Draught stress
Damage from moving air rather than from cold alone: a houseplant beside a door, an opening window or above a radiator loses water faster than it can replace it, and drops leaves or browns at the edges. The tell is that the damage is worse on the side facing the draught.
What brings it on
Positions beside external doors, single-glazed windows and heat sources. Tropical foliage plants are the most sensitive, and the effect is strongest in winter when indoor air is driest.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplant problems
Checked 2026-08-13
Usually seen: November, December, January, February, March
Preventing it
Ordered by how much difference each measure actually makes, not by how often it is repeated.
- Move plants away from doors, draughty windows and radiators. A position a metre further into the room is often the entire remedy.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — siting
Checked 2026-08-13
Dealing with it once it is there
- Relocate the plant and give it time. Damaged leaves do not recover, so the test is whether new growth comes through clean.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — siting
Checked 2026-08-13
Signs that lead here
Each of these lists the other things that produce the same sign, and how to tell them apart.
On sprays and treatments
GrowingHQ does not tell anyone what to apply, at what rate, or how often. Pesticide approvals differ by country, change without notice, and the product label is legally binding — it is also the document you are holding. What is described here is cultural and physical control, which is what a home grower can act on without a label in front of them.
Plant-specific guides
Where this is one of several causes that look alike on a particular plant, GrowingHQ publishes the differential rather than the general answer.