# What makes house plant leaves turn crispy brown and fall off? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 26, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696 "2013-09-26T02:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/1 "2013-09-26T02:24:40Z")
Anyone ever contended with this? I’ve tried to keep house plants several times but they keep dropping dead on me! In each case the leaves turn brown and dry/brittle one by one, starting from the the leaf tips until the whole leaf is consumed and it falls off. This happened most recently to a poinsetta, which I thought were pretty much foolproof. It was doing wonderfully for a few months and doubled in size, then this dryness suddenly appeared for no apparent reason and it was dead a few weeks after that. This is absolutely not caused by under-watering (which has different symptoms if it ever happens - the leaves droop and turn limp instead). Is this something to do with my living space? It’s not particularly dark. The outdoor plants are all fine except for one hydrangea which is showing some of this leaf browning but it doesn’t look threatened yet. Any experience is appreciated before I try keeping another unsuspecting indoor plant… ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/2 "2013-09-26T05:55:28Z")
over watering will do that too. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/3 "2013-09-26T17:23:57Z")
In the wild poinsettia are seen as described. Perhaps you are seeing natural aging. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/4 "2013-09-27T23:46:52Z")
Deep frying. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/5 "2013-09-28T00:23:18Z")
Over watering, under watering, over feeding, under feeding, root binding. I’d guess that last one- a plant that doubles in size wants to be repotted. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/6 "2013-09-28T01:42:17Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Over watering, under watering, over feeding, under feeding, root binding. > I’d guess that last one- a plant that doubles in size wants to be repotted. Thanks - I looked up symptoms of under-feeding and I’m convinced it was a [potassium deficiency](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_deficiency_(plants)) … so now I know what to try doing differently next time. Definitely not under-watering or root binding (I did repot it before the problem set in) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/7 "2013-09-28T12:33:13Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Over watering, under watering, over feeding, under feeding, root binding. Or pest spray damage, low humidity, a gypsy curse etc. Mostly I’d expect a severely root-bound plant to grow more slowly and maybe have stunted-looking new growth, rather than show leaf tip browning. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/8 "2013-09-28T12:54:56Z")
I’ve been told this was due to minerals in the water building up in the leaves. (or maybe chlorine?) ETA what makes the leaves fall off in my house is the cats who believe the plants to be either food or cat toys. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/9 "2013-09-28T14:12:46Z")
> [@](#): > > ETA what makes the leaves fall off in my house is the cats who believe the plants to be either food or cat toys. My cats think that house plants are actually the kitty salad bar. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/10 "2013-09-28T20:57:43Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > My cats think that house plants are actually the kitty salad bar. Mix some cayenne in water (1 tsp/cup) and spray on the leaves. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/11 "2013-09-28T21:58:54Z")
My cats use the houseplants to activate their bulimia habit. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/12 "2013-09-28T22:21:27Z")
My cats don’t need anything to activate their bulimia. This is why I’m afraid to even try the cayenne pepper. I’d probably have Exploding Kitties all over the house. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/13 "2013-09-29T02:22:51Z")
I’ve found that our houseplants do much better if I don’t use water straight out of the tap. Tap water is chlorinated, so I fill a bucket and let it sit on the porch for at least a week before I use it for plants. Even cut flowers, instead of dropping petals, will simply slowly shrivel until they’re ready to toss. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/14 "2013-09-29T03:19:52Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’ve found that our houseplants do much better if I don’t use water straight out of the tap. Tap water is chlorinated, so I fill a bucket and let it sit on the porch for at least a week before I use it for plants. Even cut flowers, instead of dropping petals, will simply slowly shrivel until they’re ready to toss. Many communities use chloramine (which does not dissipate readily, unlike chlorine) in their water supplies. Supposedly chloramine is not harmful to plants in the small quantities which are added to purify water. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-house-plant-leaves-turn-crispy-brown-and-fall-off/669696/15 "2013-09-29T03:39:38Z")
I read somewhere that this is the symptom of the plant being infected by some plant-infecting virus. The recommendation, IIRC, was that whenever you see the tips of the leaves turning brown like that, you should tear them off (just the browning tips, I think) in the hope that you will prevent the virus from spreading much. I’ve been doing this with my [variegated philodendron](http://www.foxhillnursery.net/ALLPRODUCTS/PLANTS/LANDSCAPEPLANTS/LANDSCAPEPLANTPICS/PhilodendronPics/Philodendron_cordatum_variegated.jpg) plants, apparently with some success. At least, when I see this and tear the dead parts off, it doesn’t spread to the rest of the plant. (But I don’t necessarily know if that would have happened anyway.)