I started using water conditioner as soon as I watched your video on it. The difference in the texture and sheen on my plants’ foliage is remarkable. They are much happier and healthier. THANK YOU! 🙏🤗
What is ‘water conditioner’? Is this a bottle of liquid you buy & add to your bucket of water? I maintain interior plants professionally and should love any helpful tips that help them. Thanks!
@@karlaschreiber2040 The product is called Stress Coat by API. It’s available in places that carry aquarium products because it’s also used to condition the water for fish. Best of luck. It’s now part of my routine. 0:03
Shout out to the unstoppable Pothos Ivy draping its shameless glory across the upper ceiling on its way to conquer the whole house while we talk about this fussy little dead leaf plant that probably belongs in its jungle somewhere.
I have had a few but because of my busy schedule I wasn’t the best plant mom because they are like new born babies. At lease for me anyway. I used to keep them in my greenhouse I had in my apartment. Unfortunately I got a massive thrips infestation in the greenhouse and they decimated the 7 different types of calathea I had. Sadly I had to get rid of them. I decided not to replace them until I’m done with my thesis and have more time to give them all the attention they deserve
Sorry to break it to you, but that is definitely NOT a Sheffield accent. I'm not saying that his voice or accent doesn't sound nice,but I live 5 miles away from Sheffield,so can tell you with certainty that he is not an original dee dah (if you know you know)
The small plastic vials in Covid test kits are excellent for controlling the number of drops of water conditioner. Always new and unused for covid testing of course.
Getting a Mr. Sheffield recommended moisture meter was a game changer for me. It really helps prevent over and under watering. I never put tap water on my plants without treating with Stress Coat. My plants have never been healthier.
I watch so much northern hemisphere content that i was convinced dry air was my issue too. Turns out my location is usually at around 60-80% humidity lol
I have a 10 inch (25cm) zebrina my favorite plant ( I have a lovely orbifolia 8inch (20cm) too), but the best tricks distilled water, care but not too much, and if you step back a bit you not see at all the not « perfect leafs ». Calathea can not have all perfect leafs you need too not go crazy with that, and that it’s funny my plant grow lot more and less yellow or little crusty part when I care less about this 😆 All my plants have clear pot and chunky potting mix well-aerated, fast-draining, it’s wonderfull to watch roots and watering because you see the soil moisture.
Calatheas. Harrumph. Dramatic divas. And I keep trying. If at first you dont succeed, try, try...etc. I've just counted mine: 23 if I include the cousins (maranta, stromanthe, ctenanthe) and the hospice patients. I've considered grouping them, but im afraid they'll plot a full mutiny. You've been brilliant with growing tips, Rich. Chunky well draining mix, Sansi grow lights (huge help over the winter!), filtered water and bottom-watering. Going to try water conditioner soon. Oh. And spider mites. Ugh.
I have a calathea Warscewiscii (i don‘t know how to spell it) since 2 months and it‘s doing well so far in the summer, but i already needed to remove 4 small yellowing leaves while there are 4 new big leaves growing. I don‘t know if its just the natural cycle or if i overwatered it. Maybe it is because the bottom leaves didn‘t get enough light. What do you think? Other than that the other leaves are looking great so far
Only thing about adding tap water conditioner is. It binds toxic substances to make them safe . Won't it also do the same to fertilizer. Just a thought. I also think if you use a humidifier and ionized water you will have no problems with calathea at all . I have 7 different varieties and have never had a problem with them at all
Yes it most probably will (as well as bind non toxic substances). Ideally the conditioner should be mixed with the water first, left for a bit then liquid fertiliser added to the dilution. Aquarium water conditioner is like a mild soap like film, which in fact also coats the fish to help prevent disease outbreak. I know this as I keep marine tanks/fish & when I use conditioner it plays havoc with the protein skimmers on the tanks, frothing up like crazy, trying to strip it out the water, hence why we turn them off for 24hrs, once water conditioner is placed in the aquarium.
I've killed 2 Calathea and will never buy another. I did everything! Watered with rain water, used a grow light, u name it. Shame cause they are so pretty.
