Brown leaf tips are one of the most common houseplant complaints. The tips are a symptom, not a disease. Something is stressing the plant, and the leaf edges are the first place it shows.
The brown tissue is dead and will not turn green again. The goal is to find the cause so the next leaf grows in clean.
How to read the brown tips
Look at where the brown shows up and what it looks like. The pattern points to the cause.
Crispy brown tips on many leaves, with a thin yellow band between brown and green, point to water or humidity problems. Brown patches in the middle of a leaf, on the side facing a window, point to sun scorch. Brown tips on the oldest, lowest leaves only can be normal aging. Brown, soft, or black tips with yellowing and wet soil point to root trouble.
Common causes and fixes
Uneven watering
A plant that dries out completely, then gets a big drink, will brown at the tips. The roots at the edges of the root ball die back in the dry spells, and the leaf ends lose their supply.
Check the soil with a finger before you water. Push it two inches down. Water when it feels dry at that depth, then water until it runs out the drainage holes. Empty the saucer after.
Too much water causes brown tips too. Soggy soil rots roots, and rotted roots cannot feed the leaves. If the soil stays wet for days, read how to tell if a houseplant is overwatered or underwatered to sort out which problem you have.
Low humidity
Dry air pulls water out of leaves faster than the roots can replace it. The thinnest, farthest part of the leaf loses out first, so the tip browns.
This hits plants from humid places hardest. Prayer plants, calatheas, ferns, and ferns’ relatives are the usual victims. Winter makes it worse, because indoor heating dries the air.
A humidifier near the plants is the most reliable fix. Grouping plants together raises humidity a little around them. Moving a plant away from a heating vent or radiator helps too. A tray of wet pebbles adds little humidity to a room, so do not count on it.
Some plants will brown at the tips in normal home air no matter what you do. A few brown tips on a calathea in January are not a sign of failure.
Mineral and salt buildup
Tap water carries dissolved minerals. Fertilizer carries salts. Both collect in the soil each time you water, because the plant uses the water and leaves the minerals behind. A white or yellow crust on the soil surface or on the pot rim is a sign.
At high levels the salts burn the roots and the leaf tips. Spider plants, dracaenas, and prayer plants are known to be sensitive to the fluoride and minerals in some tap water.
Flush the soil to clear the buildup. Take the plant to a sink or tub. Pour water through the pot until it runs freely from the drainage holes, and keep pouring for a couple of minutes. Let the pot drain fully before you put it back in its saucer. Do this every few months for sensitive plants.
If you suspect your tap water, switch to rainwater or distilled water for a few weeks and watch the new leaves. Letting tap water sit out overnight lets chlorine escape, but it does not remove fluoride or minerals.
Too much fertilizer
Fertilizer does not make up for poor light or dry soil. Extra feeding adds salts and burns roots. Brown, crispy tips and edges after feeding are the sign.
Flush the soil as described above and skip feeding for a month or two. Then feed at the strength on the label, or at half strength, and only during the growing season. Do not feed a dry plant. Water it first.
Direct sun and heat
Leaves that sit in hot, direct sun scorch. The damage looks like tan or brown patches, often on the part of the leaf facing the glass. Leaves touching a hot window can burn too.
Move the plant back from the window or hang a sheer curtain between the plant and the glass. Scorched spots will not heal, but new growth will be clean once the light is right.
Cold drafts
Cold air from a door, an old window, or an air conditioner can brown leaf edges and tips. Tropical plants are the most sensitive. Move the plant out of the draft and keep leaves from touching cold glass.
A pot that is too small
Roots packed into a tight pot cannot take up enough water. The plant dries out fast and the tips brown. Check the drainage holes for roots, and slide the plant out to look. If the roots circle the inside of the pot in a mat, follow the steps in how to repot a houseplant step by step.
How to trim brown tips
Trimming is for looks only. The plant does not need it for health, and the leaf can still make food with its green parts.
Wipe sharp scissors with rubbing alcohol. Cut along the natural shape of the leaf, so the leaf keeps its pointed or rounded outline. Leave a thin edge of brown. Cutting into green tissue makes a new wound, and that edge can brown again.
If most of a leaf is brown or yellow, cut it off at the base of the stem. A plant puts no energy into a dead leaf, but the leaf also gives nothing back.
Do not trim more than a few leaves at one time on a stressed plant. Fix the cause first.
How to stop the browning from coming back
Change one thing at a time, and give the plant a few weeks. Leaves that are already brown stay brown, so judge by the new growth. Clean new leaves mean the fix worked.
Start with the cheapest checks. Feel the soil before every watering. Look for a crust on the soil. Check how close the plant sits to a vent, a heater, or a window. Then move to humidity and water type if the tips keep browning.
A few brown tips on an older leaf are normal. A plant with brown tips on every new leaf is telling you something in its setup needs to change.