Yellow leaves are probably the single most common question we get asked at the bar. The good news: it’s almost always fixable, and once you know what to look for, you can usually tell exactly what’s going on just by looking closely at the leaf.
1. Overwatering (the most common cause)
If the yellowing starts on the lower, older leaves and the soil feels wet or the leaf itself feels soft or mushy, overwatering is the likely culprit. Wet soil pushes oxygen out, and the roots essentially begin to suffocate and rot.
Fix: Let the soil dry out fully before watering again. Check that your pot actually has drainage. If it’s been very wet for a while, gently check the roots — if they’re brown and mushy instead of white and firm, you may need to trim the rot and repot into fresh, dry soil.
2. Underwatering
Underwatered yellow leaves tend to look duller and drier, sometimes with crispy, curling edges, and the soil will be bone-dry a few inches down.
Fix: Water thoroughly until it runs out the drainage holes, then get back on a consistent schedule. A moisture meter (or just your finger, a couple inches into the soil) takes the guesswork out.
3. Not enough light
Yellowing paired with slow, leggy, or stretched-out growth usually points to low light, not water at all.
Fix: Move the plant closer to a window, or rotate it regularly so all sides get light.
4. Natural aging
If it’s just one or two of the oldest, lowest leaves turning yellow and the rest of the plant looks healthy, that’s often just the plant shedding old growth. Totally normal.
Fix: Nothing to fix — you can trim the yellow leaf off once it’s fully yellow.
5. Nutrient deficiency
Less common indoors, but if you haven’t fertilized in a long time and new growth is coming in pale or yellow, your plant may just be hungry.
Fix: A diluted, balanced houseplant fertilizer during the growing season (spring–summer) usually solves this.
How to tell overwatering from underwatering, fast
Feel the soil. Wet + mushy leaf = overwatering. Bone dry + crispy leaf = underwatering. When in doubt, always wait a few more days before watering again — more houseplants are lost to overwatering than underwatering.
Not sure what’s going on with your plant? Bring it (or a photo) into the shop, we’re always happy to take a look.
Leave a Reply