What's wrong with my plant?
Upload a photo and find out what is going wrong. Free, no account, and every answer shows the symptoms it was based on — including when the answer is that nothing is wrong.
Add up to 3 photos of the same plant
Show the whole plant and a close-up of the damage. The soil surface often holds the answer.
Read the pattern, not just the colour
Most plant problems announce themselves the same way — yellow leaves, brown edges, drooping — so the colour alone rarely identifies the cause. Which leaves are affected, and where on the leaf, is what separates one cause from another.
- Where on the plant
- Oldest leaves at the base failing first is often normal ageing, or a nutrient the plant is moving to new growth. New growth failing first is more serious — it usually means roots, light, or water.
- Where on the leaf
- Tips and edges browning points to water, humidity, or salt build-up. Yellowing between green veins points to nutrients. Spots with defined edges, especially with a halo, point to fungal or bacterial disease.
- Texture
- Dry and crispy means too little water reaching the tissue. Soft, dark and mushy means too much. This one distinction separates the two causes people confuse most.
- The underside
- Most pests live where you are not looking. Webbing, tiny moving dots, white cottony clusters, or sticky residue all show up under the leaf long before the top looks wrong.
How to photograph a sick plant
Take the whole plant first so the spread of the problem is visible, then get close to one affected leaf. A photo of the soil surface is the one people skip and it often carries the answer.
- Include healthy parts too — the contrast shows what changed.
- Photograph the underside of an affected leaf, where pests hide.
- Show the soil surface and the base of the stem — mould, crust, or gnats there are diagnostic.
- Use daylight. Indoor lighting shifts leaf colour, which is the thing being judged.
Questions people ask
How do I find out what's wrong with my plant?
Photograph the whole plant and a close-up of the affected leaves, then upload both. The checker returns the most likely causes ranked by confidence, along with the visible symptoms behind each one and what to do about it.
Is my plant overwatered or underwatered?
They look remarkably similar — both cause drooping, yellowing, and browning. The reliable test is the soil, not the leaves. Push a finger two inches down: wet soil with a limp plant means overwatering, dry soil means the opposite. A pot that feels heavy long after watering is not draining.
Why are my plant leaves turning yellow?
Most often overwatering, but the pattern tells you which. Lower leaves yellowing evenly and dropping on an otherwise healthy plant is usually normal ageing. Yellowing between green veins suggests a nutrient problem, and yellow with brown mushy patches points to root rot.
What causes brown crispy leaf tips?
Usually low humidity, underwatering, or a build-up of salts from tap water and fertiliser. Crispy and dry means too little water reaching the leaf; brown and soft means too much. Trimming the brown does not fix the cause, so change the watering or humidity first.
Can you identify plant pests from a photo?
Common pests are often visible if the photo is close enough — webbing between leaves suggests spider mites, white cotton-like clusters mealybugs, and small flies around the soil fungus gnats. Photograph the underside of leaves, where most pests actually live.
Can a dying plant be saved?
Often, if the roots are still firm and pale rather than brown and soft. Root condition matters more than how bad the leaves look, because a plant can regrow foliage but not a rotted root system. Check the roots before deciding it is beyond help.
Is this plant diagnosis free?
Yes. No account, no card, and no app to install. It runs in your browser on any phone or computer.
Not sure what plant it is?
The species changes what a symptom means, so it is worth knowing. The plant identifier will name it, and this checker identifies it automatically as part of the diagnosis.