Am Seeing Brown Spots on My Plant Leaves: Reasons & Fix

Leaves of many plants, whether it is ornamental shrubs or normal flowering plants, often get caught by the problem of brown spots. Leaves always seem beautiful with their inheriting color.

Quick Tip (In short): Brown leaf spots are not fatal, and most of the brown spots are because of fungus. Wet warm conditions on a leaf will facilitate the room for fungus.

Don’t overwater your plants
Let it soil dry for a few days
Avoid the too-shady places
Provide optimal sunlight
Feed your plant to gain nutrients and fight deficiency
Apply natural fungicide treatment if needed

Can you trim the brown spot leaves? Yes if a few leaves have brown spots firstly separate the plant from the crowd (if possible) and trim off the few brown leaves. Don’t toss these leaves for compost.

Besides, these spots eventually disrupt the natural photosynthesis process of a plant. Hence, you should take some proper initiatives to dispose of those spots immediately once you find them on your plant.

Fortunately, these brown spots are curable and can’t provide solemn damage to your plant, if you detect and treat them in time. This is a proper systematic process and you have to react accordingly to this procedure.

In the first place, you need to find out the real reason behind such occurrences and eliminate them along with their sources. So, let’s get a bit more information about what causes these brown spots on your plant leaves and how to get rid of them permanently through our elaborated below-discussion-

Types of Brown Spots on Leaves:

Brown spots on leaves occur due to some leaf diseases. These are like-

Cedar apple—rust
Anthracnose
Rust fungi
Venturia
Septoria
And bacterial leaf spots

These kinds of diseases always appear due to some disruptions in their caring routine. The pattern and intensity of these spots even vary depending on those causes. Some common types of spots you may detect on your plant leaves are-

Burn-like deep spots
Dry spots on leaf edges
Yellowish brown spots
Sunken moist-looking wet spots
Tiny brown spots
Large brown spots
And brown spots with a yellow halo

Related: How to treat fungus gnats

Common Causes Of Brown Spots on Plant Leaves:

The most common causes of such unhealthy spots on your plant leaves are as follows-

Wet Condition:

This problem can appear due to-

Overwatering your plant and keeping it in a soggy medium
Using soil and pot with poor drainage quality
Keeping your plant in extremely low-humidity

Drought Stress:

It may hit your plant when-

You don’t understand the exact water needs of your plant
If you don’t water your plant at least once a week
You keep the potting soil dry for more than 2 weeks consequently

Light Problems:

It occurs when-

You put your plant under too much light, whether it is sunlight or artificial light
If your plant gets exposed to the afternoon sun regularly
When you keep your plant in a full shady area without any kind of light source

Overcrowded Plant:

It starts happening, when-

You don’t trim off the dead leaves and flowers in times
If you don’t shed your plant once a month
And when you don’t trim off the leggy unwanted stems out of your plant early enough

Untreated Diseases:

This problem happens, when-

You don’t take any remedy after detecting brown spots on your plants
If you don’t diagnose your plant issue at its early stage
When you don’t remove infected leaves immediately after detecting them

Crude Pests Attacks:

It is like-

When your plant is affected by some pests or bugs attacks
If you don’t do anything about your infected plant
And you keep those pests taking a bite of the sap of your plant for long

Fertilizing Issue:

It may happen-

When you over-fertilize your plant
If that over-fertilization causes a salt build-up in your plant
And then let your plant suffer from nutrient deficiency due to low-fertilization

Waste Pile Near the Plant:

This problem occurs-

When you don’t clean your garden area for a while
If you don’t mow your outdoor garden for long
And put the garbage can near your outdoor or indoor garden

All of these causes lead your plant to the consequence of mild to severe brown spots after some time.

How To Fix Brown Spots And Prevent Them From Appearing?

To solve these issues, you must try some precautionary methods attentively. Such as-

Water Perfectly:

To do so, follow these steps-

Understand the water needs of your plant accurately
Always try to water your plant according to its needs
Be attentive to the watering level during dormancy

Prevent Drought Stress:

For this attempt-

Never let the soil of your plant entirely dry
Install a self-watering system if you are not around your plant for long
Apply mulch and misting schedule if your plant doesn’t look hydrated enough with regular watering

Keep The Drainage System Ideal:

To do this-

Prepare the potting mix with the perfect draining quality
Chose a planter that has a properly working drainage system
Never let the root suffer from the soggy or water-logged growing medium

Provide Proper Light:

To do so-

Check the light requirements of your plant and place the planter or sow the plant accordingly
Don’t let your plant soak in scorching light for more than 6 hours a day
Try to apply shed or cover from the dappled sun, if your plant is situated under direct sun

Prune In Time:

For this step,

Know the right pruning session for your specific plant
Wait till the dead leaves or dead flowers appear on your plant and shed them immediately
Never let the extra leggy or unwanted stems overcrowd your plant for long

Look For Pests and Diseases:

To do this-

Check your plant frequently and attentively
Never allow any issues that may instigate pests or fungal or bacterial diseases on your plant, ever
Apply organic pesticides and fungicides to your plant once in a while, just to be on the safe side from such annoyances

Feed Mindfully:

To try this-

Some plants need less while few are heavy feeders so, know the exact nutrition needs of your plant
Feed your plant only according to that needs and never overdo thinking of doing good
Also never keep your plant unfertilized for more than a year consequently

Keep The Atmosphere Clean:

To apply this method-

Keep your garden area clean and away from dustbins assiduously
Mow your outdoor garden area regularly once a while
And keep the indoor garden spots weeds-free

Apart from these initiatives, you should always keep your plant in a healthy form with a perfect and steady caring regimen. Follow these tricks and keep the possibility of appearing brown spots on the leaf surface of your plant proficiently.

FAQ: What Is The Best Way To Treat Brown Spots on Leaves?

The best way to treat and eliminate brown spots from your plants’ leaves, is to find the real cause and clear it off from its root. Most of the time it’s a fungal infestation so, stop overwatering, let your plant soil dry for a few days if it’s soggy.

Can Brown Leaves Turn Green Again?

Unfortunately, you can turn an entirely brown-spotted leaf green again. However, sometimes, you can save a leaf by cutting the infected part out, if you detect it at a very early stage.

Should Cutting Off Brown Leaves Solve The Problem of Brown Spots on Leaves?

Cutting the brown leaf or leaf with brown spots or only the infected part can save your plant for a certain period but not for eternity. So, you must seek the true cause of the brown-spot occurrence on the leaves of your plant and eliminate it from its origin.