Troubleshooting Basic Houseplant Problems - Plant One On Me - Ep 020

Whew! This is a BIG episode, and we only go over one question: Troubleshooting basic houseplant problems. This is an important question because if you see your houseplant struggling and you know what's going on, then you can be Dr. Houseplant and save it from its ailments. We go over everything from brown leaves to brown tips to yellowing leaves (both top and bottom), rusty-looking leaves, and even some insects. So strap in folks-this one is chock full of information!
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Homestead Brooklyn’s Plant One On Me is an informal question-and-answer series on all your green home and gardening tips as well as insider tours, interviews and travelogues. Questions get sent in via here-below the videos, on Instagram @homesteadbrooklyn #PlantOneOnMe, or Facebook @summerrayneoakes and @homesteadbrooklyn.
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[@TheAdhdGardener]

I love how you gave the science explaining why plants do what they do. Super helpful to get a better understanding!!

[@summerrayneoakes]

Hopefully I will continue to do more of it!

[@bellanoche6843]

You should write a book about houseplants. I've boughten so many books and they all have the same generic information and don't really help. Keep up the videos! Thanks so much! Xoxo

[@GrigorisDeoudis]

A cutting from an _Epiphyllum_ that arrived some months ago had the rust fungus on two of the lower parts of two leaves. I treated the plant with neem oil (both applied with a q-tip on the spots with rust *and also* watering the plant with the neem oil solution. It took just 7 days and the rust dehydrated and disappeared. I have heard you other times as well mentioning that you quit using neem oil, and all the times you are mentioning that you were applying it on the affected parts of the plant/s, on the surface. That isn't enough. What worked for me by using the neem oil solution is watering *also* the affected plants. That will make the difference, since the plant starts the defense from inside out - which is the most important. Otherwise, the external use (applying on the leaves) is just on the surface. It doesn't really help the plant itself to defend against these problems. By the way, I have started some years ago with houseplants and one issue that I find it hard to understand is the crispy and brown leaves on my _Callisia gentlei_ var. _elegans._ I have tried "almost" anything, i have tried with different cuttings from a different source. I have tried watering a little less, I have tried watering a little more, I have tried raising the humidity but nothing of all these helped, the leaves are starting to get crispy from the tip and gradually the whole leaf turns brown and crispy. When though, I put a few cuttings in the water to propagate them, these usually do not turn like what I have described before 😮 If anyone reading this has any idea on what to do he/she is more than welcome. Keep going Summer, your videos are helping many people 🙂

[@apenguinnamedabraham]

I've honestly become addicted to these videos. I'm waiting for some seeds to come in the post so I've been putting these on in the background while I get their new home ready!

[@LaviniaDeMortalium]

We have a _ton_ of chlorine here in Orange County, California, to the point where the water smells like a pool coming out of the tap. I started using Seachem dechlorinator since I already have fish. Seems to help. Leaving the water standing over night helps too though

[@angelacarlabayle3348]

This is very useful. Thanks Summer♥️ I always watch your videos. Your contents are very informative.

[@paolamura3497]

I Just think you have One of the most beautiful houses I ve ever seen... And I also think you ve poured a ton of energy into It.

[@elizabethaguilar4281]

Thank you for being so informative, I like that you answered many common issues that are hard to find answers for online. This is a good go to video.

[@Quirlyz]

Thank you so much for responding! This was so helpful :)

[@dianeblack6866]

Thank you..very well informed and able to get the points across in a way we can comprehend

[@sharonmarshallswift5360]

