Like all living things, plants need water to survive and thrive. But it’s a balancing act - too little or too much and your plant will suffer. Overwatering is in fact one of the more common problems and is the deadlier of the two. Overwatered plants will present itself with yellow or browning wilted leaves with soggy moist soil. Excessive moisture will start to rot the roots and can attract plant-disease carrying bacteria and fungi. At best, you’ll want to change the soil and repot or at the least move it out of direct sun and stop watering until the soil dries out. A thirsty plant will begin to wilt, and the leaves will dry, and tips turn brown. A severely underwatered plant’s soil will be cracked and have pulled away from the edges of its pot. In this case, you will need to poke a few aeration holes in the soil and thoroughly soak your plant to ensure the roots receive a drink.

Plants require sunlight to undergo photosynthesis. However, just how much sunlight plants require can greatly differ. A plant that requires a lot of light will experience stunted leggy growth, lose the vibrancy or variegation of its leaves, or worse drop leaves and die, if it’s placed in low light conditions for too long. On the other hand, if a plant appreciates lower light conditions, it will shrivel and burn if placed in intense light conditions. You can check what conditions your plant appreciates within our plant care guides, or better yet, our willow sensors can monitor your light levels and let you know if its well positioned.

If your plant once had big showy tropical foliage and now looks worse for wear, your plant could quite literally be dying to get back to its natural conditions. If you’ve witnessed your leaves shriveling, browning and wilting, your plant is begging for higher humidity. You can try misting your plant regularly, grouping it with other tropical natives to create a micro-environment, placing your plant on a tray of pebbles and water or making use of a humidifier. On the flip side, if there’s too much humidity your plant can develop mold, fungal infections and yellowing of its leaves. This is typically the case for your thicker waxier leafed friends that prefer dryer air.

Back to reviving your plant. Green is good. Anything else needs to go. To that end, we want you to be ruthless and remove any dead or damaged leaves and stems. If they’re completely brown, they’re not coming back, and we want to preserve your plant’s energy for the good things like new growth. Dead leaves can likely be easily removed by pinching at the stem but if not use a pair of shears/scissors. If taking back the stems, please try to leave a few centimeters above the soil. This is also a good time for a repot with fresh soil full of nutrients.

Over time your soil will gradually lose the nutrients your plant so desires (read: water & sun alone are not enough) and so it’s recommended you repot your plant every couple of years. A malnourished plant will often have weak flimsy stems and some discoloration of the leaves. To have your plants flourishing it’s recommended you apply fertilizer regularly throughout the growing season. To revive a dying plant, fresh soil and perhaps a small amount of compost should be sufficient as your plant is already in a state of shock, so we want to limit the number of sudden changes. You may have also damaged the root sin the process which won’t appreciate the fertiliser.