Yellow Leaves on Hibiscus, Mandevilla and other Indoor Plants

So you brought your hibiscus, mandevilla and a few other plants indoors for winter. Now the plant and perhaps your floor are covered with yellow leaves. Don’t worry - there’s hope for these plants.

The transition from warm, sunny and humid outdoors to the stressful growing conditions inside our homes is hard on plants. The leaves that flourished in the summer start to yellow and drop due to the lower light in our homes and the shorter and grayer days of winter.

With proper care your plant will survive the transition and start producing leaves that are adapted to these lower light conditions.

Start by watering plants thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are slightly moist. Allow cacti and succulents to go a bit drier. Set the plants on pebbles in the saucer. The pebbles elevate the plant above the water preventing root rot. Plus, as the water evaporates it increases humidity around the plant.

Do not fertilize stressed plants. This can cause additional damage.

A bit more information: Patience is one of a gardener’s best tools. Wait for your plants to adjust to their new location. The yellow leaves will be replaced with shade leaves that are better able to absorb any available light. And as the days lengthen and sunlight intensifies, the plant will start sending out new growth and that is the time to fertilize if needed.