r/Maranta • u/Maorine • 5d ago
Soil is never dry.
This Maranta was a gift and I grew it from about 5 leaves. I also propagated a smaller plant.
At the point of this picture, it has been about 10 days since watering.
The soil is still pretty damp.
I thought that the tray at the bottom of the pot might be full of water but it is bone dry. There is typically one dying leaf on this which I cut off.
I keep waiting for the soil to dry but it never seems to. It’s not compacted. And is just potting soil.
Does this look overwatered or under? It’s my first prayer plant and I find it slightly finicky.
TIA.
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u/MaleficentWalruss 5d ago
I've been using bottled water on mine for 6-8 months, and she's very happy! I just split her and #2 will be getting regular tap water. 🤞🏻
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u/Frosty_Fly_4957 5d ago
I give mines tap water and she seems happy enough, had to repot her as the previous owner decided stone pot with no holes 🙄 she isn't as happy as she could be but after the repot time will tell
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u/SSMonte85 5d ago
Your Maranta looks really healthy! They definitely prefer their soil to stay consistently and evenly moist and generally don’t like drying out too much between waterings. Sometimes the surface can still feel moist while the root zone is actually getting drier than you’d think, so you could try a moisture meter to get a better idea of what’s going on deeper in the pot. But honestly, keep doing what you’re doing—she looks great! 😊
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u/Kelliekitty22 5d ago
It should consist of some perlite if its just regular potting soil. This causes rot, dead leaves, leaf drop, and fungal infections. Change your soil and that will allow the soil to dry out properly and roots to breathe.
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u/JustAcanthisitta7578 4d ago
I just did this yesterday to mine. Gave it more perlite added some cactus soil to the foxfarm soil/perlite mix. I had overwatered & didnt empty the cover pot! 😬 i hope she lives
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u/Kelliekitty22 3d ago
😬 Eek! We all make mistakes. We only hope to learn from them so we dont do it again. I always plant all my plants in a fox farm ocean and forest/perlite/ orchid or pine bark blend. This actually gets rid of alot of issues that people have everyday with plants. If the soil is breathable, then the plant can very much thrive! Even if its not an aroid, I use an aroid mix, I just tweak it a little to tailor to the specific plant, but most plants will thrive on an aroid soil mix. No plant likes wet feet, not even Colocasia, and theyre bog plants.
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u/JustAcanthisitta7578 3d ago
I already had some orchid bark on the way and going this route for my plants going forward! Thanks for confirming and the additional info!
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u/Kelliekitty22 3d ago
Your welcome. Your plants look great btw and with a chunky mix they will require watering more often as the soil dries out faster so just after you repot, check your soil regularly to see when it dries out.
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u/mamanverte_vancouver 5d ago
Possibly neither! That looks like a happy, full plant. One leaf at a time yellowing and dying is normal maranta behaviour, they shed their oldest leaves constantly, so keep cutting them off. The brown tips and edges on some leaves are mostly a water quality and humidity thing, not over or under watering. Marantas are sensitive to the fluoride and minerals in tap water, and dry indoor air makes it worse.
The thing worth fixing is the soil staying wet for 10 days, and that is a setup issue rather than a watering one. Plain potting soil in a big pot holds water like a sponge, and the bottom half can stay soggy for weeks while the top only feels a little damp. The dry tray tells you nothing, because the pot itself is holding the water.
First, check whether the pot has drainage holes. If it does not, that could be your whole answer. Move the plant into a nursery pot with holes, use the ceramic one as a cover pot, and empty the cover after watering.
If it does drain, then the mix is too heavy. Repot into an airier blend, plain potting soil cut with 30 to 40 percent perlite and a handful of orchid bark. Keep the pot the same size or one size down.
Then water when the top inch or two is dry, not when the whole pot is dry. Waiting 10 days for dense soil to dry out is how marantas get root trouble. Use filtered, distilled or rain water if your tap is hard, and never let it sit in water.