Adenium leaf tips brown & dry

5 years ago

My adenium leaf tips keep becoming brown. New leaves grow, but in a week or so they become brown as well. I provide my plant ample sun, water 2 days a week, and use succulent soil. What is happening? Can anybody provide some insights?

Featured Answer

User

5 years ago

Hi Aaron. If your daytime temperature is above 20C at night and even hotter during the day, your adenium actually does need watering at least twice a week, especially if it is under the sun.

Indoors, with cooler temperatures, this plant slows way down. It will be fine with weekly or even fortnightly watering.

If your plant is cold, I suspect it just went through a cycle of losing a bunch of roots, melting into the substrate because it was staying wet for too long. As a result, the uptake of water was interrupted at some point and dried out the leaf tips above the soil. If it does not get worse, just reduce watering.

Personally, I would unpot it and check the roots. At the very least, I'd want to clean the detritus. The substrate you are using is actually very heavy. I use that exact thing to amend my pumice, not the other way around. The plant will love how much water it retains in summer but when it is cold, you'll have to water it sparingly so that it dries fast enough.

Alternatively, feel the trunk and give it a testing press as close to the soil as you can reach. If it feels spongy and soft, definitely dig it out. If it is firm, you can leave it alone and just water when it is bone dry.

The rule of thumb for adeniums that I have found to be effective is to treat it like a cactus in winter and like coleus in summer.

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Comments (6)

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
5 years ago
Could be overwatering, could be salt/fertilizer buildup in soil. Or just not warm enough.
socks
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
There’s a hole in your pot bottom? If not, repot in proper pot. I’m no expert but 2x a week seems a lot especially since it’s in a ceramic pot, not terracotta. I don’t even water mine once a week. Use a wooden skewer to see if your potting mix is damp. Insert for several minutes. When you remove it, if it’s damp, don’t water.

what’s the potting mix? Nice plant. I hope you can save it
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Aaron Denton
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Yes there is a drainage hole! I use “Hoffman 10404 Organic Cactus and Succulent Soil”. Let me take your suggestions and reduce watering to 1x. Will try the wooden skewers trick and check the dampness.
Michelle Volk
5 years ago
Do you have a draft? Sometimes that can cause Browning tips. Aside from the other suggestions here, causes for browning tips could be simply shock. Did you recently repot? Move it to a new location with more/less sun or a suddenly different temperature?

I think the most common reason for browning tips is burning (sun, fertiliser, cleaning/pest spray), a draft, and underwatering. I hope you resolve the issue soon!
Maria Elena (Caribbean - USDA Zone 13a)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
The best environment for any plant is as close as possible to its natural habitat.

Is your adenium outdoors or indoors in an air conditioned or heated room? Is the pot sitting on top of an air vent? That may be the issue. Is sunlight coming through with high intensity at any portion of the day through that glass window? Sunlight intensity is significantly magnified through glass, which can easily burn leaves.