Jason and Nathan sat down and answered some of the plant problems testing our community in a fun Instagram Live video. We love any opportunity to share our knowledge, as we ourselves have learnt so much from others.
Q. Why are leaves on my plant turning yellow and dropping?
A. At this time of year, the most common cause of this is simply the change in season - your plant is adjusting to the cold, just like we are. You will notice this more in the bottom leaves of the plant and there is no need to worry - come spring time, it'll perk right up!
Overwatering and underwatering are also common reasons for your plant's leaves turning and dropping. Be sure to not only visually inspect, but to feel the moisture level of the soil before watering. The general rule of thumb is to keep the soil moist, but not wet, ensuring it dries out between watering - making sure there is sufficient drainage. Over winter you can slow down your watering routine a little more to stretch it out to 10 -14 days for some plants.
Q. Is it a good time to repot my plants?
A. The short answer is, no. With a lot of our common houseplants being tropical in nature, winter is not the best time to repot. Many will go into a state of dormancy with slower growth and this is not ideal conditions for repotting, it will likely cause them some unnecessary stress.
There are some hardier plants that will cope with a repot, like Devils Ivy or Zanzibar Gems, but the best thing to do will be to wait for spring time, when the air and soil are warmer and your plants are bursting to grow!
The same goes for propagating, unless you have a greenhouse or propagation box set up, wait until spring time to take cuttings of your prized plants, you will have a much better strike rate when its warmer. If you are taking cuttings now, for plants that can be water propagated, use this method over winter to root them.
Q. Should I be rotating my plants around the house?
A. Absolutely! There are many benefits to doing this and there's always a little bit of fun in it too. With winter setting in, moving your plants into areas of the house that catch the extra sunshine is important. Rotate your plants into north facing windows, where they will get 6-8 hours of natural light and can soak up some extra rays.
Moving your plants around the your space is also a great way to simply change up the aesthetic and when many of us are spending more time at home, its nice to be able to appreciate a plant in a new light.
Q. The leaves on my plants are drying out and browning on the edges - what's wrong?
A. Browning leaf-tips are quite natural and something to not overly worry about. The important thing to remember is that we are taking plants out of their natural environments and bringing them inside into a completely different climate.
You commonly see this browning on tropical plants indoors like calathea and palms and there are a few things you can do to help mitigate this.
- Keep your plants out of direct line of air-conditioning and heating, this dries out the air and your plants.
- Create humidity in the air by clustering your plants together or by placing small bowls or saucers of waters around your plants.
- Overwatering your plants can again cause your leaves to brown, so make sure to adjust your watering to suit the season.
