Dry air
Crisp brown leaf tips and edges on plants from humid origins, with the rest of the leaf still green and the compost adequately moist. It is the standard complaint of calatheas, ferns and dracaenas in a centrally heated British house in winter, and it is routinely misdiagnosed as underwatering.
What brings it on
Central heating, a position near a radiator, or a draughty spot with constant air movement. Indoor relative humidity in a heated British house in winter is frequently below 30%, against the 50–60% many popular houseplants evolved in.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — humidity
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.
- Group plants together, stand them on trays of damp gravel, or use a humidifier. Misting raises humidity for a few minutes only and does not solve this, whatever is commonly said — the plant needs the air around it to be humid for hours, not seconds.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — humidity
Checked 2026-08-13
Dealing with it once it is there
- Move the plant away from radiators and draughts and raise the humidity around it. Existing brown tips will not turn green again — trim them if they look untidy and judge the improvement by whether new leaves come through clean.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — humidity
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.