Yellowing Leaves
Yellow leaves on your houseplant? Don't panic! Use this diagnostic guide to understand the cause-from overwatering to pests-and learn exactly how to fix it.
🕵️ What Is Your Plant Trying to Tell You?
A Note from Anastasia
Hi everyone! Your plant speaks to you through its leaves. A yellow spot, a droopy stem, or a crispy tip are all clues to what your plant needs. It can be confusing, but don’t worry-I’m here to help you become a plant detective!
This problem-solving guide is designed to help you visually diagnose your plant’s symptoms and lead you directly to the solution. Start with the chart below to find the symptom that matches your plant.
Quick Symptom Diagnostic Chart
| If your plant has… | It could be a problem with… |
|---|---|
| Yellowing leaves | Watering or Nutrients |
| Brown, crispy tips or scorched patches | Humidity, Sunburn, or Water Quality |
| Wilting or drooping leaves | Watering (Too much OR too little!) |
| A white, powdery coating on leaves | Powdery Mildew |
| No flowers or dropping buds | Light, Age, or Stress |
| Leggy, stretched-out stems | Not Enough Light |
| No new growth | Light, Nutrients, or being Rootbound |
| Mushy stems or a soft base | Advanced Root Rot (An Emergency!) |
| Bugs, webs, or sticky stuff | A Pest Infestation |
🎨 Leaf Discoloration Issues
Translating the Clues in Your Leaves
A change in leaf color is your plant’s primary way of communicating. Whether it’s the dreaded yellow leaf that signals a watering issue, a crispy brown tip pointing to low humidity, or a frustrating loss of variegation from not enough light, each color tells a different story. This section will help you translate those visual clues.
Brown, Crispy Tips
Are the tips of your plant's leaves turning brown and crispy? Use this guide to diagnose the cause-from watering issues to low humidity-and learn how to fix it.
Browning Variegation
Frustrated by ugly brown spots on the white or pink parts of your variegated plant? Learn the top causes-from humidity to sunburn-and how to keep those sections pristine.
Brown or Black Spots
Finding brown or black spots on your houseplant leaves? Use this guide to diagnose the cause-from fungal disease to pests-and learn exactly how to fix it.
Pale Faded Leaves
Are your plant's leaves looking washed-out or losing their vibrant color? Use this guide to diagnose the cause-from lighting issues to nutrient deficiency-and fix it.
Losing Variegation (Reversion)
Is your variegated plant turning all green? Learn why reversion happens and the steps you can take to encourage and maintain beautiful, colorful foliage.
Sunburn / Leaf Scorch
Seeing crispy, brown, or bleached patches on your leaves? It's likely sunburn. Learn to identify, fix, and prevent leaf scorch with this step-by-step guide.
📏 Structural & Growth Problems
Fixing Issues with Shape, Size, and Vigor
This section covers problems with how your plant behaves and grows. From sudden wilting and drooping, to stretched ’leggy’ stems, to a frustrating lack of new leaves or flowers, these are often signs of a fundamental issue with the plant’s environment, energy levels, or root space. Let’s find out what’s holding your plant back.
Wilting or Drooping Leaves
Is your plant suddenly wilting and drooping? Use this guide to diagnose the surprising causes-from underwatering to root rot-and learn how to revive it.
Curling Leaves
Are your plant's leaves curling, cupping, or rolling up? Use this guide to diagnose the cause-from watering stress to pests-and learn how to uncurl them.
Leaf Drop
Is your houseplant suddenly shedding leaves? Use this guide to diagnose the cause-from normal aging to shock and stress-and learn how to stop the leaf drop.
Leggy Growth
Are your plant's stems long and stretched with few leaves? Learn why etiolation happens and the simple two-step process to fix a leggy plant and make it full and bushy.
Stunted or Slow Growth
Is your houseplant stuck and not putting out new leaves? Use this guide to diagnose the top causes of stunted growth, from light and nutrients to being rootbound.
Small New Leaves
Are new leaves on your houseplant coming in small and disappointing? Use this guide to diagnose the cause-from lack of light to being rootbound-and learn how to fix it.
Failure to Bloom
Is your houseplant refusing to flower? Learn the top reasons for a failure to bloom-from lack of light to the wrong fertilizer-and how to encourage beautiful blossoms.
Bud Blast
Is your orchid or houseplant dropping its flower buds before they can open? This is bud blast. Learn the top causes-from shock to stress-and how to prevent it.
Edema
Finding strange, watery blisters or hard, corky bumps on your plant leaves? It's likely edema. Learn to identify, fix, and prevent this common watering issue.
Nutrient Deficiency
Are your plant's leaves yellow, pale, or stunted? It could be a nutrient deficiency. Learn to spot the signs of nitrogen, iron, and other deficiencies and how to fix them.
🚨 Critical Issues & Red Flags
When to Act Immediately
Pay close attention to these symptoms. Some plant problems are minor, but these are true emergencies that can be fatal if not addressed right away. Issues like root rot, a mushy stem, or a fast-spreading disease require immediate and sometimes drastic action. These guides will walk you through the necessary steps to save your plant.
Root Rot
Is your plant wilting even when the soil is wet? Learn how to identify, treat, and prevent root rot, the #1 killer of houseplants, with this emergency guide.
Mushy Stems
Is the base of your houseplant soft, black, and mushy? This is stem rot, a plant emergency. Learn how to diagnose the cause and the only way to save your plant.
Fungal & Bacterial Diseases
Is your plant showing strange spots, powdery mildew, or rot? Learn to identify and treat common fungal and bacterial diseases on your houseplants with this guide.
Mold on Soil Surface
Finding white, fuzzy mold on your houseplant's soil? Don't panic! Learn why this harmless fungus appears and the simple steps to get rid of it for good.
Pest Damage
Seeing bugs, webbing, or sticky stuff on your plant? Use this visual guide to identify common houseplant pests like mealybugs, spider mites, and scale, and learn how to act.
Powdery Mildew
Seeing a white, flour-like coating on your plant's leaves? It's likely powdery mildew. Learn how to identify, treat, and prevent this common fungal disease.
