Are you one of our members? I hope not because it means you may be feeling sad and most likely inadequate too. But if you are one of our sad members, maybe this blog will offer you some hope. And help.
Let me be honest…writing this blog has left me feeling super vulnerable. Because when I say I’m president of the yellow leaf club, it’s no exaggeration, my friends. I have yellow leaves popping up All. Over. My. House.
It’s happening to different genera of plants in all different locations in my house. Without checking any of them too closely yet, it looks like a few of them are not too serious and a couple of them…well…(insert wailing and screaming.)
It’s 100% my fault because I’ve been completely neglecting my houseplants recently. Every year during harvest, I become an absentee [fill in the blank] wife, mom, friend, dog mom & plant parent. This year the added distress of sending my teacher hubby and two children into a school while COVID-19 runs rampant through our country has me losing sleep. The result has been a flagrant neglect of my poor houseplant babies.
The two plants that I’m most concerned about are my Philodendron Birkin and my Hoya callistophylla. I’m pretty sure that we’re dealing with root rot. Ugh. Let me show you what I’m dealing with here.
To check the root system of this P. birkin, I took it to my potting bench and gently teased the potting mix away from the roots. Thankfully, the roots were all healthy looking so I repotted with fresh potting mix and removed all of the dead and dying leaves.
One possibility for this sudden and extreme leaf drop could have been the plant having a bit of a hissy fit because of its recent move to a new location. This is my best guess. One other possibility is that some of the leaves could have been burnt by the sun coming through the window next to the cabinet. But I think that burn damage would have been more patchy; damaging only parts of the leaf instead of the whole.
It’s been three or so weeks since I repotted and no more yellow leaves. I’m hopeful that the damage was just the plant demonstrating its displeasure at being moved. I’ll keep you updated either way.
My Hoya callistophylla may be in some serious trouble, let me show you…
My Hoya callistophylla went from just fine to almost completely dead in matter of a few days. As the leaves began to yellow, it became obvious that I was dealing with a fungal infection. As I looked even closer, I realized that this Hoya’s leaves had been directly in the path of the humidifier which sits right next to this shelf.
I did a process similar to the P. birkin, repotting after checking the roots for rot (there was none) and removing the dead and dying leaves. I did also spray down the few remaining leaves with a hydrogen peroxide and water solution to discourage any further fungus growth. I also moved this plant to a new spot away from the path of my humidifier.
Three weeks later, I did lose one more leaf leaving only four leaves on the poor plant. I feel like maybe we’ve turned the corner now and I’m hoping that she’ll be willing and able to put out an additional leaf or two before the winter temperatures put a stop to all Hoya growth.
Here are a few of my other yellow leaf club members.
Scindapsus pictus ‘Exotica’ with a yellow leaf 
Syngonium erythrophyllum ‘Llano Carti Road’ with a brown/pink dying leaf 
Philodendron ‘Florida Beauty’ with a bright yellow leaf hiding in the back
The photos above are just a few of many, many yellow leaves that popped up around my home.
These random yellow leaves are nothing to worry about, my friends. If you have plants that are shedding a few leaves as we transition from summer heat into cooler temps, that is a completely normal behavior for your plant. Do not panic. Just allow your plant to take any energy left in the leaf and as soon as it can be removed easily, put it on your compost pile.
Now that I’ve revealed to you the results of my plant neglect, I hope you all still love me. And remember to love yourselves too. Especially if you have a few yellow leaves on your plants too.
Also remember to follow me on YouTube (Liquidambar Girl Gardening) and on Instagram @liquidambar_girl. All of your follows and likes really help me keep providing y’all with planty information. It’d also be great if you’d take a second and follow this blog by subscribing and liking this post. I really appreciate it!
If you’d like to see this blog in a video format, check out my YouTube video about all of my yellow leaves.
Mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.
Liquidambar Girl Gardening 
Hi Bridget, yellow leaves are a bit scary and I know you will bring those babies back to great health again. I’m dealing with a monstera deliciosa plant that I bought 3 weeks ago . Their new leafs that are unfurling still are rotting from the tip I didn’t want to pull it from its pot but I’m going to have to do it soon, what do you think
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Hmmmm…I think I’d check the roots. I’d be as gentle and non-invasive as possible. If you don’t see any rot, just repot it and try to regulate the watering schedule and see if that gets things under control. It may still just be suffering from mistreatment from the store where you bought it. Keep me updated!
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We still love you! Hang in there, I feel hour pain!🤯💜🙏
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Hi Michele! Thanks for your encouragement. At least my little Bonnie spider plants and climbing Aloe are doing well 😉
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