Why are my plant's leaf tips turning brown?

A PlantParlour plant problems guide

Brown, crispy tips and edges mean the far end of the leaf lost water faster than the roots could replace it — because the air is dry, the compost dried out too far, or salts and fluoride from tap water and fertiliser have built up in the pot. Brown tissue never turns green again, so the aim is to stop new damage: water thoroughly when it is due, flush the pot with plain water every few months, feed less, and raise the humidity for plants that need it. Soft, dark brown patches are a different problem — usually too much water, not too little.

Read the pattern first

Tips papery and light brown, on many leaves
Dry air, or compost that dried out completely between waterings.
Brown tips on long, narrow leaves — dracaena, spider plant, cordyline
Fluoride and salts in tap water. These plants are unusually sensitive.
A white crust on the compost or the rim of the pot
Salts building up from tap water and fertiliser. Flush the pot.
Brown edges only on leaves that opened recently
Dry air while the leaf was unfurling. The damage is fixed on that leaf; protect the next one.
Dark, soft brown patches, often with a yellow edge
Overwatering, rot or a leaf infection — not dry air. Check the roots.
Pale, dry, brown patches on the side facing the window
Sun scorch. Move it back from the glass.

How to flush a pot

Take the plant to a sink or bath and run plain, room-temperature water slowly through the compost for a few minutes, so it drains out of the bottom several times over. Then let it drain completely before it goes back on its saucer. Rainwater, filtered or distilled water is best for the sensitive plants; tap water left to stand overnight loses its chlorine but not its fluoride or salts.

Trimming the brown off

It is purely cosmetic, and fine to do. Use sharp, clean scissors and follow the leaf's own outline, so the trimmed leaf still looks like a leaf. Leave a thin line of brown rather than cutting into green tissue — a cut into living tissue browns again.

Raising humidity, honestly

Misting raises the humidity around a leaf for a few minutes, not for the rest of the day. Grouping plants together helps a little. A humidifier is the thing that reliably works, and a cheap hygrometer tells you whether it is. Most homes run at 30–40% in winter with the heating on; many tropical plants want 50–60% or more.

Plant by plant

Where this is a known problem on 87 of the plants in the PlantParlour care library, with that plant's own cause and fix. Entries shared by a whole genus are listed once.

Brown tips on new leaves that were fine in the old pot
Low humidity while the leaf was still unfurling.

Fix: Group plants together or run a humidifier while new leaves open; the damage is cosmetic and permanent on that leaf.
- Arrowhead plant
- Black gold philodendron
- Blushing philodendron
- Florida Beauty
- Florida Ghost
- Heartleaf philodendron
- Jose Buono
- Paraiso Verde
- Philodendron gloriosum
- Philodendron Moonlight
- Prince of Orange
- Ring of Fire
- Tree philodendron
- Variegated Burle Marx
Brown crispy edges on every leaf
Dry air, or minerals in tap water. Usually both.

Fix: Get the humidity above 60% and switch to rainwater or filtered water. Existing damage will not heal.
- Calathea orbifolia
- Calathea White Fusion
- Ctenanthe Amagris
- Fishbone prayer plant
- Peacock plant
- Pinstripe calathea
- Prayer plant
- Rattlesnake plant
- Rose-painted calathea
- Stromanthe
Brown crispy edges
Dry air, or a build-up of salts from tap water and fertiliser.

Fix: Raise humidity, and flush the pot thoroughly with plain water every few months.
- Five holes plant
- Mini monstera
- Monstera obliqua
- Monstera Peru
- Silver monstera
- Swiss cheese plant
- Swiss cheese vine
Brown tips on long thin leaves
Fluoride and salts in tap water — dracaenas are unusually sensitive.

Fix: Water with rainwater or filtered water, and flush the pot through a few times a year.
- Corn plant
- Cylindrical snake plant
- Dragon tree
- Gold dust dracaena
- Lucky bamboo
- Snake plant
- Whale fin snake plant
Brown spots spreading from the leaf edges
Overwatering. The roots are suffocating.

Fix: Let the top third dry out fully before the next water, and check the pot drains freely.
- Ficus Audrey
- Fiddle-leaf fig
- Ginseng ficus
- Rubber plant
- Triangle fig
- Weeping fig
Brown tips on every frond
Dry air, hard tap water, or a dry spell. Almost universal indoors.

Fix: Raise humidity, water with rainwater, and trim the brown off with scissors following the leaf's own shape.
- Areca palm
- Chinese fan palm
- Kentia palm
- Lady palm
- Parlour palm
- Pygmy date palm
Fronds going brown and crisp from the tips
Dry air, or the compost dried out.

