Your result
No action neededMost likely: normal seasonal change
What is going on
Plants retire their oldest leaves on purpose. A leaf at the bottom that yellows slowly, on its own, while the top of the plant keeps growing, is being emptied of nutrients and dropped so the plant can spend them on new growth. Leaf drop in the week or two after a move, a repot, or a temperature swing is the same thing: the plant is shedding what it can no longer support in the new conditions, and it stops once it settles.
Do this first
Change nothing for two weeks, and keep watering the way you have been.
- 1 Resist the urge to repot, fertilize, or move a plant that is already adjusting. Each of those restarts the adjustment.
- 2 Keep light and watering steady, since consistency is what shortens the settling period.
- 3 Remove fallen leaves from the soil surface so they do not sit there and hold moisture.
- 4 Look at the growing tip rather than the old leaves. That is where the plant tells you how it is really doing.
How you will know it worked: If more than a leaf or two a week goes, if new growth is affected, or if the drop is still going after a month, this is no longer routine and it is worth a closer look.
Still stuck, or not sure this is it?
A quiz cannot see the roots or the room. A virtual consult is $65 and starts with your photos, or a full house call is a flat $185 anywhere from Sarasota to Port Charlotte.
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