Leaves are yellowing or the plant is drooping
Check first
Record which leaves changed, how fast, and whether the root zone is dry, evenly moist, or saturated.
Keep uncertain: Yellowing and droop are symptoms, not proof of overwatering or thirst.
Plant Triage Desk · free guide-first
Start with what changed.
A yellow leaf, a drooping stem, or a speck on the soil is a clue—not a diagnosis. Use this desk to choose the next safe check, follow a written guide, and decide what deserves action.
No photo upload. No instant diagnosis. This is a link-based decision aid. It cannot identify every pest, disease, toxicity, or cause with certainty.
Choose the nearest task
What brought you to the desk?
Choose by what you need to do—not by a diagnosis you do not have yet.
Start with the symptom you can actually see.
Choose the closest visible pattern, then compare more than one clue before changing care.
See symptom pathsInspect first. Treat only after you find evidence.
Use the pest sweep for live insects, webbing, sticky residue, bumps, or fresh feeding damage.
Open the pest pathCheck the pot, light, humidity, or recent move.
Build a baseline before repotting, buying equipment, or changing several variables at once.
Check the setupTest the plan before another person takes over.
Estimate each plant’s actual water use, test any system, and leave narrow stop rules.
Read the free travel guideObserved symptom paths
Match the pattern, then read the free guide.
These paths narrow the next check; they do not declare a cause. When more than one path fits, start with the least destructive check and keep the alternatives open.
Tips or margins are turning brown
Check first
Compare the whole pattern: roots and watering, heat, humidity, residue, water source, and physical injury.
Keep uncertain: One brown edge cannot identify the cause, and damaged tissue will not turn green again.
The mix stays wet, smells off, or roots look damaged
Check first
Check drainage, pot size, recent watering, and root condition. Treat a meter reading as one clue, not a command.
Keep uncertain: Do not unpot a stable plant or cut roots because of a single surface sign or tool reading.
You see insects, webbing, bumps, cottony residue, or sticky leaves
Check first
Inspect leaf undersides, stems, crevices, mix, and nearby surfaces. Separate the plant when spread is plausible and safe.
Keep uncertain: Old damage is not proof of an active pest. Confirm what is alive before selecting a control.
Free guides for this path
- How to Inspect Houseplants for Pests: An Early-Detection Checklist
- Fungus Gnats in Houseplants: An Evidence-Based Plan
- Mealybugs on Houseplants: Identification and IPM Treatment
- Spider Mites on Houseplants: Diagnosis and IPM Control
- Scale Insects on Houseplants: Identification and IPM Control
- Thrips on Houseplants: Identification, Monitoring, and IPM
There is growth, crust, or activity on the potting mix
Check first
Distinguish fuzzy growth from mineral crust, insects, fertilizer residue, or decaying material before cleaning it up.
Keep uncertain: A surface layer alone does not establish root disease or an indoor-air health risk.
Growth is sparse, stretched, stalled, or not changing form
Check first
Verify plant identity and growth stage, then measure the light pattern and review support, roots, and recent changes.
Keep uncertain: A grow light or larger pot is not automatically the missing input, and no setup can force a leaf form.
The desk method
Observe → Narrow → Check safely → Change one thing → Reassess
This loop preserves the evidence. Urgent containment and safety corrections come first; one-variable testing is for nonurgent situations only.
- 01
Observe
Write down what changed, where it appears, when it began, and what stayed normal. Take comparable photos if useful.
- 02
Narrow
Choose a path from the evidence you have. Keep at least two plausible explanations until the checks separate them.
- 03
Check safely
Use non-destructive checks first. Stop for exposure, electrical, structural, legal, or high-spread concerns.
- 04
Change one thing
For a nonurgent problem, make the least disruptive justified correction and record what you deliberately leave steady.
- 05
Reassess
Compare fresh damage, new growth, live-pest counts, and root-zone behavior—not whether old damage disappeared.
Stable enough to plan
Build the setup from a free guide.
Use these when there is no urgent stop condition and you are deciding how the care system should work.
- New arrival
Inspect, isolate when appropriate, place, water, and monitor before folding a new plant into the collection.
How to Acclimate a New Houseplant Safely - Pot and roots
Match drainage, size, material, and stability to the plant and your real watering conditions.
Choosing the Right Pot for a Houseplant - Repot decision
Use root and soil evidence to decide whether disruption is justified, then plan low-stress aftercare.
How to Repot a Houseplant: A Low-Stress Method - Light
Measure first, then select, place, and adjust a fixture around the plant instead of relying on brightness by eye.
How to Choose and Use Grow Lights for Houseplants - Humidity
Measure relative humidity and balance plant response against condensation, device, and building risks.
Indoor Humidity for Houseplants: Measurement and Safe Adjustment - Time away
Learn the moisture pattern, test any reservoir or wick, and give a sitter limited instructions and stop rules.
How to Keep Houseplants Alive While You’re Away
Free browser tools
Need a number, plan, or temporary tracker?
Use a focused utility when the task is smaller than a full guide. Nothing here identifies a plant problem or replaces the evidence paths above.
Optional, after the free path
Need a paper trail, not more advice?
The guides above contain the decision support. These paid downloads are optional record-keeping tools; neither diagnoses a plant, prescribes treatment, or promises recovery.
01 First, read the matching free symptom guide above and decide what you can safely monitor.
Need one case file while the cause is still uncertain?
Organize a baseline, water and root-zone evidence, live-pest checks, one nonurgent change, and reassessment in the Plant Rescue Pack.
Optional $9 investigation workbook01 First, use the matching free guide above to reach a reasonable care plan.
Already have a reasonable recovery plan?
Track comparable weekly observations and a continue, pause, or seek-help decision in the Plant Recovery Journal.
Optional $7 journal01 First, use the free vacation plant-care guide to test the routine.
Need to hand that tested plan to a sitter?
Organize established instructions, contacts, boundaries, and visit notes in the Plant Sitter Handoff Maker.
Optional $7 handoff tool