Houseplant Doctor

Brown Leaf Tips on Houseplants

Brown, crispy leaf tips or edges are one of the most common — and most frustrating — houseplant problems. The browning itself won't heal, but once you fix the root cause, new growth stays clean. Some plants, like spider plant, dracaena, and calathea, are especially prone to it.

Likely causes

1. Low humidity

In most homes the air is drier than tropical houseplants would like, especially in winter. Dry air is the most common cause of brown leaf tips, and it's a particular problem for sensitive species like spider plant, calathea, and dracaena. Fix: Raise humidity around the plant with a humidifier, a pebble tray with water under the pot, or by grouping plants together. (Misting alone doesn't help much for most plants.)

2. Irregular or too-little water

Allowing the soil to dry out too long between waterings makes leaf edges and tips turn brown. Fix: Water when the soil a couple of inches down is dry — check before you water rather than running on a fixed schedule.

3. Fluoride and chemicals in tap water

Chlorine, fluoride, and other chemicals in tap water can cause brown tips, especially over time on sensitive plants like spider plant, dracaena, prayer plant, and calathea. Fix: Try a different water source — filtered, distilled, or collected rainwater.

4. Fertilizer / salt build-up

Too much fertilizer leaves excess salts in the soil, which burn leaf tips. Fix: Fertilize less and leach the pot by running plenty of clean water through the soil to wash excess salts out.

How to tell them apart

A couple of quick checks — how dry is the soil, how sensitive is the plant, and what water do you use — will usually point you to the cause. Whichever you land on, tackle the root cause rather than just trimming the brown off; otherwise the browning simply keeps returning on each new leaf.

Preventing brown tips

Because brown tips come from the environment rather than a specific disease, the way to prevent them is to keep conditions steady. Water when the soil a couple of inches down is dry, rather than on a rigid schedule, and don't let the soil stay bone-dry for long stretches. If you grow fluoride-sensitive plants like spider plant, calathea, dracaena, or prayer plant, consider filtered, distilled, or rain water instead of tap. Raise humidity in dry rooms, and be modest with fertilizer so salts don't build up in the soil. When fresh growth comes in clean and green, you'll know you've fixed it — the old brown tips won't heal, but you can trim them off for looks.

Related plants

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