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In May I was given a planter that included a prayer plant, an orchid and a fern. The prayer plant is slowly dying. The leaves dry out even though the soil around it is moist. Any ideas why? The fern and orchid seem to be OK.
I've personally found this plant to be one of the pickier ones. My first one died. But I think this was bcz I let the soil dry out too many times. This plant likes moist soil and high humidity. My 2nd one I've had several months now and it doing well. I potted it in an organic, sand mix in a self watering planter placed in my bathroom. I even had it in a shady spot outside on the North side of my home and it did well.
I got self watering planters at Lowes and my local Price Chopper grocery store. My plants that I put in these planters are the most healthy, continuing to grow the best! I want to have self watering planters for all my plants. Highly recommend them.
Prayer plants are notoriously picky... but I still love growing them. The biggest thing to remember in keeping these guys alive is that they *love* humidity. I have a cutting that I took from a larger plant approximately six to seven months ago in my bathroom that is now half the size of the original plant I took it from. It's at an angle to a skylight so its in a bright (but not direct) sunny location. I water it every two weeks or so -- allowing the soil to dry a little between waterings because past experience taught me too much water can kill these guys as well.
If at all possible you should pot it in a well draining soil - prepackaged African Violet soil is 'airy' enough that it will do the trick in a pinch. When considering a pot try not to go too deep since that increases the likelihood of the soil retaining water and slowly but surely leading to root rot.
