Plant Care

An ailing house plant's symptoms are clues to the causes of its problems.

• Brown or scorched leaf tips is a sign of poor root health due to over watering or excessive soil dryness-especially between waterings-or excessive fertilizer or other soluble salts in the soil. This symptom also results from low humidity, pesticide or mechanical injury, or toxic levels of specific nutrients such as fluoride, copper, or boron.
• Leaf spots, blotches, blemishes, blisters or scabby spots develop from excessive dryness coupled with high temperatures. These symptoms also develop from frost injury, chemical spray injury, over watering or fungal and bacterial infections.
• Yellow-green older leaves may be a sign of poor root health due to compacted soil or poor drainage. This symptom also appears when a plant has insufficient fertilizer, compacted soil or insufficient nitrogen. Insufficient light may be a factor, too.
• Yellow-green newer leaves indicate either an imbalance in the quantity of trace elements or in soil acidity.
• General yellowing of leaves occurs from too much light, insufficient fertilization, high temperatures-especially when associated with dryness, insect infestation or root rot disease.
• Leaf drop results from poor root health due to over watering, excessive dryness, excessive fertilizer or other soluble salts in the soil, compacted soil or girdling roots. Sudden changes in light, temperature or relative humidity, or root disease may also be responsible.
• Wilting or drooping of foliage or brown, soft, rotted roots are signs of poor root health from over watering, excessive dryness, excessive fertilizer or other soluble salts in the soil, compacted soil, or a poorly drained container. These symptoms also result when a toxic chemical is poured into the soil. Rotted roots indicate over or under watering or root rot disease.
• Spidermite infestation produces yellowed leaves with tiny speckling. A severe infestation causes leaves to dry out and turn bronze. Look for webbing near the growing points.
• Scale or mealy bug infestation causes leaves covered with a sticky substance, mold growth on leaves, tiny brown or white objects seen on leaves or in crotches of branches, leaf drop, branch dieback, leaf or growing point distortion.