Common Issues
Common problems of indoor plants
Houseplants are becoming increasingly popular to reduce stress, filter the air, and bring a little touch of nature into the home. Their rich colors can enliven an office, living room, or kitchen, while their earthy smells soothe the environment. It's critical to pick a houseplant that meets your requirements, but you also want to make a healthy one to make long-term upkeep easier. In this article, I'll go through the most frequent houseplant issues and provide you with various indoor plant care methods to help you fix them. These indoor plant care suggestions can assist you in keeping your plants looking healthy and happy. You may like the concept of having a large number of indoor plants.
Environmental problems:
Poor water, temperature, humidity, and light management cause some of the most prevalent houseplant issues. The tough part comes when many causes cause an issue. It's quite easy to give a plant too much or too little of one or more of those factors, but it's also very easy to cure.
Here is a rundown of a few of the most frequent environmental issues and their causes.
Weak growth:
Too much light or too little light, poor soil drainage or over-watering harm the root system.
Wilting:
Over-watering, under-watering, root rot, salt build-up, too much fertilizer, or bigger containers are all causes of wilting.
- Defoliation:
Overwatering, underwatering, need for a bigger pot, poor lighting conditions, damage from severe hot or cold temperatures, low humidity, insects, and illnesses.
- Yellowing plant:
Poor sunlight, insufficient fertilizer, insects or mites, and over-watering are all causes of yellowing plants.
- Scorched or faded leaves:
Too much direct sunlight causes scorched or wilted foliage.
- Reddened leaves:
Reddened leaves indicate a low temperature or a phosphorus or potassium shortage.
- Spotty leaves:
White or pale yellow-colored spots or patches on the leaves of some plants can be caused by watering with cold water or spraying water on the foliage.
- Yellowing leaves:
Overwatering, poor lighting, low humidity, poor soil drainage, and injury from low temperatures caused by drought are all causes of yellowing leaves.
- Yellowing, browning, and death of lower leaves:
Nitrogen or iron deficit causes yellowing, browning, and death of lower leaves.
- Brown leaf tips:
Chemical burn from pesticide or fertilizer overuse, soft water, extended stretches of dry soil, low humidity, and low temperature.
- Small leaves:
Small leaves indicate that the soil is either too moist or too dry.
- Small pale leaves:
Poor illumination and insufficient fertilizer cause little pale leaves.
- Few flowers and excessive growth:
Too much nitrogen fertilizer causes a lack of blossoms and excessive growth.
- Bud drop:
Bud drop can be caused by a lack of fertilizer, too much nitrogen, under-watering, over-watering, or cold water spraying.
- Edema:
Overwatering, poor lighting, and cold temperatures can cause edema (rough corky swellings on the undersides of leaves and stems).
- The white crust on soil:
A white crust indicates salt accumulation on the soil.
Pest Problems
If you've ruled out environmental factors as the reason for your plant's failure, it's time to look into some common bugs that attack houseplants.
Here's a quick list of the most frequent insects to keep an eye out for:
- Aphids:
These tiny insects survive on the undersides of leaves. They come in different colors, including green, brown, and black. If you see plant development that is stunted and foliage that is curled or deformed, you should look for them.
- Fungus Gnats:
You may have a fungus gnat problem if your plant has root problems. These small critters like to feed on plant roots and decompose organic matter in the soil, which may wreak havoc on your plant's development and overall health.
- Mealybugs:
They are scale insect that feeds on houseplant stems, undersides of leaves, and nodes. They have a whitish, cottony appearance. Mealybugs cause plant development to be stunted.
- Spider Mites:
These creatures are arachnids, not insects, and are extremely difficult to spot. To examine your plant, take a piece of white paper and shake a leaf upon it; you'll notice red and brown particles crawling across the sheet of paper swiftly. Spider mites prefer to hang out on the undersides of leaves, and the webbing they form on foliage and stems is frequently the source of harm. As a result, your plant's leaves will be deformed and yellow.
- Scale:
These brown insects thrive on the leaves and stems of house plants and are oval or spherical. They syphon up the plant's fluids, resulting in stunted development.
- Thrips:
To the naked sight, these insects are almost invisible. They are pale tan to dark brown in appearance and prefer to eat flowers and vegetation. They use their mandible to penetrate the plant and suck off the liquids that leak from the wound. Over time, the plant may become deformed and discolored due to this.
- Whitefly:
These soft-bodied gnat-like insects are generally pale yellow or white in appearance. They are not a type of fly, despite their name, and do have wings and the ability to fly. These pests feed on plant sap or leaves, turning them yellow or even white due to their feeding.
The Solution:
The easy and best way to get rid of any pest is to use non-chemical methods such as hand-picking insects and cleaning off infested areas.
Diseases
As proper environmental conditions promote healthy growth, diseases are probably the least common issue houseplants face. Weak plants, on the other hand, are more susceptible to diseases.
The following are some of the most frequent illnesses and their symptoms:
- Gray Mold:
This fungus is a common disease that affects flowers and may swiftly spread, inflicting serious damage to your plant. If you observe brown patches on the plant that eventually grow into a thick grey mold, you've got it. Gray mold might harm your plant if you disregard these warnings.
Solution for Gray Mold:
Reduce the humidity in the area around the plant and improve air circulation. Like other varieties of fungus, Gray mold thrives in wet and humid settings; thus, it's crucial to keep the plant dry. In extreme circumstances, a fungicide might be used to treat the plant.
- Rotten Roots:
When left untreated, root rot may be a very unpleasant condition. If the roots of your houseplant are mushy and black, it is likely to suffer from root rot. This can eventually lead the plants to wilt and die; therefore, it's critical to take the proper precautions to avoid this.
Solution for Rotten Roots:
Remember that overwatering is the most common cause of root rot while watering your plant. It's vital to only water the plant when the soil feels dry to the touch for most kinds. Cut out the diseased roots and repot the plant with fresh potting mix and a new pot if your plant has a serious case of root rot.
- Leaf spots:
Leaf spots are divided into two categories. Fungal patches are brown with a yellow halo and can damage the entire leaf or just a piece of it. Bacterial leaf spots have a yellow halo and seem water-soaked.
Solution of leaf spots:
Remove the infected leaves, improve air circulation around the plant, and prevent putting water on the leaves that aren't sick.
- Mildew Powder:
Powdery mildew may be diagnosed on your damaged plant: if you observe white powdery fungal growth on the leaf, you know it's powdery mildew. Though not usually lethal, this disease may quickly spread and significantly impact plant development, even leading to leaf deformation in certain circumstances.
Solution of Powdery Mildew:
- To prevent the disease from spreading:
- Remove the infected leaves from the plant.
- Place 1 tablespoon baking soda and 12 teaspoons of non-detergent soap in a gallon of water.
- Fill a spray bottle halfway with the liquid and treat the diseased sections of your plant. This treatment can help prevent mildew from spreading, but keep in mind that it can be detrimental to your plants, so make sure to water your plant well after you've treated it.