yellow leaves on Nerve Plant
Quick answer
If your Nerve Plant has yellow leaves, the most likely cause is: Nerve plant (Fittonia verschaffeltii) leaves turn yellow primarily when the compost is kept too wet and the pot drains poorly, suffocating the fine root hairs that this humidity-loving tropical depends on to support its thin veined foliage; the same water-soaked conditions that swamp the roots leave the plant unable to recover its turgor once wilting begins.
Start here:
- 1. Unpot the nerve plant and inspect the root ball; clear any clogged drainage holes in the bottom of the pot so excess water can escape after each watering, and shake free any sour, compacted compost from around the fine white roots.
- 2. Cut back the watering frequency so the top 1cm of compost dries between drinks during spring to autumn, and reduce watering further through winter; switch to tepid water to avoid chilling the thin roots and pour off any water that collects in the saucer.
Why Nerve Plant gets yellow leaves
nerve plant
Nerve plant (Fittonia verschaffeltii) leaves turn yellow primarily when the compost is kept too wet and the pot drains poorly, suffocating the fine root hairs that this humidity-loving tropical depends on to support its thin veined foliage; the same water-soaked conditions that swamp the roots leave the plant unable to recover its turgor once wilting begins.
How to reverse yellow leaves on Nerve Plant
- 1
Unpot the nerve plant and inspect the root ball; clear any clogged drainage holes in the bottom of the pot so excess water can escape after each watering, and shake free any sour, compacted compost from around the fine white roots.
- 2
Cut back the watering frequency so the top 1cm of compost dries between drinks during spring to autumn, and reduce watering further through winter; switch to tepid water to avoid chilling the thin roots and pour off any water that collects in the saucer.
- 3
Keep the foliage up out of wet compost by standing the pot on a pebble-filled tray of water and misting the leaves each morning so humidity comes from the air around the leaves rather than from sodden soil at the roots.
Keep yellow leaves off this Nerve Plant
Repot nerve plants annually in spring into a peat-based, free-draining mix with perlite added, use a plastic pot with drainage holes hidden inside a decorative cover, and never let the plant sit in cold wet compost overnight or stand in a saucer of standing water.