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  2. Homes and Lifestyle

How to cure five common indoor plant problems

Save your indoor plants by following these simple rules - by Andrea Black
  • 02 Jun 2019
How to cure five common indoor plant problems

Stretching

This is also known as a plant getting ‘leggy’ which means the plant is longer, thinner and with less foliage than usual. This means the plant is not getting enough light so move to an area of bright, indirect light and you should see the plant start to grow normally.

Getty Images
Getty Images

Leaves dropping

There are a number of factors that could cause a houseplant to drop leaves and the first thing to check is light, is your plant getting enough? It could also be a sign of either over or under watering. As a general rule, you should water most indoor plants when the top couple of centimetres of soil are dry usually around every 10 to 14 days.

Pale and Yellow Leaves

Plants can suffer from stress due to either over- or under-watering and yellowing leaves can be a sign of this. Yellow leaves could also be a sign that you need to fertilise the plant as its soil is lacking nutrients. When you buy a new plant make sure you know how much water, fertiliser and light to give it.

Getty Images
Getty Images

Brown leaf-edges

If the leaves of a plant start to get unsightly brown edges, then you need to explore a few different options to find the culprit. Under watering is a common cause as is a lack of humidity. Placing the plant on a shallow tray of pebbles half filled with water is a great way to help with a humidity problem. A build-up of salt from over fertilisation can also be the cause and you can try watering with distilled water to flush out the salt build up.

Getty Images
Getty Images

Lopsided Growth

Does an indoor plant look unsightly due to lopsided growth? This is not so much a health issue as a home decor one, the plant is perfectly fine, the disparity in growth is usually caused by too much light on one side of the plant and not enough on the other. Rotate the plant just a few degrees every time you water, and your indoor plant should respond with consistent growth all over.

Andrea Black
Andrea Black
Travel, design and interiors writer Andrea Black embraces maximalism in the home, prefers mid-century modern style furniture and likes to hunt down vintage pieces. She specialises in travel relating to design, history, architecture and music. When visiting a city she will track down vintage vinyl record stores and bring home a local release.

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