What Are Your Plant's Leaves Trying to Tell You

Posted on 20/10/2020

How to Read Your Plants and Prevent Problems in the Garden

Sometimes reliable gardening is done through good communication with your plants. No, not speaking to them and waiting for an answer, of course. Plants have a much more subtle way of communicating their needs and you need to learn them in order to provide better garden care. With some knowledge about how your plant’s leaves behave, you will be able to recognise what you are doing wrong and what you are doing right for just about any plant. If you equip yourself with that knowledge, doing expert gardening will be only a step away.

Here are some ways in which the plants attract your attention and what they mean:

#1 - Brown Plant Leaves

This is the basic one you should learn even before acquiring a plant. If your plant’s leaves go brown and start drooping, your plant wants water. Do proper watering along with all the trimming and pruning and keep it hydrated – but don’t drown it! Just water enough to keep the soil moist and the plant will be fine.

#2 - Absent Leaves

Sometimes the flower or plant does absolutely nothing. It is simply a three-dimensional space filler that neither withers nor grows. What does that mean? Well, you are giving it enough water to live, but not enough to grow. As mentioned, you need to keep the plant hydrated enough for it to thrive, not just to exist. You wouldn’t want to live with a cup of water a day, right?

#3 - Yellow Edges

And here is what happens when you do too much watering. When the leaves become yellow on the edges, then you are overdoing the garden care. Take a step back, allow the plant to absorb all the water and only water it after it has dried out. Otherwise you will only flood it and it will wither backwards.

#4 - Misshapen

Another sign that you are flooding your plant is the misshapen state of the leaves. You know how your fingers get soft and wrinkled after a bath or a shower? That’s what happens when you water your plant too much, only in this case it wrinkles the entire foliage and the plant will die. Be careful with the watering to avoid such problems.

#5 - Pale Leaves

And then you have discoloured or pale leaves. When the usually colourful flower starts losing its chromatic appeal, then it needs to be fed. Fertilise it with anything you can to keep the plant going. Visit your local florist to ask about fertilisers if you don’t know anything about them. Just feed the plant and it will get better quickly. Another reason for the paleness is that the plant has outgrown its container and wants a bigger one.

#6 - Leaning

If the plant can’t stand upright and starts leaning, then it wants some vitamin D. You would do best to provide it with some natural light, whether bright daylight, or expose it to sunlight. This usually happens to light-loving plants that are kept in dimmer houses or flats. Make sure you have the resources to take care of the kind of plant you want before actually buying it.

These are the signs the plants give you when they want something. Learn them and start giving proper garden care to your plants. Always provide what they need and let them breathe so that they can help you breathe with their practical side. You do not have to be a gardening expert to be able to handle plants, simply know what they want. It’s all in the leaves.