Why do my indoor plants have yellow leaves?

Indoor ficuses need to be watered

The plants we have at home can be excessively maintained, and as a result of this They can have several issues that usually show up in the leaves. In fact, they are the first to show symptoms that tend to worry us the most, because, of course, if they change color or fall off, being visible, we can immediately think that something is wrong. at their home.

Of all the symptoms the most dramatic, say, is the yellowing of the leaves. When this happens, we immediately wonder why my indoor plants have yellow leaves. So Let’s see what are the reasons and how to solve it.

Contents

Irrigation problems

The ficus must be watered frequently

Lack and excess of water cause yellowing of the leaves.. In the first case, the first to turn yellow are the most recent, but in the second they are, on the contrary, the oldest, that is, the inferior. But in addition to this, there are other symptoms that will confirm that the problem is in the irrigation. For example:

  • If it’s lack of water:
    • The soil will be very dry and will have difficulty absorbing water.
    • If you take the pot, you notice that it weighs little.
    • The plant may have a pest, such as scale insects or aphids.
  • If it is an excess of water:
    • The soil will be very, very moist and may have verdina.
    • When picking up the pot, it will weigh a lot.
    • The plant may be diseased, have fungus or rotten roots.

How to recover a badly watered indoor plant? First of all you need to know if what is happening is that it is dry or not. If this is the case, you must immerse the pot in a container that you will have filled with water. And then leave it there for about half an hour.

But If, on the contrary, you consider that you have watered it excessively, you will have to remove the plant from the pot, then take paper towels to wrap the root bread with. Leave it like this until the next day, then remove the paper to plant it in a new pot with also a new substrate (but do not remove the one it has). Finally, apply a product against fungi (systemic fungicide), and reduce the frequency of irrigations.

Low light

There are plants that can live with little water

The plants that we keep indoors are plants that need light, some more than others, but all of them need it. For this reason, when placed in a dark room, the leaves lose their color at the same time as their production of chlorophyll decreases. But how do you know if what is happening to them is this and not something else?

When they don’t have enough light the leaves gradually lose their natural color. Moreover, its growth first slows down and then stops; and in the end, in extreme cases where nothing is done, the plants die.

What to do? Just change roomsbringing them to the one in which there is more clarity.

Drafts and/or cold

Indoor plants need to be transplanted

If they are placed in a room where there is, for example, an air conditioner, a fan or even a window that is usually kept open, the plants will also turn yellow. Already either because these air currents are cold or hot, what happens is that the environment dries up and the leaves become thirsty.

For this reason, never place plants near such drafts, otherwise we risk its leaves turning yellow sooner rather than later. But how do you know the problem is this?

Well, it’s easy: if we are used to having the air conditioning on for example for a while every day for several days, the plant nearby will have a hard time. First, the tips will turn yellowish, and later this yellowing will reach the rest of the leaf. Putting a solution there is also a solution: just move it to another location.

Needs nutrients (iron or manganese are most common)

chlorotic leaf

Image – TECNICROP

Yellow leaves can also be a sign that the plant is lacking in nutrients, especially iron and/or manganese. The absence of these makes them lose their color and their growth slows down a lot.. Additionally, it is necessary to know what happens when irrigation water and/or soil has a very high pH (i.e., it is alkaline).

Those to which this happens most frequently are so-called acid plants, such as hydrangeas, camellias, gardenias or azaleas. It can also occur in citrus trees, such as the lemon tree, but these trees are generally not kept indoors (in fact, this is not recommended, as they need a lot of light).

In order to solve it, You should fertilize them with an acidic liquid plant food like Eastfollowing the instructions on the packaging.

As you can see, there are several reasons why houseplants may have yellow leaves. I hope these tips will help you so that you can get them back.

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