Overview
- Gardeners and experts highlighted that dry indoor air is a common cause of brown, crispy leaf tips and that reflexively watering more can be the wrong response.
- To tell the difference, check the potting mix by touch, confirm drainage, look for white salt crusts, and inspect multiple plants in the same room to spot an environmental problem.
- Simple fixes include grouping pots to raise local humidity, running a humidifier, placing shallow water trays with pebbles near plants, and limited misting for species that tolerate it.
- The Royal Horticultural Society’s guideline of roughly 40–60% relative humidity is a useful baseline, but species vary and already-browned tissue will not regrow so success is judged by healthier new leaves.
- Addressing humidity first can prevent second-order harm: extra watering when the soil is already moist can cause root rot, and heaters or air conditioners make tropical houseplants especially vulnerable.