Leaf Problems

Yellow, brown, curling, spotted — what each leaf symptom points to.

29 articles

• Water Dripping From Leaf Tips Is Guttation, and It Means the Pot Is Wet

  It looks like the plant is crying. It is actually telling you that you watered it more than it needs.

• Snake Plant Leaves Curling: Thirst, Root Damage, or Pests

  Curling looks like drought and often is. But rotted roots produce exactly the same symptom, and the response is opposite.

• Brown Tips on an Avocado Plant Are Nearly Always Salt

  This species is more sensitive to water quality than most houseplants, and the leaf tips are where it shows first.

• Brown Edges on a Monstera Are Usually Air, Not Water

  Dry crisp edges and soft dark patches get treated as the same thing, and the responses are opposite.

• Yellow Leaves: Which Leaves Turned, and In What Order

  Everyone tells you it is overwatering. Sometimes it is. The position of the yellow leaves on the plant tells you when it is not.