Not sure what this plant is, a friend from work gave it to me and it had fungus in the soil. I have repotted with new soil and fertilized. I have noticed that the leaves have brown spots and are curling when I first water it it seems to open up and very quickly curls back up at first I thought it was over-watering now I'm wondering if it's under watering and I'm overall just confused. Any help would be appreciated, also I have noticed small black gnats? Hanging around my plants, should I be worried?

Hmmm...Could it be a calathea of some form? Or--a Philodendron?

Your small, black gnats are Fungus Gnats. They live and propagate (as larvas) in moist/wet soils.
First step is to keep your soil on the dry side. 2--put sharp sand or powdered up egg shells on top pf the soil. Best would be "Diatomaceous Earth" which is powdered silica.
See what the article can do to help you--or--Google "eliminating Fungus Gnats from houseplants.

http://www.metacrawler.com/met...

Gita

It's definitely one of the Calatheas. Of all the plants that I have ever tried to grow the Calathea is at the top of the my list as one of the most difficult. For a Calathea to thrive as a house plant, high humidity, warm temperatures and lots of water are needed. Your plant is suffering from lack of one or more of those things. I love these plants (particularly the Peacock) and wish I could keep them looking good but atlas this is now a summer annual on the porch for me. The lack of humidity in the house as been their downfall for me.

gitagal said:Hmmm...Could it be a calathea of some form? Or--a Philodendron?

Your small, black gnats are Fungus Gnats. They live and propagate (as larvas) in moist/wet soils.
First step is to keep your soil on the dry side. 2--put sharp sand or powdered up egg shells on top pf the soil. Best would be "Diatomaceous Earth" which is powdered silica.
See what the article can do to help you--or--Google "eliminating Fungus Gnats from houseplants.

Gita

Thank you so much, I will definitely look into this more, I really appreciate the help! I started with the peroxide solution and will get what you suggested with a good dry out session!

TennesseeDave said:It's definitely one of the Calatheas. Of all the plants that I have ever tried to grow the Calathea is at the top of the my list as one of the most difficult. For a Calathea to thrive as a house plant, high humidity, warm temperatures and lots of water are needed. Your plant is suffering from lack of one or more of those things. I love these plants (particularly the Peacock) and wish I could keep them looking good but atlas this is now a summer annual on the porch for me. The lack of humidity in the house as been their downfall for me.

I seem to lack the humidity I think I need. I think you are right, I think it's the humidity and my husband keeps it a but cool for me! I will try to fix this, Thank you!

Jeanie - Your Calathea's roots were damaged during the repotting and that is why it is hard for you to get a handle on watering it. The potting mix that you used was contaminated with fungus gnat larvae, which feed on decaying organic matter such as compost and bark chips, as well as rotting roots.

You can try to keep it as is and allow the soil to dry as deep into the pot as possible to deprive the gnat larvae of the moisture they need to survive. As a more serious alternative, you can gently undo the repotting by removing the soil that you added. Then, put the original rootball into a pot that is just barely large enough to hold it snugly. Fill in any spaces with a soilless peat-based potting mix. You can make your own by mixing 4 parts of peat moss with 1 part perlite.

She is slowly getting better but I like the idea. I think I'll get supplies and try this. I have the gnats fially gone with a peroxide water mix, potatoes and adding some dry on top. It's also not had any additional water since. But this may help my baby perk back up. I have now got a new sprout or two showing, I'm really excited