Calathea Dottie - The Only Care Guide you Need

Calathea Dottie is one of the most unique plants you can come across. Calathea Dottie is often considered to be the gothic cousin of the Calathea family. The name stems from the dark pink foliage. It is similar to many other forms of the Calathea in that they can be hard to care for. These plants are particularly picky when it comes to conditions.

The Calathea Dottie is also known as the rose-painted Calathea, and it originates from the tropical region of the Americas. It is often referred to as a prayer plant, and while this might seem like something people don't understand, it has nothing to do with praying. However, the nature of the plant has it opening the leaves during the day for sunlight. It tends to be curled up at night. It is comparable to someone praying.

As mentioned, the Calathea Dottie is one of the fussy plants, and caring for it is not always easy. Many people have a hard time understanding the nature of the plant and how it should be cared for. However, the guide we created will give you some better information. Here is how you should consider caring for Calathea Dottie.

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General Care for Calathea Dottie

Giving you a wall of information to care for the Calathea Dottie is not always the right way to go. However, we have decided to break up the information into chunks that you can easily integrate into your care process. If you already have a successful care regimen, you can look to add some of these tips. However, the article is ideal for those just getting their hands on the plant:

Light

While most plants prefer to have some form of direct sunlight, the Calathea Dottie is not one of these plants. While it enjoys having sunlight, it prefers medium bright indirect sunlight. This means that you would want to start by keeping it indoors. You want it close to an area that will give it a bit of sunlight, but it should be protected.

One of the best places to place your Calathea Dottie is next to a window in a room that faces East or North. With the sun's movement, the plant will gradually receive some sunlight. However, direct sunlight is avoided. It also does not need sunlight during the hottest daytimes when the sun is burning at maximum capacity.

Water

Water is essential for almost any plant, and you should consider making sure that your plants are always adequately watered. The Calathea family of plants needs to be watered frequently. However, this does not mean that you should add water every day. Adding water once a week or when you notice the first two inches is dry should be sufficient.

Additionally, tap water might not be the best option for your plant. We have noticed that tap water can often seem hard on the plants, and it might be better to have filtered water. However, exotic locations in the United States have adequate water filtering, which means tap water should be fine.

Potting & Soil

The soil will be one of the vital factors when setting up the right conditions for the Calathea Dottie to flourish. You will need to water the plant often. It will ensure that the soil does not always get time to dry out. However, there are different soil types that you can rely on to get value for your money.

It is recommended that you consider a well-balanced form of potting soil that offers extensive draining. This can be in the form of draining holes located in the ground. Adding perlite to your soil mix is one of the main things you should consider. It is a granular white substance that will allow for aeration in the soil and improve drainage.

Fertilizer

By now, you might have noticed that the Calathea Dottie is finicky, and it can be daunting for some people to care for these plants. Fertilizer is one of the crucial ingredients you should consider when feeding your plants. However, for the Calathea Dottie, it is recommended that you dilute the feed.

It is also best to only feed the plant during the growing season. This means that you should avoid adding fertilizer during the winter months. Adding fertilizer too often or if the fertilizer is too strong could lead to the burning of the leaves.

Temperature

The Calathea Dottie is one of the plants that prefer having humid conditions. If you were wondering about temperatures, it is far better to keep the plant in warmer temperatures. Between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit is best. The hotter temperatures will enhance the growth. If the temperature is too cold, you will notice the leaves retracting. Long-term exposure could damage the plant.

However, you should avoid artificially enhancing the temperature of the room. Calathea Dottie does not like radiators or heaters. If you are using any of these items, you should carefully control the temperature from a distance. The air should never be too dry and this could lead to behaviors that mimic that of a drouth from the plant.

Humidity

One important part of caring for the Calathea Dottie is the humidity factor. We have touched on this during the temperature section. However, if the air around your plant dries out too much, the leaves might begin to crisp. Once the leaves crisp, they are vulnerable to being broken, and the color will tend to fade away.

Adding a humidifier to your room is often one of the best things you can do. The humidifier tends to control the temperature, and you will be able to create a damp and humid environment. However, you still need to keep an eye on the soil, and you don't want the ground to become or remain too soggy for significant periods.

If you are looking for an easy way to increase the humidity around your Calathea plant, check out these misters on Etsy, click here. If you have a Calathea Dottie in the room, the humidifier will ensure that the temperatures remain stable and ideal for the plant.

Pruning

Dealing with dead leaves is often part of growing your plants. However, nothing is more frustrating than looking at a plant with plenty of dead leaves. If you have dead spots on leaves, you might be better off removing the entire leaf. It should help the plant change the focus to promoting new leaves instead of holding onto the old leaves.

To do this, you should be careful not to damage the plant. The best way to go about pruning is to find the dead leaves and go down to the stem. Using a sharp knife or scissors, you should be able to remove the entire leaf. As mentioned, the plant will shift focus to promoting the new leaves, instead of the older dead ones.

