Normally, both the leaves and the flowers of the single leaf stand upright. However, if the popular houseplant leaves its leaves hanging tiredly, it is either suffering from a lack of water or has literally been drowned - the otherwise moisture-loving plant doesn't like waterlogging either.
Why does the leaflet droop and what can you do about it?
One-leaf plants droop their leaves when they receive too much or too little water. The remedy is either thorough watering in dry conditions or removing waterlogging and possibly root rot in cases of overwatering. The plant should then be placed in fresh substrate and a new pot.
One sheet is too dry
Let's be honest: Are you one of those people who often forget to water your houseplants? Some houseplants take such treatment seriously, but not the robust single leaf. Although the plant, which comes from the tropical South American rainforest, loves moisture and needs both a constantly moist substrate and high humidity, it will easily forgive occasional dry periods - provided, of course, that these do not last too long. If the leaflet leaves its leaves drooping due to a lack of water, you can take these measures to counteract it:
- Place the pot with the plant in the shower and shower it vigorously.
- Unpot the single leaf and place the root ball in a bucket of water for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Water the leaf thoroughly.
Of course, you shouldn't carry out all the measures at once. Instead, choose a variant and you will see how the leaves stand up again within a very short time.
Single leaf suffers from waterlogging (and possibly root rot)
In addition to too little water, the opposite can also be the cause of the hanging leaves: too much water, so-called waterlogging, leads to root rot and thus to the plant dying of thirst despite an excess supply of moisture. The rotting roots are no longer able to absorb water and direct it to the upper parts of the plant. For this reason, always make sure that the substrate is slightly moist, but never really wet. No water should remain in coasters or planters either; always throw away any leftovers after watering. In case of overwatering, you can proceed as follows:
- Pot out the one leaf.
- Remove the wet substrate.
- Take a close look at the roots: are they still intact or already rotten?
- Carefully cut away any rotten areas.
- Accordingly, you also have to prune the plant above ground.
- Dried leaves and shoots are also removed.
- Now plant the single leaf in fresh substrate and in a new pot.
- Water moderately.
Tip
In winter, the single leaf needs to be watered significantly less than in the summer months. It also makes sense to lower the room temperature by a few degrees.
