Why is my plant dropping its leaves?

Which leaves fall, how fast, and what happened two weeks ago — the three questions that separate a change of conditions from root damage from normal shedding.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 18 min
Read: 5 min

Short answer

Ask which leaves went first. Oldest and lowest, gradually, is usually normal shedding or a slow shortage of light or nutrients. All over, suddenly, within days, is a shock — a move, a draught, a cold night, a dried-out or waterlogged rootball. Look at what changed about two weeks before the leaves fell, not at what changed yesterday.

Leaf drop is a decision the plant makes, not something that happens to it. Leaves are expensive to maintain, and a plant under stress sheds them deliberately to reduce demand — which is why the drop typically follows the stress by a week or two, and why people so often blame the wrong event.

Step by step

Establish the pattern.Bottom leaves only, one at a time, over weeks: normal ageing or a slow shortage. All leaves, top and bottom, within a few days: shock. Only the newest growth: root damage or a severe problem, because a plant sacrifices old leaves before new ones.
Think back two weeks, not two days.Repotting, moving to a new room, coming indoors for winter, going outdoors in spring, a delivery in a cold van, a night the heating came on, a window left open, a drying-out while you were away. Plants respond on a delay and the trigger is usually before the visible change.
Check the rootball properly.Push a finger deep in, or lift the pot to judge weight. Bone dry throughout means it dried out at some point, and the leaves are falling now as a consequence. Wet and heavy days after watering means the roots are suffocating, which produces exactly the same leaf drop.
Look for the classic draught and heat combination indoors.A plant between a radiator and a door gets dry heat and cold draughts alternately. Ficus, especially weeping fig, drops leaves at the slightest change and is the plant this happens to most.
Consider the light change.A plant moved from a bright nursery or a summer position outdoors into an ordinary room has had a large drop in light and sheds the leaves it can no longer support. This is normal, it is not fatal, and the answer is patience plus the brightest position you have.
Rule out normal seasonal drop.Deciduous plants drop everything in autumn, which needs no explanation. Evergreens also shed — conifers brown and drop their oldest inner needles each autumn, holly and laurel shed old leaves in spring, and citrus and olives shed a proportion in late winter. If the leaves falling are the oldest and the plant is still producing new ones, nothing is wrong.
Look for pests and disease if the leaves are marked.Leaves that yellow, spot, stipple or curl before falling point at a specific cause — red spider mite, scale, leaf spot, downy mildew. Leaves that fall green and healthy point at shock, watering or light.
Stop intervening and stabilise the conditions.The commonest mistake is a cascade of changes — dropped leaves, so it gets moved, then fed, then repotted, then moved again. Pick a sensible position, water consistently, and leave it alone for a month.
Judge recovery by the growing point.As long as the tips are alive and firm and buds are visible along the stems, the plant will releaf. Scratch a stem for green if you are not sure. Bare stems with green underneath are a plant waiting, not a plant dead.

Tips

Do not repot a plant that is dropping leaves. It has fewer leaves than it needs already, and disturbing the roots removes what it is using to recover.
Feed nothing until it is producing new leaves. A plant shedding foliage is not taking up nutrients and fertiliser will scorch it.
Plants brought indoors for winter almost always drop some leaves. Doing the move gradually over two weeks in September, rather than on the first cold night, reduces it a lot.
Bud drop and leaf drop are different symptoms with different causes. A plant dropping buds but holding its leaves is a separate diagnosis.

Common mistakes

Watering more because the plant looks stressed — Waterlogging is one of the main causes and produces identical symptoms. Check the compost before adding anything.
Moving the plant repeatedly to find a better spot — Every move restarts the acclimatisation. One reasonable position held for a month beats four good ones held for a week each.
Assuming a bare plant is dead — Many plants defoliate completely and releaf from dormant buds. The scratch test settles it in seconds.
Blaming the room's air as too dry — Dry air browns leaf tips; it very rarely makes a plant drop whole healthy leaves. Look at water, light and temperature swings instead.

If it doesn't work

All leaves dropped within days of a move

Cause: Shock from a change of light, temperature or handling — Fix: Leave it in one bright, stable, draught-free position, water consistently, do not feed or repot, and wait for new buds.

Lower leaves yellow then drop, compost stays wet

Cause: Overwatering and early root rot — Fix: Stop watering, check drainage, empty saucers, and inspect the roots if it continues.

Leaves crisp at the edges then drop, compost bone dry

Cause: Dried out, probably some time ago — Fix: Soak the pot from below until the rootball is wet through, then water consistently. Cut back if a lot of leaf was lost.

Leaves fall after coming indoors in autumn

Cause: Large reduction in light plus dry heat — Fix: Brightest available position, less water than in summer, no feed until spring, and accept some loss.

Leaves stippled or webbed before falling

Cause: Red spider mite in dry indoor air — Fix: Shower the plant, raise humidity, remove worst leaves, and repeat every few days.

Questions people ask

Should I cut the plant back when it has lost its leaves?

Only if the stems are dead. On a living stem, wait until new growth shows so you can see what is alive. Reducing the top growth does help if the plant has lost a lot of root.

How long until it grows new leaves?

In the growing season, two to six weeks. In winter, possibly not until spring — a plant that defoliates in November may simply sit until March, and that is not failure.

My conifer is dropping brown needles from the middle. Is it dying?

Almost certainly not. Conifers shed their oldest inner needles every autumn. Browning that starts at the tips of the branches or covers one whole side is the pattern that matters.