Houseplants have the ability to grow in a wide variety of conditions, and unlike outdoor plants, they don't face swarms of insects or adverse weather conditions. However, even healthy houseplants can develop unsightly brown spots, particularly on leaf tips. Trimming the brown tips off with scissors can provide aesthetic improvements to the plant, but you should also identify and address what causes them.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Remove Brown Tips While Preserving the Shape of the Leaf
Step 1. Use sharp scissors or shears
For best results you should use a pair of scissors with the sharpest blades possible, which minimize damage to the plant's cells by decreasing the amount of energy it has to use to heal the wound.
- Any sharp, sturdy pair of scissors will do, but the shape and strength of the kitchen scissors make them a great choice for this job.
- To minimize the risk of transferring any diseases, especially if you are cutting more than one plant, clean the scissors with rubbing alcohol before and after use.
Step 2. Remove the entire leaf only if most of it is brown
Leaves with small brown areas along the edges or tip still produce energy for the plant through photosynthesis. However, if a leaf is almost completely dry and brown, it no longer serves this purpose and can be removed.
- If a leaf has more than half the brown surface (and even more if two thirds are), then it is a good candidate for complete removal.
- The best way to remove a whole leaf is to cut the base of its stem with a sharp pair of scissors. Alternatively, you can tear it off by pinching the base of the stem between your thumb and index finger nails.
Step 3. Cut to replicate the shape of the leaf tip
Study the shape of the tips of some healthy leaves and reproduce it as closely as possible with your cuts. For example, if you're dealing with long, straight, pointed leaves, make two angled cuts at the end to recreate a triangular shape at the tip.
- The shaping of the cuts is only necessary for aesthetic purposes. Cutting the tip of the leaf directly to remove the dead area no longer damages the plant.
- After some practice the shaped leaves will be indistinguishable from completely healthy ones!
Step 4. Leave a small amount of brown tip on the leaf if desired
Some gardeners who care for houseplants argue that it is best to leave a very small fragment of the brown area on the leaf; in this way it is avoided to open a new wound in the healthy part of the leaf itself, which could cause stress to the plant and cause further browning.
If you're only cutting one or two leaves, don't bother leaving some brown. However, if you are dealing with many leaves at once, you may want to limit the wounds you create in their healthy parts
Step 5. Unless you suspect disease, throw the brown tips into compost
If you have a compost pile or are on a municipal composting program, you can add leaf tips to it. However, if you suspect that the houseplant is sick, avoid potential compost contamination and throw the spikes in the trash.
Brown tips alone rarely indicate the presence of a disease. A diseased plant usually has numerous leaves with brown spots, holes, or completely browned
Part 2 of 3: Improving the watering
Step 1. Take the plant out of the pot to check the soil and roots
Brown tips often result from a watering problem, both too much and too little. Hold the plant over the sink, grab the stem and move it slightly, then pull it out of the pot along with its root ball. This will make it easier to verify over or under watering.
- If the soil crumbles instead of staying compact, you are watering the plant too little.
- If water is dripping from the soil or if the roots look moldy at the ends, you are overwatering.
Step 2. Repot an over-watered plant and adjust the watering schedule
If you find the soil and roots soaked with water when you take the plant out of the pot, you can try leaving it out of its container for several hours, then putting it back once it has dried a little. Often, however, it is best to remove some of the sodden soil from the root ball, then repot the plant along with some fresh potting compost.
- If the root tips look rotten or dead, you can cut them off with scissors.
- Instead of giving the plant less water following the same schedule, water it abundantly but less often. For example, if you're giving her a lot of water every 2 days, don't just switch to giving her less as often: instead, water her thoroughly every 4 days.
Step 3. Soak the soil thoroughly when watering a thirsty plant
Once you understand that insufficient watering is the problem, put the plant back in the pot and water it well. Each time you do this, you will need to see the water pour out of the bottom of the jar. If it doesn't, you're not watering enough.
- Use a saucer to catch excess water or water the plant over the sink.
- Keep watering the plant on the same schedule (for example every other day), but provide it with more water each time. Take it out of the pot again after a week (on a day you don't need to water it) and check if the soil is dry. If so, start watering it more frequently (e.g. every day) and more.
Step 4. Increase the humidity of the environment, especially in the case of tropical plants
In addition to frequent watering, tropical plants need to receive humidity from the surrounding air. Placing the pot in a shallow container filled with rocks and water can help increase the humidity around the plant. If there is very dry air in your home, you may also want to consider placing a humidifier nearby.
- It may be helpful to spray the leaves once a day with a spray bottle filled with water.
- Keep the plant away from heating or cooling vents, which emit dry air.
Part 3 of 3: Other Possible Causes for Leaf Browning
Step 1. Don't confuse brown tips with normal aged leaves
Many plants, for example most palm varieties, regularly shed their lower leaves as part of their natural growth. There is no way to prevent these leaves from gradually turning brown; they can be cut off once they are completely dry and discolored.
A brown-tipped leaf will appear green and healthy in all other areas
Step 2. Spray the plant with distilled water to wash away salt, minerals or fertilizers
If the plant is not watered too much or too little but still has brown tips, there is likely to be an excess of one or more minerals in the soil, most likely salt. Excess minerals usually come from hard tap water or from an exaggerated supply of fertilizer. To rinse away the salt or minerals, place the pot on the sink and use distilled water to "wash" the soil, meaning keep pouring it until a good amount has passed through drain holes.
- Rinse the soil with distilled water 2-3 times over the course of several minutes.
- To avoid future problems, water the plant with distilled water and reduce the use of fertilizers.
Step 3. Check for small holes, which indicate an insect infestation
Small brown spots or holes in the leaves of houseplants can be the sign of an insect infestation. Check for pests in the soil and on the underside of leaves so you can address the problem before it gets worse.
