A pothos with brown tips is not dying. It is telling you about the air, the water, or the feeding, and the tip itself says which. Small dry tips on many leaves with normal soil are dry air. Tips brown on limp leaves over dry soil are thirst. Tips with a yellow ring and a white crust on the soil are fertiliser salts. Tips that appeared after a change of water are the tap water. Soft brown tips with yellowing over wet soil are the roots.
What the tip tells you
| What you see | Most likely cause | Check this first |
|---|---|---|
| Small crisp brown tips on many leaves, soil normal, plant near a heater or vent | Low humidity | Position; season |
| Tips brown and leaves limp with dry soil, pot light | Underwatering | Soil to the bottom; pot weight |
| Tips with a yellow ring, white crust on the soil, recent feeding | Fertiliser salt buildup | Soil surface; feeding history |
| Tips browning after switching water source | Tap water minerals | Water source |
| Soft brown tips with yellowing across the plant, soil wet | Overwatering | Root check |
Low humidity
Pothos tolerates dry rooms but next to a radiator or heating vent the leaf tips dry and brown in a small crisp point on many leaves at once, with the soil moist. What to do: move the plant away from the heat, group it with other plants or use a humidifier. Misting is not a fix.
Underwatering
A pothos left dry goes limp and browns its tips over soil that is dry to the bottom and shrunk from the pot. What to do: water thoroughly, rewet from below if the soil has shrunk, and check the soil by finger every few days.
Fertiliser salt buildup
Salts from feeding accumulate in the pot and draw water from the leaf tips, which brown with a yellow ring, with a white crust on the soil. What to do: flush the pot until it drains clear and feed at half strength no more than monthly in spring and summer.
Tap water minerals
Hard or fluoridated tap water browns pothos tips on some plants, and the tips appear after a change of water source. What to do: water with rainwater or filtered water for a few weeks and compare the new leaves.
Overwatering
In soil that stays wet, pothos roots suffocate, the plant cannot supply its leaf tips even in a wet pot, and the tips brown softly while the leaves yellow. What to do: slide the plant out, trim brown mushy roots, repot in fresh airy mix, and water only when the top of the soil is dry.
Trimming the tips
Cut following the leaf's pointed shape with clean scissors, leaving a hairline of brown so the cut does not brown again. Trimming does not stop new tips if the cause remains.
What to do today, by cause
- Low humidity: move away from heaters, raise humidity.
- Underwatering: soak thoroughly, rewet from below if needed, check by finger.
- Salts: flush the pot, feed less.
- Tap water: try rainwater or filtered water.
- Overwatering: unpot, trim, repot in airy mix.
Frequently asked questions
Should I cut brown tips off pothos?
Only for appearance. Cut following the leaf's shape and leave a thin line of brown so the cut does not brown again.
Why do pothos leaves get brown tips?
Because the tip is the farthest point from the roots and the first to dry when the air is dry, the soil is dry, or salts or minerals in the soil draw water away.
Can brown pothos tips turn green again?
No. Dead tissue does not recover. Once the cause is fixed, new leaves come in clean and the old tips can be trimmed.
Is tap water bad for pothos?
Usually not, but some plants brown at the tips on hard or fluoridated water. If the tips appeared after a change of water, switch to rainwater or filtered water for a few weeks and compare.