We all want perfect plants in our home, and it can be a real pain in the bum when problems start to rear their ugly head. You know the ones, don’t you? Brown leaf tips, yellowing, wilting, mushy leaves, stunted growth, small leaves… the list goes on and on and on, enough to make you pack it all in, isn’t it? The problem is, of course, that it can feel like an impossible task identifying what the problem is and how to fix it. Well, my plant friend, this article is here to help.
I’m going to cover all the most common plant problems that succeed in making us miserable, why they happen, and most importantly, what we can do about them.
My absolute number one bugbear when it comes to my green leafy pals is, without doubt, brown tips on the leaves. I hate, hate, hate it! Seriously, it causes me no end of stress. Can I get an amen? Most folks think this is down to a lack of humidity, but sadly, for us, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Yes, humidity can most definitely be an issue, but not necessarily a lack of humidity. It’s more inconsistent humidity. Plants don’t like going from wet to dry to wet to dry; it makes their leaves crisp up like, uh, well, a crisp, I guess. It’s why this tends to happen most in winter with all that dry air swirling around from radiators. The remedy here is to keep plants well away from radiators and drafts. Of course, brown leaf tips seem to affect certain plants more than others, right? Yes, calatheas. Well, in my experience, this is normally down to the water you’re giving them. Yes, tap water. Calatheas are sensitive souls and don’t much like the slow buildup of chlorine in the soil from the tap water you regularly feed them.
So, those are the big hitters when it comes to this annoying plant trait. But other things like overwatering and underwatering can certainly be contributing to this. The solution to this is fairly simple: water only when the soil is dry, but don’t wait too long so that your plant is living in Saharan sand. He really won’t appreciate it. And to monitor your green soil, get yourself a moisture meter. It’s a game-changer, and I absolutely adore mine.
The second most common cause of hair loss in the plant community is yellowing leaves. Honestly, I’m not bitter; it’s just facts. Anyway, we’ve all had a plant inexplicably turn yellow or pale, haven’t we? And it sure can be hard to figure out why. Well, most of the time, it’s due to nutrient deficiency. This should be your first port of call. No, no, no, wait, don’t panic. It’s not as complicated as it might sound. It just means that the plant is having a hard time drawing nutrients from the soil through the roots, and the result of this is fading of the color of the leaves. So why does this happen, then? Well, there are three common problems: not giving your green buddies enough snacks, overwatering, and root-boundness. Root-boundness— is that even a word? What it is now, I guess. Not fertilizing your plant, giving it too much water, or his roots all being tied up in knots means he can’t access the nutrients he needs to grow fit and healthy. So, put your fella on a feed schedule using any houseplant feed you want, check he’s not living in a swamp, and pull his trousers down and check those private parts haven’t got out of control. This should go some way to solving your yellowing problem.
If you’re a good guy or gal and all those things are in order, then too much or too little sun could also be an issue, or even being too generous with the fertilizer dosage. Lots of things to get stuck into then, my plant friend.
Now, do you have a plant or two in your collection that you look at and just can’t understand why the new leaves keep getting smaller and smaller? This is super common, so try not to get too frustrated. Check out my rather spiffing mix posos planter here. I say it looks spiffing, but this is only to the untrained eye. On closer inspection, you’ll notice that the newest leaves are coming out small. The reason for this is fairly simple and is based on where he lives—yeah, stuck right behind this massive calathea. This means he ain’t got a good view of the sky. I really do need to move him to a brighter spot if I want to get the best out of him, but the trouble is, I’m running out of room, so a problem for another day. Sorry, mate.
Anyway, problems with the roots can also cause this sort of thing. A plant that’s root-bound will have a hard time drawing on nutrients in the soil, so new leaves will continue to come out smaller. The solution is simple, then: repot into a bigger pot.
So, what’s happening when your little green pal is looking like he wants to give up the ghost? Yes, wilting. You wake up one day only to find your plant all of a sudden needs a zop frame to stand upright. Luckily for us, the problem is usually quite easy to identify and fix because it normally revolves around watering. Yes, that pesky watering that every plant influencer bangs on about, including yours truly. You don’t need me to tell you that if you never water your plant, it’ll end up looking like a droopy mess, and to fix that, you should, well, you know, give it some water. But don’t fall into the trap of just assuming it’s an underwatering issue. You see, the killer is that the symptoms of underwatering and overwatering are pretty darn similar—enough to trick even the most experienced plant caregivers. And it makes sense, really. Too little water, and there’s no juice left in the tank to keep everything upright. But too much water, and things start to go soft, weaken, and fall over. So, before you do anything, check the soil. If it’s wet, then you’ve not been checking the soil before watering, like a naughty child. But all is not lost, though. Just get a moisture meter. Did I mention that already? It’s in my Amazon store, by the way. Overwatering is the starting point for a root rot, so I’d have a look at the roots and see if anything is turning black and mushy. Give it the nose test, too—stinky, and you’ve got problems. The remedy is to cut it out, spray with hydrogen peroxide, and repot into nice, fresh soil and a clean pot. The plant should recover, fingers crossed. If, however, your watering is on point, then something more sinister might be happening. Yes, I’m talking pests. Sap-sucking suckers like spider mites and thrips can seriously weaken your plant and make it droop. Give your little green mister a full medical by checking in all the nooks and crannies for anything that looks like it shouldn’t be there. A good sign of pest damage is mottling of the leaves where the little gits have been munching away at the leaf sap. these tiny beasts.