Thanks for all the information! The technical information is so interesting to learn and it helps to understand plants from that viewpoint. Right now, I have a new corn plant (dracaena massangeana) and the leaves on the shortest stalk are getting yellow spots and then browning in the center and they are becoming somewhat "floppy"; this is happening to old leaves first. It appears that this may have started to happen at the nursery before I got it because there are a couple with holes in the brown spots that were there when I bought it. My apartment faces east-northeast and it is about 6 feet from the window in a plastic pot. The soil is a mix of potting soil and perlite and the additional coconut coir that the plant was in when I purchased it. My apartment is kept between 70-80 degrees. I have been watering about once a week and I have had the plant for about 3 weeks. I started seeing this issue progress after having the plant a week and a half. The leaves on the other two stalks are beautiful, save for a tiny bit of browning at the tips (I have been holding back watering a bit, thinking that this may be the problem). Is this a sign of overwatering or of fluoride toxicity? I have read that fluoride may be released naturally from the perlite and that these plants can be sensitive to it. Would hydro spikes be helpful for keeping this plant hydrated? Also, can you give any guidelines as to which plants may benefit from hydro spikes vs. those that may not, such as cacti or succulents? So many questions! Thank you again for already helping me understand my plants better!

[@eturley7533]

This video was so helpful! I can't help but think how helpful it would be to go plant shopping with you haha

[@raqueldowling6615]

Awesome insight on indoor plant issues. Enjoyed this video

[@maryannabays3587]

Incredibly helpful. Thanks.

[@atulyasharma]

I am loving you. Another home gardener.

[@mele9627]

Great Info. Thanks for sharing

[@eyezkreem1211]

I love your channel. I first saw you on Jamie’s Skylark Garden. I love the painting on the background, it looks beautiful. You have such an in-depth knowledge in plants, I’ve just started about a year ago and let me tell you...I’m addicted but my collections are all rare to v.rare plants only.😉

[@christinegrimmond7164]

Omg I love your top!

[@barbll000]

Thanks Very helpful info.

[@kONEzzer]

The stomtae also release water vapour, which is the key point. The closing is a reaction to basically, equilibrium, they close to conserve water. Thus as you say the solution is watering but this is the main point, the concentration isn't on O2 and CO2

[@patronofthearts9343]

The best plant channel

[@Lilacleaf49065]

Thank you SO much! My coffee plant has been looking really bad and had intraveinal chlorosis. I didnt consider PH at all and thanks to this video Ive now been able to identify the ph level is wrong.

[@lonely71]

i really appreciate your videos, very helpful! can you tell me more about using mosquito bits. there are no details on the container so i dont know how much to use per gallon/liter and for how long i should soak them? THANKS!!

[@bunnyfluffyfluffs]

can you. please, expand on plant fungal infections and preventative treatment and cures. not much out there about this. i have a monstera with brown spots and black edges (they are not crispy) want to cure. i know this is fungal infections

[@Lilacleaf49065]

Yes me too - it's why I came here as I've started with leaf spot on a fair few of my plants. It's a first for me and Summer knows her stuff so I know her advice would be invaluable.

[@lgarden7086]

What did you do? I think I have the same on my monstera 😕

[@reneelefton8923]

Love your videos!

[@summerrayneoakes]

YAY! Very happy that you like them and you find them helpful Renee.

[@mikepatterson57]

A Pictures Worth A Thousand Words! Peace/;-))

[@valeriexoxo]

Right I need to see:)

[@lyledeyounges1276]

My two stem Dracaena Marginata just did that - the bottom leaves on the small stem suddenly turned yellow and over night it dropped all of them! I panicked because it has been doing great in the 2 years I've had it, and I couldn't believe that of all the plants I have this was the one that I would mess up. I suspect it's over-watering, but I've just gotten much better at letting them breathe... I used to drown all my plants before and it didn't seem to affect my Dracaena, so I'm a little worried about this recent reaction.

[@EyeoftheWhiteWolf]

Okay, I have a string of hearts/ceropegia woodii (sp?). I know they're suppose to be pink on the bottom of the leaves, & mine was when I first bought it....but now the leaves are all green. So I'm wondering if it's too close to my south window. I'll move it & see what happens. Thanks! This video was helpful!

[@mwoods4608]

This is just more confusing... but you can test your soil at home

[@ketonosh2369]

I love you!

