Houseplant problem checker
Usually water, light or air rather than disease: Clemson Extension says yellowing is most often caused by overwatering, and Iowa State Extension names low humidity as the most likely cause of brown leaf tips. Tick what you see, answer five quick questions, and the chart lists the likely causes in order, how to confirm each one, and the fix.
Patient chart
Yellowing is most often caused by overwatering (Clemson); roots in compost that never dries cannot breathe, and old and new leaves yellow together.
Why it fits: yellow lower leaves; just damp; little and often, or on a set day; cold months, heating on.
Sources: Clemson HGIC 2251; RHS, poorly houseplant; Missouri Botanical Garden, environmental problems; Maryland Extension, watering; NC State, Gardener Handbook ch. 18
It is normal for the odd lower leaf on a mature plant to yellow and fall as the plant grows.
Why it fits: yellow lower leaves.
Sources: RHS, leaf damage; Iowa State, environmental problems
A pot-bound plant has filled its pot with roots, so there is too little compost to hold water: it wilts often but perks up after watering.
Why it fits: yellow lower leaves; no changes.
Sources: Clemson HGIC 2251; NC State, Gardener Handbook ch. 18; Missouri Botanical Garden, environmental problems; Penn State, diagnosing
Lower leaves yellowing, browning and dying is generally caused by nitrogen or iron deficiency, and pot-bound plants are especially prone.
Why it fits: yellow lower leaves.
Sources: Clemson HGIC 2251; Penn State, diagnosing; UC IPM, Houseplant Problems; Missouri Botanical Garden, environmental problems
Plants growing with too little light turn pale and stretch for it: long gaps between leaves, thin stems leaning to the window, lower leaves yellowing.
Why it fits: yellow lower leaves; cold months, heating on.
Sources: NC State, Gardener Handbook ch. 18; Missouri Botanical Garden, environmental problems; UC IPM, Houseplant Problems; RHS, poorly houseplant; Iowa State, environmental problems
If most of the roots are dark, soft and dead, or the stem has rotted at soil level, the plant is better discarded than nursed (Clemson, UC IPM). Before it goes, take stem cuttings from healthy growth only, firm and free of pests and disease, and root them in fresh, sterile potting mix in a clean pot (Maryland Extension, RHS, Clemson).
Sources: Clemson HGIC 2251; UC IPM, Houseplant Problems; Maryland Extension, root rots; Maryland Extension, diagnose; RHS, houseplant cuttings; Clemson HGIC 2252
Each symptom points to a handful of causes, and the conditions you pick make some of them more or less likely. Yellow lower leaves in compost that never dries, for example, point to overwatering; the same leaves on a plant that wilts between waterings point to drought or a pot full of roots. The checker adds up those clues and shows up to five causes, most likely first.
Every cause carries a triage tag. Watch and adjust (green) means a change of routine will do. Act this week (amber) means the plant is losing ground. Act today (red) is for root rot, stem rot and spider mites, which spread or kill quickly. Under each cause you get the checks that confirm it, the fix step by step, and links to the extension or botanic-garden page it comes from. It is a starting point for your own checks, not a verdict.
Start with the checks that cost nothing and disturb nothing, and leave the roots till last.
The chart above starts with a common winter case: a few lower leaves turning yellow, compost still damp, watered little and often, bright light, nothing moved, heating on. Overwatering comes out on top because it fits every answer: damp compost, frequent watering and the slow growth of winter all point the same way. Normal ageing comes next, because the RHS says the odd lower leaf on a mature plant yellows and falls naturally.
To tell them apart, do the finger test over the next few days. If the compost stays wet and more leaves yellow, cut back: water only when the top few centimetres are dry, empty the saucer, and water less until spring, since plants need less water and fertiliser in winter (NC State). If the compost dries normally and only one old leaf at a time goes, it is just age.
Winter light is weaker and shorter, so houseplants grow less and need less water and feed (NC State); keeping summer watering habits is the usual route to soggy compost. Heating dries the air, and NC State notes heated homes can sit at 10 to 15% relative humidity, which browns leaf tips and suits spider mites. Cold glass is the other hazard: keep leaves off winter window panes, move plants about 15 cm (6 in) into the room, and do not shut windowsill plants behind curtains on frosty nights (Missouri Botanical Garden, NC State, RHS). Bringing a new plant home in the cold? Wrap it for the journey.
General information from the extension and botanic-garden pages listed below, not professional advice. If a pet or child may have eaten part of a plant, see plants toxic to cats and dogs for poison helpline numbers.
Each one answers a question people search for most, with the default example already worked out.
Two free tools from elsewhere that plant lovers find handy.
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Yellow leaves that then turn brown and drop usually come back to watering. Clemson Extension says yellowing is most often caused by overwatering, while the RHS notes that a plant left too dry yellows its lower leaves first, with crisp brown edges. The finger test tells you which.
The compost stays wet a few centimetres down for days, the pot feels heavy, water sits in the saucer, and old and new leaves yellow together. If it also wilts while wet, check the roots for brown, soft rot.
If only some roots are rotten, cut them off and repot in fresh mix in a pot with drainage holes. If most roots are dark, soft and dead, Clemson advises discarding the plant; take cuttings from healthy stems first.
Yes, once a yellow leaf comes away easily. For brown tips, NC State suggests trimming off the dead part but leaving a thin brown edge, rather than cutting into green tissue. Trimming is cosmetic: fix the cause or new tips will brown.
No. It runs entirely in your browser and nothing you tick is sent anywhere. The site counts page views with cookie-free Cloudflare Web Analytics, which never sees your answers.
Every cause, check and fix comes from these pages, all opened and checked on 3 November 2026.