Why are the leaves of my Butterfly Plant turning brown and crispy? - Bloomscape (2024)

FAQs

Why are the leaves of my Butterfly Plant turning brown and crispy? - Bloomscape? ›

A common reason indoor plants turn brown and crispy is that they are not receiving enough water. Lower leaves will usually be the first to dry out and will start to turn brown and become crispy to the touch. Avoid underwatering your butterfly plant by watering it when 50% of the soil volume is dry.

The tropics are wet and the air is humid! Some houseplant leaves turn brown and crispy when the air in our homes is too dry. This is especially true if your plant is getting a lot of direct sun, or during the winter when heaters are running and drying out the air. Solution: Move plants away from heaters.

Keep them in a shady spot to give them a chance to recover: even plants that look terminally crispy can often revive and re-sprout with this treatment. Larger pots should be heavily watered, then allowed to drain – one deep watering is better than daily sprinkles.

The butterfly plant loves to stay moist. Water when 50% of the soil volume is dry. Always water thoroughly until it comes out of the drainage hole and discard excess water in the saucer. Try not to get water on your plant's leaves as this can cause mildew to form on the foliage.

Yellow leaves, leaf drop, and brown spots signal health issues in Butterfly Bushes. Sunburn and over-watering cause leaf scorching and soft spots, respectively.

Browning leaves are typically caused by under watering, sunburn, or overwatering. If the leaf tips are turning brown and crunchy, the soil likely became too dry for too long in between waterings. This can also cause the plant to drop leaves.

A common reason indoor plants turn brown and crispy is that they are not receiving enough water. Lower leaves will usually be the first to dry out and will start to turn brown and become crispy to the touch. Avoid underwatering your butterfly plant by watering it when 50% of the soil volume is dry.

Pruning and Deadheading

Deadheading your plants means snipping off any browning flower clusters to encourage more flowering though the bloom season. Butterfly bushes bloom best on younger, vigorous growth and later in the season.

If it's late in the spring and you discover dead growth on your butterfly bush, prune it away. New growth can only come from living stems, and this should encourage it to start growing. Don't do it too early, though. A bad frost after this kind of pruning can kill back all that healthy living wood you've just exposed.

What is the lifespan of a butterfly bush? ›

Typically, a butterfly bush will live about 10 years. You may find some plants that live longer than that, but it's a rare case. Proper care of a butterfly bush will help it live longer and thrive in your garden.

Yellow, brown, or black spots appear on the bottom and top of affected leaves. Sometimes new shoots at the end of twigs will be infected, giving them a contorted look. Eventually, affected foliage will die and drop from the plant.

Chemical control: Controlling butterfly bush by spraying with a brush-control herbicide is somewhat effective, but for better results, cut the trunk off at the base and apply concentrated glyphosate (such as in Roundup) or triclopyr (such as in Garlon or Brush B Gon) to the freshly cut surface.

Inconsistent watering, in particular allowing plants to dry out too long between waterings, will cause leaf edges and tips to turn brown. Excess salts can build up in the soil when too much fertilizer is applied which can also lead to brown leaf tips. Water and fertilize appropriately to prevent further browning.

If the roots are not bound together and look healthy, your plant just needs a bit more water to keep its foliage green and healthy. Repot your plant, either in its original planter or a larger one if necessary. Prune away any brown or wilted leaves so your plant can direct its energy to producing new, healthy growth.

The biggest difference between the two is that too little water will result in your plant's leaves feeling dry and crispy to the touch while too much water results in soft and limp leaves. Water pressure begins to build in the cells of plant leaves when the roots absorb more water than they can use.

Too much, too little or inconsistent watering are major contributors to houseplant decline and can cause brown tips on houseplants. Overwatering, the most likely cause, decreases the amount of oxygen available for root growth and creates an environment susceptible to root diseases and rot.