Brown tips on houseplants
Common causes of brown tips and the first things to check, summarized from 120 PlantGrail care records across 110 plants (as of ).
What causes brown tips on houseplants?
It depends on the plant and how it is kept, so check the plant pages below. For Chlorophytum Comosum, the records explain it like this: Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) exhibit marginal leaf necrosis (brown tips) primarily due to fluoride and chlorine toxicity from municipal tap water. These halogen ions accumulate in leaf margins over 2-4 weeks, disrupting cellular metabolism and causing tissue death at the leaf apex. Unlike overwatering damage which affects entire leaves from the base upward, fluoride burn is restricted to leaf tips and margins.
Common first steps
- Switch to filtered, distilled, or rainwater for all watering
- Water the plant freely during the active growing season so the potting mix stays consistently moist, then check it daily in warm rooms because ctenanthes cycle through water quickly in summer.
- When the leaf edges first begin to brown, increase humidity around the foliage by misting or by standing the pot on a tray of damp pebbles, and never let the mix go fully dry between waterings.
Plants with records for brown tips
Most records first. Open a plant for its own causes and fixes.
- snake plant Dracaena trifasciataPlant care guide
- boston fern Nephrolepis exaltataPlant care guide
- calathea Goeppertia spp.Plant care guide
- spider plant Chlorophytum comosumPlant care guide
- aloe vera Aloe veraPlant care guide
- peace lily Spathiphyllum wallisiiPlant care guide
- dracaena marginata Plant care guide
- dieffenbachia Dieffenbachia spp.Plant care guide
- cast iron plant Aspidistra ElatiorPlant care guide
- chlorophytum comosum Chlorophytum comosumPlant care guide
- rubber plant Ficus elasticaRead the guide
- bird of paradise Strelitzia reginaeRead the guide
- kimberly queen fern Nephrolepis obliterataPlant care guide
- calathea orbifolia Goeppertia orbifoliaPlant care guide
- pothos Epipremnum aureumRead the guide
- epipremnum pinnatum Plant care guide
- chamaedorea elegans Plant care guide
- money tree Pachira aquaticaRead the guide
- monstera deliciosa Monstera deliciosaPlant care guide
- ferns Plant care guide
- begonia Begonia spp.Plant care guide
- anthurium Anthurium spp.Read the guide
- snake plant moonshine Dracaena trifasciata 'Moonshine'Plant care guide
- coffee plant Coffea arabicaPlant care guide
- philodendron brasil Philodendron hederaceum 'Brasil'Plant care guide
- cordyline Cordyline
- staghorn fern Staghorn FernPlant care guide
- pitcher plant nepenthes Pitcher Plant NepenthesPlant care guide
- platycerium grande Platycerium GrandePlant care guide
- rhaphidophora tetrasperma variegated Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma Variegated
- corn plant Corn Plant
- male fern Male Fern
- ornamental grass Ornamental Grass
- ctenanthe Ctenanthe oppenheimianaPlant care guide
- fittonia Fittonia albivenisRead the guide
- hoya Hoya spp.Plant care guide
- yucca Yucca elephantipes
- philodendron micans philodendron micansPlant care guide
- nerve plant nerve plantPlant care guide
- asparagus fern Asparagus setaceusPlant care guide
- wandering jew wandering jew
- song of india Dracaena reflexa
- rattlesnake plant rattlesnake plant
- sprenger's asparagus fern sprenger's asparagus fern
- airplant airplant
- monstera obliqua Monstera obliqua
- kentia palm Howea forsteriana
- basketplant Tradescantia spathacea
- dragontree dragontree
- hoya krimson queen hoya krimson queenPlant care guide
- alocasia baginda alocasia bagindaPlant care guide
- alocasia dragon scale alocasia dragon scalePlant care guide
- monstera albo monstera albo
- calathea makoyana calathea makoyana
- calathea roseopicta calathea roseopicta
- tradescantia nanouk tradescantia nanouk
- croton petra croton petra
- dracaena fragrans dracaena fragrans
- chamaedorea seifrizii chamaedorea seifrizii
- platycerium bifurcatum platycerium bifurcatum
- calathea network calathea network
- goeppertia makoyana goeppertia makoyana
- philodendron painted lady philodendron painted ladyPlant care guide
- philodendron scandens philodendron scandens
- hoya carnosa compacta hindu hoya carnosa compacta hindu
- anthurium sp delta force anthurium sp delta force
- calathea makoyana peacock calathea makoyana peacock
- calathea flamestar calathea flamestar
- calathea undulata calathea undulata
- calathea zebrina calathea zebrina
- calathea ornata sanderiana calathea ornata sanderiana
- calathea rufibarba bluegrass calathea rufibarba bluegrass
- calathea freddy calathea freddy
- calathea musaica calathea musaica
- calathea lancifolia calathea lancifolia
- alocasia yucatan princess alocasia yucatan princess
- calathea picta royal standard calathea picta royal standard
- calathea roseopicta dottie calathea roseopicta dottie
- calathea roseopicta illustris calathea roseopicta illustris
- calathea burle marx blue calathea burle marx blue
- begonia bowerae begonia bowerae
- peperomia capreata red luna peperomia capreata red luna
- pothos global green high pothos global green high
- aglaonema maria aglaonema maria
- dracaena reflexa dracaena reflexa
- dracaena marginata bicolor dracaena marginata bicolor
- dracaena fragrans massangeana dracaena fragrans massangeana
- alocasia frydek albo alocasia frydek albo
- ctenanthe lubbersiana ctenanthe lubbersiana
- ctenanthe oppenheimiana ctenanthe oppenheimiana
- tradescantia fluminensis tradescantia fluminensis
- caladium white christmas caladium white christmas
- platycerium superbum platycerium superbum
- adiantum hispidulum adiantum hispidulum
- hoya carnosa tricolor hoya carnosa tricolor
- calathea eclipse calathea eclipse
- calathea micans calathea micans
- calathea annie calathea annie
- calathea network mosaic calathea network mosaic
- dracaena deremensis dracaena deremensis
- maranta red maranta red
- aglaonema Aglaonema commutatumPlant care guide
- haworthia Haworthia spp.Plant care guide
- majesty palm Ravenea rivularisPlant care guide
- parlor palm Chamaedorea elegansRead the guide
- dracaena Dracaena spp.Read the guide
- ficus elastica Ficus elasticaPlant care guide
- prayer plant Maranta leuconeuraPlant care guide
- lucky bamboo Dracaena sanderianaRead the guide
- ponytail palm Beaucarnea recurvataPlant care guide
Questions about brown tips
Which plants have the most records for brown tips?
snake plant, boston fern, calathea, spider plant, aloe vera and 105 others.
Can brown tips be prevented?
Use only filtered, distilled, or rainwater for all irrigation. Maintain 50-60% humidity. Fertilize at 1/4 strength monthly during growing season only—excess salts exacerbate tip burn. Test tap water with TDS meter; values >300ppm indicate high mineral content unsuitable for spider plants.
What are these records?
This page summarizes 120 PlantGrail care records on brown tips. Records describe care topics; they are not counts of observed plants or treatment outcomes.