What’s wrong with my house plants? Expert’s opinion.

September 19, 2016

We all like to grow houseplants aka indoor plants. With a little care, a well-chosen house plant will continue to decorate a room for a long time. A newly brought plant passes through a period of readjustment after which it gets acclimatized in its new home. The growth of houseplants depends on many factors like light, temperature, relative humidity, ventilation, watering, nutrition, the health of pot, & so on.

Sometimes houseplants may get sick & show distress signals. Let’s have a look at some of the frequently occurring symptoms of ailments & explore the probable causes & remedies cited by experts:

1. My house plant is showing ‘stunted growth’:

This may be a result of poor feeding or excessive watering. The probable remedy for this cause is to feed the plant with liquid manure & to stop watering for a few days. You may have to do re-potting of your plant in a bigger pot. Please note that some plants may get into ‘Resting period’ in the winter season, which is normal.

2. My house plant is wilting:

Wilting may happen due to lack of moisture in the compost or over-watering or bad drainage & rotting of roots. Shade loving plants wilt when they are kept in excessive sunlight. Remedial measures are to regulate watering, check drainage, & ensuring correct light exposure.

3. Flowers, buds & even leaves are dropping after turning yellow:

Bud formation takes place in the good light, and if the plant is not receiving good light, buds will fall. Flowers, buds & foliage, may also drop as a result of fluctuations in light & temperature, lack of humidity, excess or under-watering, gas fumes (pollution), & drought. Red spider mites may also cause the falling of leaves.

4. Leaves of my plant are turning yellow but not dropping:

Plants that prefer acidic soil may show such symptoms if there is an excess of lime in the soil. Please re-pot your plant in slightly acidic potting mixture.

5. Leaves of my plant are suddenly dropping:

If the soil is too wet when leaves drop, this must be due to rotting of roots as a result of excess watering. The affected plants should be moved to a warm place immediately & watering should be stopped for a couple of days & resumed after that only moderately.

6. Colourful, attractive leaves of my variegated ornamental plant are becoming green:

This is due to insufficient illumination. Ornamental foliage plants require at least partial dosage of sunlight to maintain the attractive variegation & pigmentation of their leaves. Keep your plant in the bright sunny spot of your house.

7. There are brown spots on the leaves of my plant; even tips of foliage are turning brown.

This may happen due to fungal disease, overheating, drought conditions, too many fertilizers, & water drops remaining too long on foliage. Spraying of fungicides will help. Your plant should be watered either early morning or later in the evening.