Plant 911

With a glance, Charlie Nardozzi of the National Gardening Association tackles houseplant problems before they get out of hand. Here's his list of houseplant problems and possible causes.

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PROBLEM	POSSIBLE CAUSES
Brown tips on leaves	dry air, too much heat, reduced humidity
Wilting leaves	underwatering, overwatering, too cold, overfertilized
Firm but yellow upper leaves	watering with hard water
Small, spindly pale leaves	insuffiecient light, too warm, overwatering
Dried-up, falling lower leaves	insufficient light, too much heat, underwatering
Variegated leaves turn green	insufficient light
Tiny white spots	spider mites
Dried-out ferns	not enough humidity
Rapid defoliation	overwatering, underwatering, draft, too rapid change of temperature or light
No blooms	insufficient water or light, overfertilized, wrong season
Silver or red blotches on leaves	too much direct sun
Leaves drop continuously	industrial polution or general pollutants
New leaf tips are small and curled	industrial polution or general pollutants
Fuzzy gray mold/gnats	fungus disease caused by lack of pruning, too much humidity, poor ventilation, insects such as aphids
Mildew	airborne fungal disease

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8/15/2010 ,

MARYSUE R.

i have no shade in the front porch, i get direct west sun in my living room, and front porch, so i can't sit outside on front porch, and have to keep my window shade shut during the afternoon. which has a solid door. any ideas would help me?

2/24/2010 ,

cynthia b.

love this site. it tells alot of things that other people have with their plants also. any help anything anyone can help me with , concerning my spider plants, and my xmas cacataus's would be greatly appreciated...

2/24/2010 ,

cindy B.

how much light do my spider plants need? i live in northern n.h. i have lots of xmas caacusass they seem to be doing well, some better then others. how often should i chance the soil? love my plants, don't want to lose them. i have one my late son gave me in 1993, i transplanted it in oct.2009, it has bloomed 4 times since 11/1009! unbeleivable, huh?!

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