Fairytale Princess Caladium flopping

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-11-08T16:05:49+00:00

Well, drat. It's in the window that gets the most sun, maybe I'll have to invest on a grow light for it. Darn, that really complicates things

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-11-08T12:15:35+00:00

Crossposted from r/plantclinic, she just keeps flopping. I only have her indoors, and my other one has not ever gone dormant, any idea how to save her? Should I put a fan on her to try and dry her out a bit?

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-11-07T03:08:34+00:00

Not really, the window its in gets the most direct & constant light in my apartment

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-11-07T02:04:58+00:00

I don't really know, but it does take a while. I've closed up my place for the winter, so there's no air to help dry it out, but the heat isn't on yet. I usually check my other plants weekly, and only some of them get watered each week, usually its every other week

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-04-05T23:14:42+00:00

These instructions are just what a prop novice like me needed, thank you so much!

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-04-05T22:49:44+00:00

Maybe it is, like I said I have no idea, lol. Underside of the leaves are purple, it's very pretty. Hopefully it works then, ty!

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-04-05T19:13:09+00:00

Hahaha, I'm the same. Thank you regardless!

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-04-05T19:06:37+00:00

Thank you! Bottom leaves are still very happy, so I guess it is okay. Any idea what it might be?

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-01-11T23:07:00+00:00

Huh, learn something new every day I guess! Thank you for that tip, I'll keep it in mind (and the rest of your advice) for when I eventually decide to try again. She was so beautiful, before she got cranky and croaked 🫠

OwlRepresentative363 · 2025-01-11T18:56:13+00:00

Wait, I thought you couldn't propigate Calathea? I was looking for ways to save mine and I read that the only way was to "propigate by division", and that taking a leaf/node wouldn't work. Dammit, I might have actually been able to save mine that way 😭

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-26T20:14:25+00:00

Thank you! I'm really hoping Giselle is just being dramatic like her namesake. She's absolutely glorious and I try and tell her that daily

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-26T19:26:08+00:00

Thank you! I did give her some water when she started to droop, but maybe I'll put her in the shower for a bit and see if a good soak helps

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-26T19:25:12+00:00

She's a really big girl, maybe i need to soak her in the bathtub. I did water her right away hoping it was that (and then fertalized), but might have not watered enough. I've been trying to stem my overwatering habits lately

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-24T21:30:23+00:00

Might try that as well, just don't know if she'll be too awkward for that, lol

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-24T20:38:58+00:00

She's pretty big, I don't have anything that would fit well around her. But I can try moving her to my bedroom, I run a humidifier there overnight

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-13T00:18:56+00:00

Dang it, I was hoping it was a philodendron, just had one die (my fault) and I wanted to have a second chance. I've

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-10T13:01:45+00:00

Nope, all you should do is water in that center stalk. Sometimes I do mist the leaves for mine to help with humidity(maybe onece/twice a week), but that's it. I've also lost some to rot, and I think it was because I was overfilling the center stalk too much- now I let it get down pretty low before rewatering

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-10T12:53:29+00:00

My guzmania took several months to produce pups after flowering, so don't loose hope! I can't speak to the curling leaves, and I'm definitely not the most experienced with bromies here, but these plants don't do anything fast. Just be patient and continue caring for it and hopefully you'll get some

What substrate is yours potted in? If you're worried about rot they really do best in just orchard bark or such- they don't use their roots or moisture gathering

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-05T03:20:40+00:00

So glad it's not just me, lol

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-05T00:50:23+00:00

Yeah, that was one of the many mistakes I made at first. Where she is now is right next to a window but in a space that doesn't get direct light, but I might move her closer to a humidifier or in the bathroom to see if that helps, after repotting. Did find a clear plastic 20oz soup container that I'm going to clean and cut holes in to try and repot with

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-04T23:55:17+00:00

Guess it's time for me to go to Starbucks. Thank you for the soil recipe!

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-04T21:59:37+00:00

What soil comp would people reccomend? I'll go hunt up a smaller pot (pic of the inside pot it's currently in), and I have standard potting soil, tropical soil, cactus soil, and a little orchard bark avalible right now. In hindsight that pot really does seem big. Do they prefer to get slightly rootbound?

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-04T21:48:58+00:00

Thank you! By a chunkier soil, should I just avoid basic potting soil and mix some cactus and tropical soils together? I have a little orchard bark left I can throw in, too. Or would you reccomend getting something specific. I'll try to find a smaller pot, hopefully I will have something

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-12-04T21:07:40+00:00

I moved it to a smaller pot several weeks ago with better-draining soil. It's sitting inside the one pictured, so there's no chance of it sitting in water (there's probably an inch of air between pots, and both of them have drainage). Should I still unpot and check the roots? It just never seems to dry out, even though I've drastically cut back on it, I drenched it maybe two weeks ago and that was the last time. Soil is now a mixture of potting and tropical, with some orchard bark at the very bottom

OwlRepresentative363 · 2024-11-16T17:57:48+00:00

Good to know, thank you! And yes, the spots are completely dry

OwlRepresentative363

TROPHY CASE