GrowingHQ
Leaves

Brown, crisp leaf tips

The tips and sometimes the margins going brown, dry and papery while the rest of the leaf stays green. Almost universal on houseplants in a heated house in winter, and one of the few signs where the compost tells you more than the leaf does — the same tips mean dry air on a well-watered plant and drought on a dry one.

What causes it, and how to tell them apart

Work down the list making the observation under each heading. GrowingHQ will not guess which one you have — the observation is the answer.

  1. Dry airvery common
    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — humidity

    Checked 2026-08-13

    How to tell

    The compost is adequately moist and the plant is being watered properly, yet the tips are crisp. Indoor humidity in a heated British house in winter is frequently under 30%, against the 50–60% most affected species evolved in.

    source

    Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — humidity

    Checked 2026-08-13

    If it is this, do first

    Move the plant away from radiators, group it with others, and stand it on a tray of damp gravel. Misting raises humidity for minutes rather than hours and does not fix this.

    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Houseplants — humidity

    Checked 2026-08-13

  2. Underwateringcommon
    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Watering

    Checked 2026-08-13

    How to tell

    The compost is dry well down, and the pot feels light for its size. Compost that has dried out completely also repels water, so a plant can be watered regularly and still be dry at the root.

    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Watering

    Checked 2026-08-13

    If it is this, do first

    Stand the pot in a bowl of water for half an hour so the root ball rewets from below, then let it drain fully.

    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Rewetting dry compost

    Checked 2026-08-13

  3. Leaf scorchoccasional
    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Leaf scorch

    Checked 2026-08-13

    How to tell

    The damage follows the light: leaves on the window side are marked and shaded ones lower down are clean. Scorch appears once and stops, where dry air affects every leaf about equally.

    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Leaf scorch

    Checked 2026-08-13

    If it is this, do first

    Move it out of direct sun, or shade it during the hottest hours of the day.

    source

    Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Leaf scorch

    Checked 2026-08-13

Where GrowingHQ holds more for one plant

This page lists the causes across every plant. The plants below are the ones where something about that plant changes the answer — different candidates, or a different observation that separates them.

Herbs

Houseplants

Commonly reported on