This might not have been the case for you, but for me I always have problems with the little suffocation sacks that some plant distributors like to keep on the plant after they put it into the soil. Also, it seems like the soil you get ,especially when it’s directly from big box stores, is bottom of the barrel I have a calathea medallion that I re-potted because of both these things. After carefully removing the little sac things, and removing the sopping wet soil that wouldn’t drain; I repotted into a decent mix pretty standard honestly and put it into (don’t hurt me) a terracotta pot to keep excess moisture away until the roots are healthy and extensive. She’s thriving and No more fugglage!
@@marialakshmi2330 clear pot. Thats brilliant would certainly help check root health! Will be doing that when it’s time for the next re-pot! I’ve never seen one in a garden center here. Maybe Amazon? My rosy is pretty healthy at the moment But seems to grow a bit slower than any of my others pretty consistently.
I had one from August to the beginning of spring the next year, kept it alive all winter only to over water in spring because I was exited to see it growing 😭 it's probably a nice plant so long as you don't over water it
Rescued a Calathea Makoyana from my friend's dustbin last autumn. Cared for her following your tips and using a moisture meter as you suggest. She has not only produced loads of new leaves but now has a flower! Thrilled to bits. Thank you Mr Sheffield.
Yes, I don't think you should cut off part of the leaf like that. It will create a huge open wound that pathogens can get in! Like you said, better to cut off the entire leaf as thats a smaller wound
Guess what? My beautiful new monstera leave opened. It's a solid lighter green and is matching the other two stems in height. Rich, what a wonderful sight to wake up too. Yesterday she was on 3-4 on the water meter so I gave her a drink, her leave was only half open and then this morning WOW can you tell that I'm kind of enjoying my new babies. Do you still get this excited by new growth? lol Love and Peace
I have to disagree about the grow light not burning plants. I have had to move a cactus, a haworthia, and an aglaonema from my shelf because they were burning under the grow light. You would think a cactus would love it but not all of them do. The top leaves of my haworthia split. And my aglaonema super white lost some leaves. Even though most of my haworthias sit in the South window, there are some that can't. It's just weird. All the other plants love the grow light, even the dieffenbachia. I do have the calathea medallion and I use water conditioner. It is my most stunning plant. 😊
The plant looks great. So full. I have news: I'm waiting for my lipstick plant that I did watch on your channel. I felt in love with her immediately. I have one of her sisters: a columeia that is Brazilian and has a flower that looks like a little fish. (Nematanthus wettsteinii) In case you like the it and it's not easy to find I can smuggle it to you😂😂
More videos about Calatheas ❤ I love them so much. I live in Germany and mine get a bit of evening sun in the summer. The sun hits the leaves directly, from 6-8p.m. and they never had any issues. I guess early morning and late evening are okay. But it all depends on the plant. As you said, there are Calatheas that are more fussy than others. My problem child is the Calathea picturata. It's beautiful with green and white leaves with red undersides that are velvety. Yes, only the undersides are velvety, I never had a plant like that. But it is pretty fussy, too much light, too little light, too warm, too cold. Well, I hope I can figure it out this year
what meter number do you use for your green orange plant? I started using the water softener trick when you recommended it, but I'm still struggling with leaves turning yellow brown and black. also would you happen to know if they do better if you separate them when they have more than one in the pot? I have 3 divisions I believe in a large pot. it's not rootbound I upsized to that pot about 6 months ago and it's a clear nursery pot.
Do you know about the new disease called mosaic disease. It is getting really hard to buy plants not knowing if the plant is has mosaic or variegated. Please help.
This exact thing is happening to my beloved zebrina and I’d just been trimming off the brown bits too. Good to know it’s okay to just remove the whole leaf.
My calathea orbifolia are my faves I love how they remind me of a candy cane. Do you have any hoya? Hoya video? Also having a hard time with my peace lily and monstera adonisii 🌿🌿 Thank you for awesome video as always!
