Have I become a plant lady? No, not exactly. While my track record indicates I’m a plant-killer, I can now say with a certain degree of confidence that I’ve cracked the code when it comes to the fundamentals of prayer plant care (but not without a lot of trial and error). So for anyone who’s ever felt intimidated by caring for a finicky houseplant (prayer plants being among them), I’m proof that you can nurse it back to life and actually be good at caring for it. So this week, I’m popping in to share all I’ve learned after 1.5 years with my first prayer plant.

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Why Prayer Plants Are Finicky

When I brought home my first prayer plant (pet-friendly, btw), I had no idea it would become such a battle keeping it alive! It was the first live indoor plant we’d had in years (most of our previous cats saw plants as snack food). So when we brought it home, it was kind of exciting. Even owning a ‘prayer plant’ itself made it particularly special: its leaves naturally lower during the day and lift at night, almost like praying hands, which is how it gets its name.

And this little prayer plant of ours did well…at first.

But after just one month, it turned into one very sad, wilting plant that looked personally offended that I had been assigned to care for it 🙁 

Later, I learned why prayer plants are more sensitive than your average house plants:

• They like humidity (we live in Canada – enough said).
• They like indirect, dappled light (direct sun tends to scorch them).
• And they like the right kind of water (isn’t water just, well…water?).

Leave it to me to pick the most finicky of house plants!

BUT fast forward 1.5 years later, and I now have not one but TWO pretty healthy prayer plants, one of which is even flowering – a bit of a ‘gold star’ moment in the prayer plant world (more on that later).

Not too shabby for a plant-killer.

So if you own a prayer plant and wondered why it looks like it is slowly dying – no matter what you do – I’ve been there. Here’s what I’ve learned and what you can do to bring yours back to life just like I did.

 

3 Things That Almost Killed My Prayer Plant (Twice) & What I Did Instead

 

Mistake #1:  I Used Tap Water (and Ignored Everyone Who Said NOT To)

When I first brought my plant home, I read up on prayer plants and one of the first things I learned was that you should use rainwwater or distilled water – and I remember thinking: that seems excessive.

So I ignored it.

For about a month, nothing dramatic happened. Which made me feel vindicated. This is what it looked like on DAY 1 (and for a few weeks thereafter):

But then not long after that photo was taken, I started noticing:

• Leaves drooping sadly – all the time
• Some leaves starting to lose that deep green brilliance – not quite brown, but…

So, I began to experiment. I started by watering it more. When that didn’t work, I watered it less…Then watered it more…and so on. But no matter what I did, the result was the same: a sad, almost lifeless plant.

I finally realized that I needed to do something drastic. Well, not exactly drastic: I bought a jug of distilled water at my grocery store. 

You may be wondering, ‘Why is tap water not good for a prayer plant? It works for all my other plants.’

Here’s why: Tap water contains high levels of fluoride, chlorine and salts that are actually toxic to the root system of prayer plants and cause leaves to turn brown and dry out the leaf tips.

And this was the surprising result after switching over to distilled water – my prayer plant perked up again:

Unfortunately, I don’t have the ‘before’ photos of this process, but READ ON to see my next mistake on FULL DISPLAY.

You may think that this was the end of the lesson for me: You’d be wrong.

In fact, after propagating my prayer plant and transplanting some of the leaves into a new pot, I forgot (again) all about the whole distilled water thing and went back to tap water on BOTH PRAYER PLANTS.

While the original ‘mother’ plant did not immediately react, the newly propagated plant quickly showed signs of trouble:

• Leaves started yellowing and shriveling – fast
• A white film formed on the pot, saucer, and soil

I immediately switched back to distilled water, trimmed off the leaves – leaving just a couple of semi-healthy shoots – and hoped for the best.

NOW, OVER ONE YEAR LATER?

The new plant regrew its leaves – and then some – and is thriving. Even flowering.

So yes, it turns out, the internet was right after all (this time).