[@nobsatthistime]

My Lucky Bambo and Money Tree have a few brown leaf tips, it's not a big Deal. I Catch Rain water for all my plants it's Free.

[@hopediaz8168]

Thank you so much for your plant advice. I’m new to gardening and I love your apartment by the way. I found you through a few plant lovers and advice givers on Reddit. I do have a question for you. I have a bougainvillea and I can’t get it to flower. I’ve had it in a pot for about a year and had no interest in it. But it rained and it flowered. So I took it out and planted it where it had sun in the morning and shade in the evening. After that I watered it for about 2 weeks to establish roots have it some fertilizer and boom. Lots of foliage and it’s growing. But no flowers. I’ve trimmed it and stopped watering it because I was told it didn’t like too much water. But new growth would give it flowers. So I have new growth but no flowers 😞 am I being impatient? What am I doing wrong. Can you help

[@PLH2489]

Hello, I really like your channel, I have a problem with my peace lily. I have had good luck with the potting mix with fertilizer & I had additional perlite. I transplanted my potbound peace lily & within 2 days, my whole plant was a dark dark green, blooms, leaves, everything!! I went to I tube to find help &there was only 1 channel that good me over-fertilization ! Right away, I bought a bag of regular potting soil with no fertilizer & repotted it again, after I took all the other mix off & rinsed it, too. It has been 3 months & it is still dark green, I have had a few tiny new blooms that started out white & they also turned dark green. It hasn't had any growth other than the baby blooms, since this happened. I also have 2 other peace lily e & they have not been affected by the fertilized potting mix ! Weird right ?? I sure hope you can help me with ideas, since you seem to be so knowledgeable.. Thanks so much, Pam H.(Sorry so long)

[@pandaamachine]

Pam Hankins peace lilies use lots of fertilizer during growing season. I suspect the dark green has zero to do with the fertilizer and is most likely due to getting too much sun. That's the only reason I'm aware of that would cause blooms to green.

[@luckykazivlog8782]

Mashallah! 😍❤

[@dianetsang643]

How do I keep my variegated English ivy plants from getting brown crispy leaves and droopy stems despite regular watering, when soil is drier and consistent lighting by a window with indirect light? I’ve lost 2 small ivies that did this and now my 3 rd ivy is starting to do this after 6 months of doing well!

[@CerulianSins]

My zebra plant is impossible I stick my finger in the soil it's dry so I water and I purchased espoma fertilizer and she is in a room with two humidifiers and she is still dropping leaves.

[@sarikatyagi6184]

Hi , please help. My mican's leaves are having gooy spots and leaving these holes behind. I recently got it and potted it. What did I do wrong and how to save it?

[@selenepedrero577]

What about millipedes i got a lot and other like snails but smaller and different shell

[@lailasoubra6054]

Hi, love your information. I need help, please. I boyght a moonlight scinnapus, and soom of the leaves have a white film on then. I try to wash it off, isthis normal? I checked the roots they are white.

[@discoplate]

Hi, Summer Rayne. I love your place! I have a Calathea pink tri-colour that has a lot of brown crispy edges, -which I know is the lack of humidity and I am in the process of remedying that. once I have the humidity issue resolved, what can I do about the brown crispy edges? Will they heal or will they be better cut off? I also have a maranta with same problem on a much smaller scale. I love them for their leaves but they are so ugly right now. help! thanks.

[@pandaamachine]

discoplate those leaves will stay the same. Either cut off edges, remove leaves, or let be. A super easy way to help out with humidity and accumulated dust on plant (bonus) is next time it needs to be watered, simply put it in the shower for five min or so. In the summer, I'll even bring in my fiddle leaf fig in the bathroom and close the door when I'm taking a long warm shower. It's like a spa day lol

[@csativa6469]

my calathea is turning yellow and brown and the soil is wet. is it because of overwatering or any other reason? Thanks

[@fortunazee]

I have a question for you Summer Rain, I recently purchased a Hoya heart leaf var. rooted leaf cutting, and it's doing nothing, and the edges of the leaf are getting reddish. I was told that these will never grow because they don't have any "node"? What can I do for the little guy?

