Houseplant leaf with visible spots and discoloration showing common disease symptoms

Houseplant Diseases: Identify Spots, Rot, Mildew and Wilting

Something is wrong with your plant and the leaves are telling you, but they’re not speaking plainly. Yellow patches, brown spots, white dust, a stem that suddenly feels soft. You searched “houseplant diseases” hoping for a clear answer and instead found a dozen articles listing every disease in alphabetical order, none of which quite match what’s in front of you. Here’s a more useful starting point: a houseplant disease is any infectious or environmental condition that damages plant tissue in a repeating pattern – but most indoor plant problems are not infectious at all. They look like disease. They feel like disease. But they’re actually stress responses to watering habits, light levels, or drainage problems that mimic the real thing exactly. ...

 · 17 min ·