set it back for ages.

Beautiful plants though, very satisfying if you can sort it. I would see if I could get it’s watering under control first, and then just wait. You may not need to change anything else. Good luck!

Still sounds too wet.

1 month update on my calathea. It’s doing very well with 2 new shoots!

I monitor the mix and make sure that it’s just moist, watering every 3 days or so. It gets morning light and sits under a grow light in the evenings.

I'm glad you were able to figure out what worked for the both of you. And good thinking on checking the roots!

mmauenn - where did you buy your hydrospikes? I haven't been able to find them in Sydney.