How to Prevent and Treat Root Rot in Houseplants

How to Prevent and Treat Root Rot in Houseplants

Has your previously perky, lush, and green houseplant suddenly turned sickly yellow and droopy, or are there brown areas on the foliage and dropping leaves?

Root rot is a common issue in houseplants. Because they’re grown in such small environments compared to what they’d experience in nature, they’re a lot more sensitive to extremes such as too much water. And too much water is a direct cause of root rot.

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Pretty much any species is susceptible to root rot, though some are more resilient than others.

Coming up, we’ll help you figure out if your plant has root rot and what to do about it.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

Before we figure out how to identify it, let’s talk about what causes root rot.

There are two main causes of root rot. The first is an abiotic condition when there is so much water in the soil that the roots literally drown.

When the soil is oversaturated, the roots aren’t able to access enough oxygen, and they start to turn soft and mushy. Just like any other creature when it’s deprived of oxygen – the plant starts to die.

In addition, there are many different fungi and water molds (oomycetes) that can cause the problem, but Fusarium spp., Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp., Rhizoctonia spp. are the most common and attack the broadest range of plants.

All of these pathogens thrive in high moisture and can be spread via water, in contaminated soil, on contaminated tools, and by insects, particularly aphids. The pathogens enter the plant via damaged vascular tissue.

The pathogens aren’t airborne, but if you have a humid home or growing