[@minhja4924]

I think my Peperomia obtusifolia have nitrogen deficiency after growing for 4-5 years . I just give it some fertiliser . Will the leaves turn back to green?

[@marydiscuillo142]

Ok but my dracenea leaves are falling off from bottom up and rhe leaf tips are turning black. Too much or too little water? And one thing i read was keep moist and another said let em dry out. Ugh help.

[@fiorviole1]

Hi! Do ladybugs play a role in keeping pests away?

[@Lilacleaf49065]

Yes including in their younger stages. They're great for aphid control.

[@lilce51286]

My leaf tips are brown and yes it's a watering issue - I don't water my fiddle leaf fig enough. So how do I re-open the plants ability to photosynthesize again once I start watering it? Thanks

[@pandaamachine]

lilce51286 water it on a regular schedule. You're over thinking it here.

[@crisgon6824]

What if my calathea's leaves are drooping? They're not limp, they feel super sturdy. But the bottom leaves are drooping, and not "praying" at night. I have 4 new leaves coming up, which (new growth) usually means a plant is happy...right? I'm in zone 13b (Puerto Rico), my calathea is about 10-12 ft from 2 NE facing windows. Any clues?

[@yehyehyehyehyeh6847]

No one replied to this... I too have the same problem/new growth including less drooping leaves. Did you figure this out after 2 years?

[@fallingspark2258]

Chlorine problems? Great. I'm from Corpus Christi, TX. Our water problems made national news this past year. There's a crap ton of chlorine in our water.

[@ninaclark3799]

You said that for fungus gnats you use BTI?? What is this?

[@OfficialAshlynnBabb]

Nina Clark ingredient (bacteria) in the product mosquito bits

[@BleepingRelics]

"Big strong spray with my hoes..." i know that movie.

[@tareng837]

A few of my plants have brown spots and edges. What is wrong? I have a scheduled watering regiment and so I know I'm not over or under watering. Any suggestions?

[@pandaamachine]

Assuming your plant is in a completely controlled environment in which the humidity, temperature, amount of sunlight, etc never changes - and you have a plant that never produces any new growth - a scheduled water regiment won't be the answer to those concerns. Get a moisture meter or stick your finger in the soil.

[@hjbnew2009]

Excellent ... you did not show an example for each issue you described. thank anyway

[@kreagle]

Have you used blood & bone on your indoor plants with much success?

[@megablessedgram]

So if a plant is underwatered, the solution would be to water it. But what do we do if it's been OVER watered? What is the solution?

[@pandaamachine]

Solution: You water it less. You're over thinking it here. Let it dry out before watering it again. If it's in a pot with good drainage you should be fine. If it sits in water for a long time, you run risk of roots rotting and that's another issue.

[@fauxyeahjandy]

Needing HELP! My money tree is acting like a real BRAT! It's literally if not, the ONLY plant of mine that's been having like a white fungus growing on the soil and I got rid of it as soon as I report it and rinse repeatedly and spray half water and half hydrogen peroxide and finally got rid of the fungus. Right until I got a humidifier and it came back so Idk if it's that or because It had too much sun?

[@fauxyeahjandy]

Any help will be appreciated! Also, my peace lilys have been getting brown tips? Maybe because I water them with sink water? Isk

[@rebeccaelizabeth7578]

What plants are those in your intro??

[@katelynmarsh8102]

Rebecca Elizabeth They look like cucumbers but I'm not sure. I'm growing some right now and they look exactly the same, but then again, I'm a bit of a novice

[@amyl2442]

"if leaf tips are brown" see video @9:47

[@FreeBehbehs]

We want to see your exotic insect collection 😝🐛

[@nobsatthistime]

Did you Pawn all your Jewelry to Buy Plants?