🌿What is wrong with my houseplant? // how to diagnose your houseplant 🌿
✩ im definitely not a seasoned professional when it comes to houseplants, (i am a professional though) however a lot of basic plant care skills are transferrable, and i wanted to share my process for identifying "the problem" when i see a plant struggling, or my friends & family come to me for help✩
a) first identify the plant. take into account its natural habitat and what the growing conditions would be if it was in the wild. is it a tropical plant? does this plant come from the desert? does this plant usually live in the woods? if youre unsure, then look it up! this will help you get a bearing for what conditions this plant needs in order to survive.
- for instance, a tropical plant would generally need to be watered more often and cant stay dry for long periods of time, due to the natural humidity in that environment. a plant that naturally lives in the woods would likely need dappled or indirect light, due to the plant thriving under the coverage of trees. use logic to clue into the plants needs and research if you aren't sure
b) now that you have an idea of what this plant needs to thrive, compare that to it's current environment. is it getting too much sun? is it too close to the window during the winter and getting cold? is it too humid and keeping the soil too wet? try to match up the environment in your house/building to be as close to its natural environment as possible
c) ok, im pretty sure that its in the right environment, but it's still showing (x) symptom, what now?
i usually go through a mental checklist when diagnosing plants:
water—
- is it being watered enough? feel the soil with your fingers- is the soil bone dry? water it (you can't go wrong watering a bone dry plant, even succulents and cacti).
- is it soaking wet (dripping, pooling water, can be 'wrung out')? how long ago was it watered? a few hours ago, you're probably good. more than a day or two ago— there's a problem. plants need to dry out. check the container its planted in- does it have drainage holes? if not, repot that baby ASAP (and check for root rot)!! does the decorative planter it's sitting in have drainage? — if not you can remedy this by propping the plant up a few inches with a small piece of wood (or honestly anything you can find that's water resistant) so its not sitting in its drained water for days on end.
- is it moist up to a few inches down? it is being watered sufficiently 🌿 check if it needs to be watered when the top few inches are dry and go ahead and soak that baby if it does.
common symptoms of watering issues: drooping leaves/wilt, shriveled up and dropping dry leaves, rotting leaves (for succulents being overwatered especially), yellowing or browning on the edges
light- are the leaves turning a light yellow color? are you noticing leggy growth (where the stem grows long without producing a lot of leaves)? it's not getting enough sun! if its in low light move it to indirect or diffused light, and if you're still having the same issue after some time, move it into a spot where it will get hit by a sunbeam.
are the leaves turning a brown color? do they look burnt? are they getting dry and shriveled up? are they getting dull/dusty? could be too much light, move it to indirect light and see if that fixes it— if not, look for other symptoms.
potting space/ root issues:
DO NOT i repeat DO NOT repot your plants in autumn/winter
check your roots, like physically take the plant out of the pot or flip it over.
are the roots coming out of the bottom? not necessarily a bad thing, if the plant likes being hugged— definitely check for plant specific needs at this point and keep an eye on it. if you notice it dries out unreasonably fast, youre going to want to repot it. (ONLY if its spring/early summer). the plant doesnt have any room to absorb water. find a pot two inches in diameter larger than its current pot and, yk, repot it. plants get overwhelmed if its any larger and it wont have room to spread its roots if its too small. 2 inches is the sweet spot.
are the roots brown? take it out of the pot and smell it, does it smell rotted? most likely root rot. an easy fix— remove the plant, remove the soil, rinse it off, cut off rotted roots, repot it in new soil, and make sure its getting adequate time and drainage to dry out in between watering.
nutrients:
if you've checked for everything else and your plant is still wilting, it could need more nutrients. a really big tell of this is that its not producing new leaves or flowering, its staying stagnant and conserving it's energy. you can easily fix this by getting fertilizer sticks, powder, etc. from the store.
pests and fungi:
this one is the hardest and most complicated to identify.
if it's growing brown spots in the middle of the plant or you notice leaves rotting, there could be a fungus or mold issue. you can try spraying the soil with neem oil or hydrogen peroxide! if that doesnt work you're going to want to take steps to repot it in clean soil. a common cause of this is overwatering and humidity, so make sure youre letting your plant dry out (and even wilt a bit) before watering it again.
if youre noticing bugs, little brown or white spots on the back of leaves or stems, excessive wilting and misshapen leaves, holes/damage that you cant find the cause of, or what looks like little cobwebs (spider mites), you're likely looking at pests. you're going to need a chemical (or natural nonchemical) pesticide treatment. if youre unable to identify the pest on your own i recommend taking a sample or picture to your local nursery and asking someone experienced for help and recommendations! your best option for the time being is neem oil spray, as there's no chance of accidentally pesticide burning your plants.
✩ again houseplants aren't my specialty, and a lot of figuring out any issues a plant is having is trial and error and being observant of symptoms. you cant always identify one issue by one symptom, you have to be patient and see how the plant reacts to changes you make!
if youre a beginner, dont get discouraged!! taking care of plants is a learned skill and it takes time and experience to be able to notice patterns.
good luck :) i hope your prescious plant baby survives! feel free to ask me questions if you need help, but no promises I'll be able to. ✩
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