If your plant is shedding leaves, then there must be some issue. Do not worry; we are here to help! We know how frantic that one moment of losing leaves in your plant can be, so we'd love to work through what might be the problem and how you can help get your plant back to its healthy state.

Possible Causes of Dropping Leaves

Here are some reasons why plant drop their leaves:

1. Watering Issues

Plants can suffer from leaf drop due to watering-related stress. It is important to maintain your plant's soil at ideal moisture. The task of knowing when to water enough yet not too much becomes less of a concern if you know the right amount of drying you are aiming for with the soil for your particular plant. Check out our Watering Tips For Houseplants for more specific information on what percentage of soil volume should dry out for your plant variety. Continue to water the pot evenly across the surface until you start seeing water leak out the bottom of the pot, into the saucer. Allow it to sit for a few minutes for the excess water in the soil to drain down to the saucer. Remember to thoroughly wash out the water that settles in the saucer to prevent moist soil and so-called 'wet feet', which can cause root rot.

2. Too Little Light

Many plants can withstand low light areas, but if the plant does not get proper light it might drop its leaves. If a plant is not getting enough light, it cannot photosynthesize as it should and might even save its energy by dropping some of its leaves. Normally, the oldest leaves the farthest from the base of the plant will be shed first. 

Moving your suspected-underlighted plant to a bright, indirectly lit location is a good idea. Bright indirect light is found next to an east-facing window, or a few feet back from an unobstructed southern or western window. If a southern or western window has something like a sheer curtain, or natural shade from a tree or building outside, the plant can be positioned closer. 

3. Drafty Area or Low Humidity

Cold drafts or low humidity may encourage leaf drop. Do not put your plant near drafty spots, especially drafty windows during winter, and also make sure it is not along the path of any open-air vent. If your plant loves humidity, try giving the plant a boost of humidity by misting. Use a pebble tray or place a humidifier nearby.

4. Pests

Another reason why the leaves could be dropping might be something hiding on your plant's leaves and stem like pests! Pests such as mealybugs, scale, and spider mites might be causing your plant to drop leaves. The pests cause some form of discomfort to the plant, and in feeding them, they weaken it, which causes discoloration of the leaves and can also lead to leaf drop. 

Fine webbing, small black dots or clusters of tiny white dots on the underside of the leaves, cotton-like tufts, hard bumps on the leaves or stems, and sticky residue on the leaves. If you have spotted any of these symptoms, start with immediate pest treatment. Most pests that infect plants can be treated with neem oil or a spinosad treatment. You might often wonder why my plant has pests. If you are curious then visit our website and find ways to get rid of it.

5. Rootbound

When your plant is too large for the size of its pot and becomes root-bound, then that might be the other reason behind your plant dropping its leaves. Root-bound refers to the condition of a plant when it has developed so many roots that there is no longer any room to expand in the container. This can result in your plant becoming imbalanced with its soil-to-root ratio, meaning that it cannot obtain the right amount of water and nutrients. 

This would cause the plant to drop its leaves to save energy and preserve water. Look for roots creeping up along the top of the soil to know if your plant is root-bound. However, you might see roots growing through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. Another indication that your plant is root-bound is if, when watering your plants, water rushes through the pot and out the drainage hole. You can remove the plant actually from its pot to inspect closely the roots. The best way to get rid of rootbound plants is to repot a plant.

6. Shock, Stress, or Normal Leaf Drop

Shock and stress to the plant can cause the plant to drop some leaves. Houseplants, for the most part, do not like change. They might be cranky for a few days or even a few weeks after moving to a new location in your home, after repotting, or after some other stressful experience like extreme temperature changes. 

Usually, plants bounce back on their own when other care requirements are met. The other very common occurrence is normal leaf drop. It may just be that a few leaves are falling here and there, but everything's fine. Plants can go through a period of changing seasons or flushing out new growth. Your plant lets its old leaves go to send the energy to the new growth! So, keep in mind that there might be nothing wrong at all.

How to Buy Plants From Eureka Farms?

Now licensed for a full-scale nursery with an extensive inventory of landscaping trees, fruit trees, palm trees, and the largest houseplant collection. If you want to enhance your curb appeal or turn your porch into a class act, Eureka Farms can guide you on how to do it all, from topiary trees and hedges to everything in between. You can rest assured that we will handle the shipment with the utmost care across the country so that when your plants reach you, they will be as fresh as new. These indoor plants require less upkeep, improve home air cleanliness, brighten moods, and provide essential touches of the natural world to the work-from-home office. Happy Planting!