Why Houseplants Turn Brown and How to Stop It

Keeping your beautiful houseplants looking healthy and green is the challenge. Soloveva Kseniia/Shutterstock

Not only do houseplants bring warmth and a sense of calm to a home, but they’re also an inexpensive way to decorate. Keeping your beautiful houseplants looking healthy and green is the challenge. The most common question is: Why do the leaves turn brown?

According to the Smart Garden Guide, there are many reasons why the leaves on your indoor plants may turn brown:

• Improper watering or fertilizing.
• Transplant shock.
• Environmental causes due to lighting, heat, drafts, or humidity.
• Pest or disease issues.
• Natural causes such as acclimatization or age.

The first step in solving the problem is to determine where on the plant leaf the problem is occurring. Is it along the edges or on the tip of the leaf? Are there brown spots?

Brown Leaf Tips

When the tips of the leaves appear dried out, thin like paper, and crumbly, that’s a good indication that you have a water or fertilizer issue going on.