Don't be afraid to lose hair if you put suit on then you would look like Jason sthatham and if you add little bit his accent then you would be sexy as Jason Statham. Balder is sexier
Do you have much of a set up for your plants outdoors? I move a lot of my plants outside during summer and my indoor plants almost become an afterthought 😅
Yeh I lost my alocasia polly after 2 weeks ! Only gave her filtered water an kept her in a warm well lit room . Which is my bedroom . But I never checked her roots when I bought her . 2 weeks later she went to plant heaven 😢did get 11 corms from her which am trying to grow now
I use reverse osmosis water for all my orchids and houseplants. Mostly my calatheas I use distilled water. I never use tap water. It killed some plants and orchids in the past until I realised that was the problem. I buy the water at 1 US dollar a gallon and I only go through 6 gallons of water a week or so. Eventually, I want to get a reverse osmosis system put in my house.
I have three thriving Calatheas and three Marantas. I keep them (together with many others that like it humid) in a room at 60-65% and 25°C at a west window with evening sun. As substrate I use a pon-seramis mix, thus avoiding overwatering and root rot, but the pH of the water has to be at 5-6 (tap water = 7,5). I use osmosis water and acidify with coffee strictly measured with a pH meter.
I have two calatheas and love them. I have a question though if anyone wants to throw some knowledge at me. I put my calathea Dottie into a terracotta pot (unglazed) because it was handy and an appropriate size. Then I've been seeing that terracotta isn't the best thing for calathea since it can wick so much moisture from the plant. I've had this plant about a month but I'm wondering if I should change pots or just let it be for now? The calathea sits next to an open top aquarium in a very humid room if that helps. I'm going to buy a moisture meter soon if not today lol, but I'd love some advice from anyone that has more experience with plants than me. So, basically anyone. 😂
Depends on how often you’re happy to water her 🚿 If you are an underwaterer or don’t want to water her as often then put her in a plastic pot, I repotted mine in a clear plastic pot so I can see when they need water and repotting 🚿🪴
@@SheffieldMadePlants thanks, and yeah I was worried about repotting so quickly sending the plant into shock or something. Love your channel, have learned a lot.
Just been to the local big Morrisons (Hillsborough) and picked up an Areca Palm for £6. It's only about 12 inches high but it comes with a cover pot too. They also had some larger ones too, which are about 3 or 4 feet all. I couldn't see how much they were, poor eyesight, but either £25 or £35
I use one drop of conditioner per liter of water. I recently started experiencing brown tips on some of my plants & got pretty upset. I was running low on Foliage Focus & somebody was banging on about Liqui Dirt, so I thought I’d give it a try. Mix it up a bit. Well, that was the culprit at half strength. I’ll personally never use it again. Foliage Focus & my Sansi grow lights had my plants singing.
Mine does fine on tap water. I get the odd browning here and there, but tons of new growth all the time. Luckily I live in a humid climate. Even in winter they hardly brown. If I cut a leaf, I cut the whole leaf off. Mine all thrive in low light too. I use cheap LED puck lights and it's perfect for them. I only water when fully dried out, about once ever 2 weeks.
Hello mister! I'm back with news about Josh, my orange seedling 🌱 He now has 14 leaves and has been growing well, except he tried to grow 3 leaves at once and 2 of them got discolorations spots near the stem, which is something that's never happened before. I figured it might have been because he needed to be fed I'll give more updates when his leaves grow up c:
Mr Sheffield i would recommend you to get Clivia miniata plant (did not see it on your videos). You always need some orange color between all that green, gives you great contrast... And it is surprisingly hardy, it can take temperatures all the way down to freezing, and looks happy if you let it dry but also handles wet soil. Keep it out of the sun, they love deep deep shade
Naively I bought a calathea ornata 3 weeks ago. She still looks fine. She lives about 2 m away from my east facing window in an angle where sunlight cannot catch her. I cross my fingers.
Wow great video. I don’t get them because I killed two of them. Lighting is a big problem in my home. Believe it or not I only have one outlet! I live in an old Victorian home in California. So it’s too much light or not enough. It’s good to know what to do if I try again.
