Prayer Plant also known as Maranta Leuconeura is known for its pattern-shaped leaves and foilage however the plant is sensitive and very particular about its conditions. When the correct needs of the plant are not met Maranta Prayer plant leaves start turning brown and while it is alright to see occasional leaf turning brown on the tip if a lot of them are turning brown then it means there is a problem and you have to work out How to fix it. This article covers why prayer plant leaves turn brown on tips and how to save the plant from dying. If instead of leaves turning brown your plant has the problem of prayer plant leaves turning yellow see our other article. All the tips in this article are applicable to all the plants in the Marantaceae family which means Calathea, Stromanthe, and Cetanthe besides Maranta.
Causes of Prayer Plant Leaves Turning Brown
Maranta Prayer plant leaves tips can turn brown due to lack of moisture, insufficient humidity, under watering, excess sunlight, and fertilizer salt buildup. Let’s see all the causes and their fixes in detail.
Watering Unevenly
The most common occurrence of brown leaves of the prayer plant is only the tips getting brown and the rest of the leaves being green this is because of uneven watering of the plant. Due to uneven watering of the soil, only the tips of the plant will look brown and crisp while the rest of the plant will be fine. When you are watering the plant what might be happening is that the soil is not evenly getting wet and the way to fix this problem is to ensure that you water the plant thoroughly until water runs out through drainage holes of the pot.
Lack of Moisture
Maranta Prayer plant usually likes soil with good moisture but not soil that is waterlogged. The ideal approach is to water twice a week but before watering always check if the soil is dry or moist and only water if the soil feels dry.
If you feel that you are only watering twice a week and still the plant has soil that feels moist then check the drainage and see if the plant needs to be repotted. If the prayer plant feels rootbound then you should definitely change the pot.
If the plant is not rootbound another issue could be the potting mix and you can add coconut coir to the soil which can help increase the retention of moisture in the soil. Both peat moss and coconut coir serve the same purpose of slightly acidic soil that can retain moisture.
Tap Water being hard & impure
If the tap water you are using to water your plant is hard and contains chemicals like chlorine and fluoride then the edges and tips of your prayer plant leaves will start turning brown. Usually, Tap water consists of added chemicals, and sometimes they can prove tough for your plant. This can also happen even if you’re using well water as that is prone to the same problems. The best solution to save your plant, in this case, is to use distilled water, filtered tap water, or rainwater.
Fertilizer salt getting buildup
When the maranta prayer plants are fertilized then the salts of your fertilizer end up sitting in your pot. Prayer plant is very sensitive about facing chemicals and salt and when there is a salt buildup in your pot the salt will start competing with soil for moisture and will end up dehydrating your plant which will in turn show up as burns on leaves or prayer plant leaves tips turning brown. This is a tricky problem that first requires you to dilute your fertilizer before applying it and secondly requires you to spend time every few months to remove fertilizer salt from the pot.
To flush fertilizer salt from the pot use fresh water to drench your plant 3 to 4 times one after another until the water comes out of the drainage holes of the pot. This process of using water multiple times will lead to salt buildup getting reduced. If the problem is not solved by flushing water through the pot then you will have to repot your plant.
Frequent feeding of fertilizer usually leads to a buildup of salt so take care that you only feed your maranta prayer plant every two weeks and that too with a liquid and soluble fertilizer.
Insufficient Humidity
Prayer plants when kept indoors need to be kept in an average humidity range of 40 to 60% and if the humidity levels in your house are lower then the tips of your plant leaves will turn brown. You might need to buy a hygrometer to measure humidity. These plants are tropical and enjoy high humidity and while you can still maintain humidity in summer its winter when this problem usually shows up more. In winter we usually have a heating system throwing hot air around the house which will make your room drier and so you need ways to increase humidity.
To increase humidity for your plant we suggest that you Mist the plant daily with a spray bottle and use the setting on a fine mist to increase humidity for the plant or use a Humidifier or a misting tray. With a misting tray, you place a tray full of water under your plants and it evaporates which helps increase the humidity of the plant. Instead of using a misting tray, you can use any container or tea cup also.
If you have sunlight you can also shift the plant to more humid areas of your house like a kitchen or a bathroom. You can also keep your prayer plant along with a bunch of houseplants together so that while staying in the group humidity increases for all the plants.
Always take care to mist the plant only in the morning so that the plant has time to dry out by night time else a moist plant at night will invite bacteria and fungi.
Too much Exposure to Direct Sunlight
If your prayer plant is exposed to too much direct sunlight then the sun may be burning the leaves of your plant and turning them brown. The ideal conditions for your prayer plant are bright and medium but indirect sunlight which means they need dappled sunlight and not direct sunlight. If you have been keeping your plant near bright south or west-facing windows you should move your plant away a few feet from the window or move to other windows to help avoid brown leaves.
Too Hot or Too Cold Temperatures
High temperatures just like too much sunlight can also cause browning of the leaves. You should not place your plant near south and west-facing windows as well as any place having a lot of heat like the fireplace or top of the refrigerator or near stoves.
You should also avoid placing the plant in too cold conditions like near doors or windows and chimneys which have drafts during winter as that can also cause browning of prayer plant leaves.
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