In a similar vein to wilting, we also have weak or floppy stems. You know, a stem that just seems too frail for the leaves it’s trying to support. Again, watering would be a safe bet to check that, but it might also just be genetics. Lots of our beloved plants are climbers in the real world. We’re talking Monstera, Philodendron, among others. They normally hoist themselves higher up in the jungle by gripping onto a host tree—resourceful little buggers, aren’t they? If you’ve not given your climber something to, you know, climb up, then he ain’t going to look like the smartest guy in the room, far from it. Give him a walking stick, like I did to my variegated Monstera, or even a moss pole to sprout up. Other than that, insufficient light could be causing this floppy nonsense, too.
So, what about leaf drop then? What on Earth could be causing your leafy pal to be losing all his leaves at an alarming rate? Again, watering problems are a good place to start, mainly underwatering. An underwatered plant will kick into survival mode and shed leaves to conserve energy and stop water loss, hoping you’ll finally come around to giving it a drink. And if you don’t, then it’s good night, Vienna. Now, have you ever brought a plant home from the store, sat it on your windowsill, and watched in horror as it lost all its leaves over the next couple of weeks? Distressing, isn’t it? Was it chilly outside when you bought it, and was it wrapped up by the shop assistant? You see, our little green pals hail from the tropics and grew up basking in the lovely warm sunshine all their lives. Lucky things. And they’re just not used to the chilly temperatures of our winters. Expose them to the cold when bringing them home, and boom—leaf drop. Sit them next to an external door that gets opened often, and boom—leaf drop. Get the idea? Other than that, you’ve got pests, as well as root rot from overwatering that could easily be causing leaf drop. So, check for pests, as I mentioned before, and have a little look at his private parts for rot.
A classic question I get: Why are my leaves curling? And my answer is always the same: How dry is the soil? Leaf curling is very often a case of underwatering. This is exactly how a plant protects itself from us not doing as we promised and actually giving it some water. A well-watered plant will stand proud, almost like he’s flexing that he’s got a well-meaning plant parent. This proud stance means water evaporates from the leaf surface area. Not a problem at all if you have a doting plant parent. Well, if you don’t, then you start to stand less proud, curl in on yourself, and try to reduce evaporation as much as possible. The crux of it is this: give him some water. Good thing you don’t pay for these tips, eh? Excessive heat can also contribute to this, too. On the rare occasions we have a heatwave here in good old Sheffield, I become extra doting and make sure they’re not suffering from heatstroke. That just means drawing the curtains to keep the sun at bay and upping my watering game. Trust me, giving your plant a bit more water than normal in times of a heatwave won’t equal overwatering. Overwatering is the prolonged saturation of roots that takes weeks, if not months, to really kick in.
So, yeah, stuck leaves that just don’t want to unfold. Philodendrons do this all the time, especially the infamous Melanochrysum. He’s called Melanochrysum, really, but I just gave him that moniker because… well, just look. Every damn time a new leaf comes, this happens. The problem? Humidity, apparently. And it makes sense. This issue plagues my house most in winter with all the radiators going on and off every day and all that dry air swirling around. So, the solution is to keep your fussy buggers away from the radiators and give the new leaves a spritz with water a few times a day to help them along. Either that or lobbing it in the bin to save all the palaver. I’ll leave that decision with you.
What about those lasses that are all legs, then? Yes, having a leggy specimen in your home is not a clever look, is it? When I say leggy, I just mean the gap between the leaves is big, and the stem is looking sparse. Firstly, it depends on the plant. Some plants are just born this way. The Philodendron varicosum is the perfect example. Compared to most other Philodendron, the gap between the leaves is usually pretty big, and this is normal. And no amount of hair-pulling will change this. Have this issue on a Monstera, and it usually only means one thing: lack of lights. Look at the spacing on my bedroom Monstera. Pretty big, and the reason is because she’s a good 2 meters away from the nearest window. Her view of the sky isn’t so great, and Monstera generally love themselves a bit of sun. To get the best out of her, I’d need to have her much closer to the window. But then how would I get into bed? Yeah, yeah, she’s staying where she is. As I mentioned, grow lights will be your best friend if you can’t give them what they want. Either that or learn to live with a leggy mess.
So, I started this articlewith the infamous brown leaf tips. But what if the browning isn’t on the edges or tips, but in the middle? What’s the deal with brown spots or markings in the leaves? Honestly, there could be a bunch of reasons for this, so let’s whistle through them like a steam train. Yes, you guessed it: watering, particularly overwatering. Roots dying from too much water often show up with browning of the leaf tissue. Underwatering can also show itself in this way and would normally be accompanied by crispiness of the leaves. Not good. Sunburn can also cause leaf browning. Plants that aren’t used to sitting in direct sun can become stressed. So, the solution is pretty straightforward: even something as simple as water splashing on the leaves can cause browning, especially for triscas. Bottom watering is a good way of avoiding this. Being too generous with the fertilizer is also a problem.
Other than that, we have more sinister things like pests and disease. Pest damage is usually accompanied by a mottling of the leaves, where the little gits have been munching away at the leaf sap. Disease like leaf spot will show up as brown spots in the middle of the leaves and is often caused by overcrowding, too much humidity, and poor air circulation. So, improving the airflow and treating with a fungicide will be your best bet.