Fix: Raise the humidity and never let the pot go fully dry. A bathroom is the easy answer.
- Asparagus fern
- Bird's nest fern
- Blue star fern
- Boston fern
- Maidenhair fern
- Rabbit's foot fern
Brown crispy leaf edges
Air too dry, or tap water minerals building up.

Fix: Raise humidity above 60% and water with rain or filtered water if your tap is hard.
- Anthurium crystallinum
- Flamingo flower
- Flamingo lily
- Velvet cardboard anthurium
Brown crisp leaves
It dried out.

Fix: Water more often; tradescantias are thirstier than they look.
- Inch plant
- Nanouk
- Tricolor tradescantia
Crispy brown leaf edges
Air too dry.

Fix: Above 70% humidity, or grow it under glass.
- Baby's tears
- Nerve plant
- Polka dot plant
Brown crisp edges
Dry air.

Fix: Raise humidity, keeping the air moving.
- Polka dot begonia
- Rex begonia
Brown crispy leaf edges
Under-watering or salt build-up.

Fix: Water more thoroughly and flush the pot a few times a year.
- Bird of paradise
- Orange bird of paradise
Brown crispy leaf tips
Dry air, or minerals in the cup.

Fix: Raise humidity and flush the cup with rainwater regularly.
- Scarlet star
- Urn plant
Leaves curling tighter and going brown at the tips
Thirsty.

Fix: Soak weekly, more often in a dry warm room.
- Air plant
- Xerographica
Brown crispy leaf edges
Dry air, almost always.

Fix: Raise the humidity. Some edge browning on indoor bananas is unavoidable.
- Dwarf banana
Brown crispy leaf tips
Tap water minerals, over-feeding, or dry air — in that order of likelihood.

Fix: Flush the pot with plain water, feed at half strength, and raise humidity.
- Peace lily
Brown crispy stem tips
It dried out, even briefly.

Fix: Stand it in water permanently.
- Umbrella papyrus
Brown leaf edges and tips
Dry air or hard water.

Fix: Raise the humidity above 60% and water with rainwater.
- Coffee plant
Brown leaf tips
Dry air or fluoride in tap water.

Fix: Trim them at an angle with scissors and switch to rainwater.
- Spineless yucca
Brown leaf tips
Dry air or salts building up.

Fix: Trim the tips and flush the pot with plain water occasionally.
- Ponytail palm
Brown leaf tips
Over-feeding, or hard water.

Fix: Feed less and flush the pot with rainwater.
- Cast iron plant
Brown tips and edges
Fluoride and salts in tap water — the classic cordyline complaint.

Fix: Switch to rainwater or filtered water and flush the pot occasionally.
- Ti plant
Brown tips on most leaves
Fluoride and salts in tap water — the classic spider plant complaint.

Fix: Switch to rainwater or filtered water, flush the pot occasionally, and feed less.
- Spider plant
Crispy edges and leaf drop
Dry air. This is the whole story with this plant.

Fix: Get it above 60% humidity — a cabinet or terrarium is the honest answer.
- Rex begonia vine
Leaflets going brown and crisp at the edges
Dry air.

Fix: Raise the humidity — group it with other plants or run a humidifier.
- Money tree
Leaves going dry and brown from the edges
Dry heat or a pot that dried out.

Fix: Water more regularly and move it away from the radiator.
- English ivy
Yellow leaves with brown edges
Too warm and too dry.

Fix: Move it somewhere cooler, raise humidity, keep the compost damp.
- Japanese aralia

Questions people ask

Should I cut off brown leaf tips?

You can. It doesn't help the plant, but it doesn't hurt it either if you follow the leaf's shape and leave a sliver of brown at the edge of the cut. Fix the cause first, or the new tip will brown too.

Can brown tips turn green again?

No. Brown tissue is dead. The leaf will stay as it is, and the plant is recovering if its new leaves come in clean.

Does misting stop brown tips?

Not by itself. The effect lasts minutes. For a plant that really needs humidity, a humidifier or a grouping of plants in a closed cabinet does what misting can't.

Not sure which one it is?

PlantParlour's health check looks at up to three photos of your plant alongside the care you've logged for it — when you last watered, when it was repotted, problems it has had before — and tells you what it sees. Log the problem as an issue, take another photo in a few days, and the next check compares the two, so you can tell whether it is spreading or settling. It is an AI's considered guess, not a diagnosis, and it is free to start with no account.

Open PlantParlour

General guidance for houseplants, written to be careful rather than clever. It can't see your plant, so treat it as a starting point, not a diagnosis. See our terms.