What to Do If the Tips of Your Plant’s Leaves Are Turning Brown
It sucks to find brown leaf tips on a small baby plant: you know it’s your fault, but you’re not sure what you did wrong, and it doesn’t look like your plant can blame you for your failures (although it probably wants to) . .) If you find brown leaf tips on your houseplant, you’ll have to do some botanical detective work to get to the bottom of it (get it?), but it’s often an easy-to-fix problem caused by one of the following.
You are not watering correctly
Brown leaf tips may indicate that you are not watering the plant enough or too much, or at the wrong time. You must find out the needs of your plant. There is no one-size-fits-all approach: some people like dry soil, some wet, but for most, you can tell if they need water by testing the soil. Dry soil means adding water. Wet soil means you’re fine.
But too much water is also bad: brown leaves and leaf tips can also be caused by overwatering . You can quickly diagnose if you are giving your plant too much or too little water by noting the general condition of its leaves. Waterlogged plants tend to have wilted leaves, while underwatered plants tend to appear dry or crispy.
Even if you’re watering the right amount, brown leaf tips can be caused by the type of water you’re using. If you are using softened water, you add a little salt every time you take out the watering can. Instead, try switching to distilled or filtered water.
No humidity
The dried tips of your houseplant’s leaves can also be caused by too little humidity in your home. Perhaps the air in your home is dry because of how you heat it, or the area where you live may be dry. Either way, you should add some moisture to your plant’s environment. One way to do this is to group it together with other plants so that one plant “exhales” moisture while the others absorb it. Another solution is to place the plant on a tray, plate or saucer filled with pebbles and water. Evaporation of water can create a local pocket of moisture in which your plant will thrive.
Do not fertilize correctly
If the tips of your plants’ leaves look burnt, dark green, or reddish purple, they may be deficient in phosphorus. Yellow or brown edges of older leaves, yellowing between the veins, spotting and curling of the leaves can indicate a potassium deficiency, which means you have a fertilizer problem. Adding a slow release fertilizer when potting is a good solution, but you may need to add a small amount of fertilizer from time to time.
Before you just toss in a bunch of fertilizer and hope for the best, know that brown, scorched, or discolored leaf tips can also be caused by too much fertilizer (decide, plant!). Some types of fertilizers add salt, which accumulates in the soil over time, causing the tips to burn. If you notice a white crust on the soil, saucers, or sides of the pot, it may be a buildup of salt. If this is the case, flush out the soil by placing the pot in the sink and watering it until the soil is completely soaked and the water runs out. Repeat this several times to wash the salt out of the dirt. Or you can press the reset button and repot in fresh soil, which should be done every 12-18 months for most plants anyway.
cut brown leaves
Once you’ve determined the cause of your plant’s leaf discoloration, it’s time to forget about it and cut off the brown parts. Using sharp scissors, cut the leaf into a natural shape, leaving a thin brown area around the cut. Once healthy new leaves have grown, they should look like they were never brown.
Grow another plant
If you just can’t solve your plant’s leaf problems, you may have overwhelmed yourself with this species and you should grow something simpler. Try growing one of these indestructible plants while increasing the kill rate in your home garden.