Repotting The Calathea Dottie

Once you have made these divisions, you should repot them with fresh soil. As you might have picked up, the soil should dry rapidly. It means that good ventilation is crucial. Once you have them potted, you should expose them to reduced light until active growth starts. You can repeat this process every couple of years.

Diseases

Like many indoor plants, dealing with diseases is something you will need to get used to. The Calathea Dottie is not particularly prone to these diseases, but leaf-spot disease, root rot, botrytis, southern blight, and powdery mildew are a couple of diseases you might need to look out for. These could significantly damage the plant.

The most common disease found in the Calathea Dottie is root rot. Root rot comes from overwatering the plant, and when your pot soil does not adequately drain the water from the roots. Instead of having the soil soggy, you should focus on keeping the soil moist, which should keep the plant growing effectively.

Pests

While pests will depend on the placement of your plant and where you are located, spider mites are one of the most common pests found on these plants. It is often hard to even notice that spider mites have moved in. Unfortunately, it means that you will probably recognize that they have moved in when it is too late.

Insecticidal soap and neem oil are two of the main options you have. These should help to make sure that the spider mites die. However, you don't want to use any harsh pest killers. Unfortunately, the Calathea Dottie is an extremely delicate plant, which means it could succumb to powerful insecticides.

How To Propagate Calathea Dottie

As you might have guessed by now, the Calathea Dottie is one of the fussiest plants. However, you might want to propagate the plant occasionally to ensure that it can continue to grow or have more of the plant. Here is how you should proceed when you decide to propagate your Calathea Dottie:

Division When Repotting

Repotting of the Calathea Dottie takes place during the spring months. This is the time before the plant springs into action and blooms for the summer. However, it is the perfect time to propagate the plant.

When repotting, you should look for a couple of natural separations that form along with the roots. These separations should already be loose, which means that a gentle tug can often pull them apart. Once you have some of these divisions, you should be as gentle as possible to ensure that it does not damage and take them apart from the root.

Why You Should Propagate A Calathea Dottie

Aside from having more Calathea plants, the Calathea Dottie can rapidly outgrow the pot. This is especially found when you care for the plant actively and you keep it in the right temperature and conditions. To ensure that growth continues and give you more of the plant, propagation is necessary to give the plant new and fresh breathing room.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our care guide should make it easy for the most basic of beginners to care for the Calathea Dottie. However, there might still be a couple of lingering questions. We have done some research to find these questions. Here are some of the answers to common questions you might have about the Calathea Dottie:

Why Are The Leaves Of My Calathea Dottie Turning Yellow?

The Calathea Dottie wants consistent watering, and this might force you to have a schedule when it comes to watering the plant. Yellow leaves are a telltale sign of overwatering the plant.

Why Are The Leaves Of My Calathea Dottiebrown?

While there could be numerous reasons like overwatering the plant, tap water is the main issue. Tap water contains salts and chlorine, which is not ideal for Calathea Dottie. You can rectify this by switching to filtered water.di

Is The Calathea Dottie Toxic?

While many indoor plants can be toxic to humans and pets when ingested, the Calathea Family is one of the nontoxic plants. The plant is fine for most people and should not pose any threat to your pets or children.

Why Is My Calathea Dottie Wilting?

If you find that the leaves on your Calathea Dottie are wilting or drooping, it is a common sign that the plant is thirsty. The plant needs consistent water to ensure it stays on course and healthy.

What Are The Black Spots On My Calathea Dottie?

Much like the brown edges on the Calathea Dottie, black spots are a sign of mineralized water. As mentioned, the water in your tap is full of different minerals, and these are not healthy for the Calathea Dottie. Using filtered water is often a better choice.

Why Are Calathea Dottie Leaves Curling?

Dehydration is one of the main reasons for the leaves curling up. However, they tend to curl up at night, which has led to the nickname of the “prayer plant”. The Calathea Dottie tends to curl up to prevent further water loss.

How Do You Revive A Dying Calathea Dottie?

Reviving the Calathea Dottie is one of the main things that you can do. You will need to ensure that the soil is in optimal condition and the plant needs indirect sunlight. Ensure that the plant has plenty of water and the draining is optimal.

Is The Calathea Dottie An Indoor Plant?

The Calathea Dottie is one of the most impressive plants and has a natural appeal. The plant is designed for indoors and will never need to be repotted outside. However, you might need to propagate it every couple of years.

Wrap-Up

The Calathea Dottie is one of the most enigmatic plants of the Calathea Family. The plant has a sensual appeal that can be attractive and also set the mood significantly. It is not a harsh plant and you will be able to have some fun when growing the plant. Follow our care guide and everything should work out for you and the Calathea Dottie.