“The leaves on some of my houseplants don’t look well. A few plants have leaves that are brown at the tips, on others the entire shoot looks dead. What is wrong? How can I correct it?”

Houseplants lead a rough life. They come from a different world that was humid, the soil was moist, light, and rich in organic matter, and light levels were supportive of year-round growth. Our best efforts to reduplicate the forests of Brazil or Africa are far short of their home conditions. Our houses are hot and dry; far hotter than our winter light levels can support. What can be done ? I can’t afford a vacation there and neither can my plants.

Start with the supposition that the vast majority of houseplants relate to water problems and a second group of problems is cause by lack of air to plant roots. The stress resulting from either condition can largely be mitigated by repotting into a larger container using a supportive growth mixture. The better or larger a houseplant grows or the longer it remains in the same pot, the more likely it will decline.

Select a container, preferable with drainage holes, use a professional growing media, like Pro-Mix, Metro-Mix, or similar potting mix slightly moist, remove the plant from the pot, groom the plant by removing dead and brown foliage leaves, shake more than one-half of the old soil from the soil ball, repot into the new container, and water well.

Note that the plant with brown-tipped leaves was likely stressed by dryness, and the plant displaying dead shoots had drowned roots.

Water only when the soil is dry and fertilize monthly. Good luck.