Every gardener wants their garden or indoor plant to be healthy, flourishing, and attractive because no one desires a dying plant or curled leaves, which can lead to leaf dropping. Every plant has luscious green leaves in various hues, sizes, patterns, and shapes; this is one of the most appealing qualities of plants.
Everyone wants to see their plants prospering and at their finest, but what if you discover your plant’s leaves aren’t looking their best? Many gardeners notice their plant’s leaves curling down, which can be avoided and corrected if a quick solution is administered.
What Does Leaf Curling Indicate?
Plant leaves can curl inward, outward, and even upward for various reasons.
An excess of water, pest infestation, over-fertilization, nitrogen deficiency, and transplant shock cause downward curling of your plant’s leaves.
Why Do Plant Leaves Curl?
When there are manmade and natural issues such as pest infestation, improper fertilization, lack of required nutrients, overwatering [that can lead to root rot], too much light, and under-watering, the leaves of your garden plants curl.
If you have a variety of plants in your garden, I’m sure you want to see them bright and healthy. Because the plant leaves bring beauty to your Gardner while also increasing the air quality in your home, here are some reasons your garden plant leaves should curl and appropriate ways to fix curled downward leaves.
How To Fix Plant’s Leaves Curling?
Here are some of the reasons that may cause curling leaves on your garden plant, as well as how to correct them and prevent them in the future so your plants do not suffer from these issues.
1. Overwatering
Overwatering can cause root rots, which can cause the leaves to curl. That’s why you should only water your plant when needed, not when you want to.
If the soil is consistently damp, your plant’s roots develop root rot, and your plant will eventually die if the problem is not identified and remedied promptly.
How To Fix It
Water the plant only when the soil is dry, and re-pot it if it has been overwatered.
2. Little Or Too Much Light?
Many plants are affected by low light; avoid placing your plant in a particularly dark or shaded spot for an extended period, as this may produce curling leaves.
Many plants, especially those from tropical climates, prefer indirect light. Excessive light can cause leaves to dry, curl and fall off.
How To Fix It
The easiest way to determine how much light your plant needs is to research what that plant needs, as many plants have specific light requirements.
Ensure you follow these requirements if your plant suffers from too much or too little light.
If you suspect excess light try moving your plant to a location with less direct sunlight for indoor plants; for plants in the garden, you can protect them by creating shade.
3. Pest
Check to see if the pests reside in your plant’s core. If so, attempt to get rid of them as soon as possible because such bugs are usually suckers that suck out the nutrients from the inside, causing the plant leaves dry and curl.
Examples of pests affecting plant leaves include whiteflies, aphids, bugs, etc.
How To Fix It
Insecticides can control pests; if you do not want to use insecticides or herbicides, use soapy water instead. You can also rub alcohol; it doesn’t harm the foliage; you can repeat this application until the pest is gone.
4. Deficiency in Nutrients
Nutrients are the main source of strength for your garden plants; they need nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium.
When plants don’t get enough nitrogen, their leaves curl and turn yellow. Yellowing is a major problem in plants since it leads to browning and, eventually death of plants. Yellowing leaves are a common sign of potassium insufficiency.
In addition, plants also require phosphorus to grow well. Phosphorus deficiency causes plant leaves to turn bluish and curl downward. Because the older leaves do not receive any nutrition, they dry up and fall off the plant.
A lack of fertilization or using a fertilizer with insufficient nitrogen levels most likely causes a nitrogen deficit.
How To Fix It
Without nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, or phosphorus, your plant will grow weak and vulnerable to fungus disease. You can fix the nitrogen deficiency in plants by taking action quickly, or they may eventually turn a dark brown hue and curl downwards.
Choose a fertilizer strong in potassium or magnesium to correct the potassium deficit in plants. Also, purchase and apply a nitrate-based fertilizer and mix it into the soil.
5. Plant Shock After Transplantation
Transplant shock happens when a plant is transferred from one spot in the garden to another or from one pot to another, and this sometimes stresses the roots. Transplant shock can last for weeks or even months.
The plant may lose leaves due to this stress, and the remaining leaves may curl or discolor. Plant leaves may also fall off the plant totally in some instances.
While transplant shock is usually only transitory, it can sometimes result in irreversible plant damage.
How to Fix It
Ensure that your plant receives adequate water, and your plant roots must be kept moist to recoup from transplant shock.
You could also try fertilizing your plant lightly, as plants recover from transplant shock with a light application of an equitable fertilizer.
After that, allow the plant to adjust to its new pot.
6. Disease
In terms of diseases, isolate the plant from the others and then determine whether or not it can be treated. When dealing with significant infestations, eliminating the worst affected regions is often preferable.
Because of their crimson color and twisted shape, diseased leaves can typically be spotted soon after they emerge from the bud.
Compared to normal leaves, they become increasingly deformed as they grow, eventually becoming thick, ugly, and rubbery. The colors of the leaves can shift from green to crimson and purple.
How To Fix It
Herbicides should be used to treat the plant. Also, remove the contaminated leaves and allow new growth to form. To prevent further curling, follow the herbicide’s directions on how to apply herbicides, as overuse can result in the death of the entire plant.
7. Pesticides And Herbicides Can Cause Chemical Damage
If you decide to use pesticides or herbicides, be sure they are carefully targeted at the weeds and pests you want to get rid of.
Most herbicides can not identify plants from weed and end up harming garden plants, and any that strays onto your valued plants is likely to do irreversible damage.
How to Fix It
To eliminate any remaining chemicals,
- Flush the soil with water and check that you’re using the correct amount of pesticides and herbicides
- Applying too much fertilizer might burn your plant’s leaves; try to avoid putting any chemicals on your plant’s leaves; again, try other precautionary steps before chemical application.
- Alternatively, use a gentle soap and water solution to wash the leaves.
- Remove any contaminated leaves and properly dispose of them.
- Manually remove the weed.
If you must utilize herbicides or insecticides, spray them at night whenever the leaves are less likely to be affected by the sun, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
8. Fertilizing Too Much
Fertilizers should be applied to both indoor and outdoor plants, and it provides the plant with the nutrients it needs to develop and thrive.
Too much of anything, though, is certainly not always a good thing. Excess fertilizer application is another reason for plant leaves curling.
Plants require nutrients to grow, so feeding them is critical, particularly during the planting season. Use the appropriate fertilizer for each plant to repair curled leaves and prevent future damage.
How to Fix It
Give the plant a good amount of fertilizer and water to help it resist the herbicide’s harmful effects.
Unfortunately, most herbicide damages cannot be repaired. The best treatment is to remove the damaged plant portions; alternatively, use a biofertilizer containing all three NPK nutrients to assist in the leaves’ reviving.
Even though your plant requires a lot of nitrogen, you should only use the recommended fertilizer.
Is It Possible To Physically Straighten Curly Leaves?
You can do that, but it won’t matter since the curling-down problem is on the inside, not the outside. Even if you physically straightened the curled, it would curl again.
I wouldn’t recommend cutting any curling downward leaves from your plant even if they are dead or haven’t recovered after you tried reviving them.
Younger leaves, in particular, are likely to regenerate, whereas older leaves, in some situations, will not.
Plants are beautiful but prone to specific issues that cause downward curling leaves, which can ruin your plant. A plant’s leaves might curl for a variety of reasons, whether it’s grown indoors or outside.
Avoid issues that can cause curling leaves downwards; if they do curl, address them immediately. Plants will respond well; however, if the damage is severe, they may not survive.