Calathea lancifolia
Quick answer
Brown, crispy tips on your rattlesnake plant have a few possible causes, and on this plant the likeliest is dry air. The full list is below.
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How to tell
Just the very tips and edges go brown and papery while the rest of the leaf is fine. This is most common in winter with the heating on, and rattlesnake plant prefers 60–80% humidity.
The fix
Raise humidity: group plants together, sit the pot on a tray of damp pebbles, or run a humidifier. Misting helps only briefly.
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How to tell
Rattlesnake plant is one of the more sensitive houseplants to fluoride and salts in tap water, so tips brown slowly over months even with otherwise good care. Fluoride injury can appear without any visible crust. A white crust on the soil surface or the pot rim shows mineral or fertilizer salts, not fluoride specifically.
The fix
Switch to rainwater or distilled water and flush the pot occasionally to wash out built-up salts.
How to tell
The soil dries out hard between waterings, so the tips (the last to get water) crisp first.
The fix
Water more evenly: check the soil regularly and don’t let it go completely bone dry, then soak thoroughly.
How to tell
Tips brown within a week or two of feeding, sometimes with a white crust on the soil surface or the pot rim. It follows feeding too often or too strong.
The fix
Flush thoroughly with plain water and feed less often, always diluted.
How to tell
Dry brown patches or scorched edges show up where strong sun hits the leaf. Rattlesnake plant wants bright, indirect light.
The fix
Move it back from the glass, or filter the strongest sun with a sheer curtain.
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