How To Revive A Prayer Plant

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Prayer plants are among the most preferred houseplants because of their big, showy leaves, so if they are dying, you should learn how to revive a prayer plant.

The prayer plant is an eye-catching houseplant admired and treasured by many indoor garden lovers. But this tropical plant is not as easy to care about as other houseplants are. Prayer plant needs your continuous attentiveness and diligence.

Prayer plants might start withering if not given the appropriate care and attention. If your prayer plant has already begun to wither and provide you subtle clues of dying, don’t worry.

In this short guide, we’ll discuss all the potential problems and most effective solutions to revive your prayer plant.

Revive Prayer Plant – Potential Problems & Solutions

Before discussing the solutions to why your prayer plant is wilting, remember one key point reviving a prayer plant is not an overnight process.

Reviving a prayer plant will need your utmost consideration and understanding of the fundamental nature of the plant.

Below are the best possible problems of why your prayer plant is wilting, showing brown leaves, or might have dying roots

1. Too Little or Too Much Water

Underwatering or over-watering can be the prime reasons your prayer plant is near death. Underwatering and overwatering can cause severe complications in the growth and proper functioning of the prayer plant.

Underwatering can cause the leaves to turn crunchy brown and eventually wither. Overwatering means watering your prayer plant more than it requires for proper functioning and growth.

This can rot the roots of your prayer plant and disturb the overall functioning of the plant.

Solution

Your pot soil must be evenly moist during the summer for the prayer plant’s proper growth. Dig your finger in the potting mix soil to know when to water them. If your soil is moist, wait for it to dry and then water it. Check your soil moisture with a moisture meter, we love this one because it doesn’t need a battery and gives detailed readings.

2. Tap Water

Another reason your prayer plant might be dying is tap water. The prayer plant’s edges turn brown and wither because of the high salt content in the tap water. All species of prayer plants are sensitive regarding salt and mineral content in the water.

Solution

Tap water has higher salt and mineral content than distilled water, rainwater, or well water. Therefore, it is recommended to water the prayer plant with distilled water, rainwater, or well water. Don’t freak out if you see brown edges around your prayer plant.

It is common for prayer plants to have brown edges; cut off the brown edges with sharp shears. These sharp shears are perfect for indoor plants, stylish and sharp.

NOTE: Cutting off the brown edges won’t do anything for reviving a prayer plant; it will merely enhance the aesthetic look of the plant.

3. Too Bright or Too Dark

Prayer plants, in general, are tropical plants and don’t require bright direct light. Many species of prayer plants get dried out because of direct bright sunlight. Whether you have Maranta, Stromanthe, Calathea, Ctenanthe, or any other prayer plant species, they all are sensitive to direct sunlight.

All species of prayer plants, in general, are low-light tolerant tropical plants. The direct sunlight will make the prayer plants’ leaves lose their luster and eventually dry them out completely.

Similar to bright direct sunlight, placing Prayer plants in too dark areas can also cause them damage. Putting your prayer plant in an overly dark area will be a tragic mistake.

The plant will be deprived of sunlight for proper functioning and growth. The plant won’t produce food for plants through photosynthesis, where sunlight plays a significant role.

Your prayer plant will eventually die when not met with enough food and nutrient distribution.

Solution

To address this problem, place your prayer plant in places where they can indirectly get a moderate amount of sunlight.

If you have windows facing south, simply place your prayer plant slightly away from them.

Keep an eye on your prayer plant and see whether it is getting accustomed to the amount of sunlight you provide.

4. Humidity

Being tropical plants, prayer plants thrive best in moderate or high humidity. Low humidity can be the cause of why your prayer plant is about to die or wither.

This happens mostly when you place your prayer plants in areas where the heat is high, and humidity is low. This mistake is a common practice among new prayer plant owners.

Solution

To provide your prayer plants with high humidity, buy a humidifier. Another way is to place them on a stone frame filled with water.

If you are unsure whether your prayer plant has enough humidity, buy a humidity meter. Test the humidity level around the plants.

Once you have a clear picture, address the problem by placing a humidifier around your Prayer plant.

Additional Tips On Reviving a Prayer Plant

This plant is home to common pests such as aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites. And these pests primarily attack the plant’s leaves, absorbing all of the nutrients.

They occasionally leave honeydew on the plant, which causes sooty mold. If you are in this situation, best is to use pesticides.

If you find dead leaves and branches around prayer plants, be informed that they provide the majority of the nutrients the plants require. So what you can do is to feed the plant the necessary fertilizers to help it recover quickly.

Pruning dead leaves is simple; simply remove any brown, yellow, broken, or damaged leaves with scissors or gardening shears.

You’ll also need loose, well-draining soil that’s slightly acidic to grow a dying prayer plant. You can do this by combining equal parts peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite.

Just remember that it is critical to keep your soil consistently moist but not soggy for optimal growth.

Repotting Prayer Plant

Transport your prayer plant into a freshly filled soil pot to revive it. After taking out the prayer plant from the old pot, check the dead roots. The vital sign of dead roots is the funky odor, or they look entirely dried out.

If you find any dead roots, carefully cut them apart from other roots. Place the prayer plant into the new pot and cover the pot’s surface with some pebbles.

After this, cut the dead or crunchy rust-colored prayer plant leaves with sharp scissors or shears. Once the new pot is set, timely water the leaves of your Prayer plant.

NOTE: Remember not to water the leaves of your Prayer plants in the evening, as water drops can cause fungus overnight on the leaves.

Conclusion

As said earlier in the article, reviving a prayer plant is not an overnight process. Keep your prayer plant’s soil evenly moist, and provide them moderate indirect sunlight, high humidity, and love.

The plant will slowly but surely revive with lustrous, showy leaves.

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