Everyday cheapskate: Why houseplants turn brown and how to stop it | Family

In the case of fungal disease, you can try to treat the plant with a recommended fungicide from a garden store, although it may be easier and less expensive to discard and replace it with a new, healthy plant.

Sometimes, the leaves of a plant will fade into a yellow color and then turn brown, dry out and fall off. This usually happens to the lower leaves on a plant but can also happen to top leaves or those in the middle.

When this happens, it’s often just a sign of a plant shedding leaves as part of its aging process. It’s completely unrelated to its care.

Routinely grooming your plants to remove these dead leaves — in the same way that you deadhead spent blooms on outdoor plants — allows the younger parts of the plant to receive more of the plant’s water and nutrition. It’s the circle of life and self-preservation in process.

To remove dead leaves that have not yet fallen on their own, use a sharp pair of scissors you have dipped in rubbing alcohol. Sharp blades minimize damage to healthy plant cells in the leaves, reducing the energy the plant must expend to heal the open wound.

All plants need nutrients. It is essential for their growth and beauty. Indoor plants take that from the soil. But when the soil becomes depleted, it’s necessary to replenish that with plant nutrients or fertilizer.