Humidity seems to be the answer for all my plants (not cacti) also I love the moisture meter No more guessing I highly recommend it ! I use distilled water for watering (though we have no chlorine in our well water we do have very high minerals) I do think it burns the leaves as I have noticed no more brown tips-- the biggest problem plant I have ever had is my variegated spider plant I love calatheas (:
@@SheffieldMadePlants you should do it as part of your plant hobby. LOL. More leaves means more luck and prosperity and more money. 😁💲💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💲💲💲💲
That moisture meter did not work well for me. Even when took my potted plant out in the rain and water fill out the bottom water catcher. It stated it was dry but when I'm in the process of pushing it down, it states it was wet. It can maybe be I have loose soil with air pockets or it doesn't work with loose soil. It press on it with the soil it works. My mint plant are happy with that rain water.
For humidity control i dont use a humidifier but a planted tropical aquarium with no lids. It evaporates about 2.5 litres of water per day and my whole house stays at a very reliable 60% humidity
I have a calathea makoyana that I got this winter. It’s been a very happy little plant, but just last week showed some crispy brown tips on some leaves. I think maybe the air conditioner is drying out the room . Thanks for the tips!
Hi Richard, I love your videos and your funny humour. Could I have the measurements of the pot your jade plant is in please, diameter and depth. Thank you, Jane 😀
I have same problems with my leopardina. But she gives me mixed messages - she gave me a flower! Tiny yellow flower in the middle of the bush. But she keeps curling her leaves and some leaves keeps yellowing. I will keep experimenting with her, she is so pretty!
@@jonathanhutchinson6669 I bought her about 4 months ago, I keep her moist, pot on pebbles tray with water, I spray her every day to keep her in good humidity, but recently I moved her into draft free corner, hopefully that will help.
Funny that this video came out this week cuz I wanted to ask you if you know anything about the other prayer plant. It's even written on the bag of soil. I'm talking about Maranta. I keep trying cuz I love the red lines that go through the leaves, to no avail. I think I've killed at least 4 of them already. 🪦😭 Should I just give up?
I checked with the city and they told me chlorine really evaporates over 24h. It's fluoride that is harmful for plants. So if your city does not add fluoride to the water you don't need any conditioner! How wonderful is that.
As mentioned, there are dozens of other metal nasties in tap water which the conditioner neutralises. Like @KhaeLikeCoffee I also keep fish & ONLY use water from their tank, to water my plants which is really good for them (as long as the ph is between about 6 - 7 i.e slightly acidic) because it has been filtered by the fish tank filters, conditioned, warm (25C) & because fish waste converts into Nitrate, which plants use .... it is ideal for them instead of just throwing away.
@@Spyder6664 yep. My plants do seem happy with the aquarium water. Each aquarium also has a lot of live plants like anubias, crypts, cabomba, easy species lol. I use API fertilizer in the tanks once a month as well.
Excellent information as always Rich that I will use right away. Both my Mom's and my prayer plants are doing great but I suppose it's because we are on well water. My baby monstera leave is 1/3 open and a lighter green. My pereromia obtusifolia has 2 tiny buds coming. My alocasia polly in earth, 1 stem, has 4 browning spots starting on it BUT it has a new bud starting on it also. So lots of excitement going on here. Rich, all your plants and your home looks amazing. It must be a happy place to live. Peace.
You nailed this because we as the consumer, buying a Calathea Zebrina at a garden centre are not to blame either. You were doomed from the off, because unless you bought that plant the day it came into the garden centre or from an expert. At pretty most any garden centre the completely "non expert" manager tells "maybe part expert" employee, but most likely not (it's a job) to water the plants in their "section". What do they use? .... Tap water. Then you buy it. Looked good when you bought it. Days/weeks later hmmmmm. That is where the rot starts, we just have to make it right once we have it. Your welcome.