 

Mistake #2:  No Root Depth (and the Soil Wasn’t Helping Either)

After switching over to distilled water (the first time) and seeing my original plant (or ‘the mother plant”) perk up, it still looked a little…off. Not dying, but not thriving. 

It looked stretched. Leggy. A bit sparse, even.

And it took my husband (a definite green thumb) to help me see that my plant did not have enough soil depth to grow properly.

‘Oh!’ I thought. It never occurred to me that the pot it was in was just too shallow (when I tell you I am not a green thumb, this is a classic example). The roots had nowhere to go. So instead of growing full and compact, the plant started reaching outward and looking RATHER SCRAGGLY:

That’s when I made two changes at once: 

FIRST:  I moved the plant into a deeper pot – the roots now had a few inches below to stretch down.

NEXT: As I’ve mentioned, I propagated the plant, replanting some of the leaves growing on those leggy extensions into that second pot that looks like this today:

 

For the soil in both pots: I added a good indoor plant mix (any one of them will do) and began regularly adding a drop of a special liquid fertilizer each time I water.  I use a sample of a high-quality worm castings extract (given to us for free) and currently sold in bulk to farmers, though there are plenty of options for personal use you can explore online. 

Once the roots had space, and the soil had a TON of nutrients, both prayer plants started filling out again instead of stretching thin.

 

Mistake #3: Inconsistent Moisure (It Matters More Than You Think)

I initially thought that the main goal was to find the right balance between over- and under-watering. Prayer plants liked lightly moist soil – not too dry and not too soggy.

BUT, I hadn’t considered the pot it was in: terracotta.

While I love terracota pots, they BREATHE – which means they pull moisture out of the soil a lot faster than, say, a ceramic pot. In our home (especially during winter), that led the soil to dry out quicker than I realized.

But instead of finding a ceramic pot that I liked (harder than you think for this decor enthusiast), I simply adjusted how I used it: I SEALED THE OUTSIDE of it using this clay pot spray sealer.

I then WATERED A BIT MORE INTENTIONALLY: starting around the edges closest to the pot, then working my way inward to make sure everything was fully saturated. 

This is purely anecdotal as I’ve never seen anyone discuss this before. But I have to say, this method of starting from the outside in has kept the moisture level so much more consistent! I no longer see any trace of dried edges (unless I forget to water, of course).

Some might way: the spray sealer is what helped. Maybe. But I’ve been watering the same way with my propagated plant, too (after the disastrious episode with tap water fiasco) and it’s flourishing! This second pot has NOT BEEN SEALED – and it’s doing SO well:

Others online swear by small indoor humidifiers or keeping their prayer plants in bathrooms, but I didn’t want to make things complicated. Paying attention to how I watered – ensuring that the edges got special attention – has made such a difference in creating consistent moisture levels (even if some of that water escapes through the pot material).

But that’s just been my experience.

 

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Quick Prayer Plant Care Tips: Learn from My Mistakes

If your prayer plant is:

• Drooping (all day and night)
• Yellowing/Browning
• Drying/Curling Edges
• Leggy

It’s time to revive it. Here’s how:

• Use distilled water (most groceries and pharmacies will carry them) or rainwater, if you have access to it
• Water about once a week (adjust, depending on your home – some recommend every 2 weeks in more humid climates)
• Keep soil lightly moist – neither dry nor soggy
• Use ceramic pots (ideally), but if using terracotta (and other porous pots), water from the outside in ensuring full, even coverage
• Consider adding a gentle nutrient boost – like worm castings fertilizers – weekly or monthly

Here are a couple of articles (from the REAL experts) that may help you get started:

• Payer Plant (Maranta) Care Guide: Tips for Growing Vibrant Maranta
• Prayer Plant: Care & Growing Guide
• This video on Maranta Care Tips by YouTuber “Plants By Melissa” is also incredibly helpful. 

If you’re figuring out your own prayer plant as you go, you’re not alone! It’s a bit of trial and error, but once you find what works, it’s so satisfying. Especially if you’ve been known to kill a plant or two (past tense, of course ;)).

Happy planting,