Thanks for another very informative video! I have to say, I'm now sitting here wondering where I can put an elgergrass in my living room. I see a spot...right in the middle of a smaller, round table. Wow, that's a gorgeous one! You're making me add to my plant wishlist. I've bookmarked that other video, but did take a peek. 6'6" - I had no idea. Good for you!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I have a question. I am not sure if you covered this before. I am planning to purchase some Lacewings. I have pests pretty controlled but i find that the thrips and spider mites keep coming back. I have a very busy schedule and have about 200+ plants scattered around my apartment. I usually take the infested plant into my bathroom and spray them with my homemade concoction. Now that my plants are bigger and heavier it’s increasingly difficult for me to take them to the tub each week for 6 - 8 weeks. Oh i live on the 4th floor so I can’t take them outside. My question is:- I am planning to buy some lacewings but I don’t think my pest issue is large enough to use all the amount they sell. How long can I keep the unused insects and how best to store them.
@@SheffieldMadePlants I did not realize I had to click on "Genius Plant Gadgets" I see it now. Thank you. Do you find it to be accurate? Did you have a chance to measure its accuracy?
I'm new to plants, and I couldn't figure out why they were not doing well. I made the plunge on the little 10w growlight with a clip for the shelf my plants are on and they are now growing. Getting the lighting right in your home is tough. What seems like enough really isn't. I've got babies now in 3 and 4 inch pots, but they now putting out new growth. Well, the watermelon pepperomia is on its last legs, but they seem to be notoriously fussy, so I'm not counting that one. Maybe need a video on when to send a plant to compost, lol.
Excellent video! As always, you are my go to as a beginner in this wild word of indoor plants. It oddly has many familiar ideas to my coral reef tank! Hey maybe that’s your next venture!!
This is just what I needed to keep the masochistic rollercoaster of trying to keep my calathea zebrina alive xD I managed to buy one that was infected with thrips and it was so unhappy. I watered it only with filtered water, did the water misting that was recommended, got a growlight and it was still barely hanging on to life. Ended up doing the only thing that worked against thrips for me. Now finally after months of observing and isolation I can proudly say managed to get rid of them on that one, though it already was too late as they spread everywhere fast. but that is a different issue. If I manage to get to the other side of my thrip issue I will now know what to do with my eternal problem child. I got it when I heard its pet safe and it was mentioned as an easy to take care of plant... Biggest lie in all existence. I feel those descriptions should mention where in the world it is easy to take care of xD Vietnam maybe as its extremely humid there
Do you have any tips on a parlor palms? Trying to bring them back from the brink of death. I got them seven years ago from a gift shop in Orlando. I grew them into beautiful big plants but eventually got lazy and stopped taking care of them. Now I’m getting back into plants and bonsai. I repotted them and keep them water. But one looks like it wants to fall over. Love from NJ
Question about moisture meters: Do you use the initial reading as you insert into the pot? Mine seems to always register dry, even if it read moisture for a split second.
Went to my Mom's after I spoke with you yesterday and here are 4 crazy updates. So the snake plant started this all 1 month ago remember and I left Mommy 1 stem that had a new sprout starting and she potted it. Remember Mommy(87 years old) has always believed in top watering and no holes in the pots. I KNOW. #1 snakeplant-now has 2 more sprout growing, that is 3 in under a month, she planted this in a huge pot(everything is backwards, that we are learning) #2 rabbitfoot prayer-has had 3 weeks and already transplanted it(it's almost a basketball) #3 red maranta prayer-I got and placed this in a hanger for her and to my amazement It has produced two 6inch long stems with pink flowers like the echeveria only leggier. #4 peacelily-she was complaining that the bottom leaves were all yellowing and there was some white stuff on another leave. I cleaned it up and to my surprise it has not 1 but 2 new white flowers coming up. Amazing. These plants, what she has had 3 weeks or so and I transplanted into pots with no holes. All her plants are so over-watered I really think it's God making her happy. Even the snake is wet. Have you ever heard of a prayer flowering? Peace.
Thank you for this insightful video. I saw one, just recently, where the lady recommended following the shape of the brown tip very closely but not cut it off all the way or else it’ll brown again. Have you tried that? Just wondering.
Another point: don’t you hurt the roots of the plant by sticking the moisture meter in a few different spots? I got my meter, but hesitant to use it because of this - I don’t want to ruin the roots. What will you say,Sheffield?
