Editor, Leaftell
Hi, I’m Filip. I edit Leaftell’s plant-care guides. My windowsill is far too crowded, and I keep a notebook of watering observations because I’d rather look closely at a plant before reaching for a treatment. Every guide I edit is checked against the horticultural sources linked in the article. If you spot something wrong, write to us and I’ll fix it.
44 guides
Plant problems · 10 min
Orchid leaves turning yellow can mean normal aging of a lowest leaf or stress involving roots, light, or the crown. For a moth orchid, check which leaf changed and whether the crown and roots remain firm before watering or cutting anything.
Plant problems · 11 min
The white tufts you can see are rarely the whole mealybug colony. Learn how to tell mealybugs from other white stuff, where they hide, how to remove them without scarring the plant, and when a labeled oil or soap is worth it.
Plant problems · 10 min
Most small aphid colonies never need a product. Learn where aphids really live, how to remove them without wrecking the plant, why outdoor predators matter, when neem or soap makes sense, and how to tell new colonies from old curled leaves.
Plant problems · 10 min
Overwatered plant symptoms include yellowing or drooping leaves alongside a root zone that stays wet and heavy. Empty trapped runoff and check moisture below the surface before adding water or deciding to repot.
Plant problems · 11 min
Scale on plants often looks like fixed brown bumps along stems or leaf veins, sometimes with sticky honeydew below. Separate the plant, check that the bumps are insects rather than normal tissue, and gently remove accessible scale before choosing a treatment.
Plant problems · 10 min
Thrips leave silvery patches with tiny dark specks, often on distorted new leaves. Learn how to confirm them, what to do before any spray, why newly unfolded leaves can look worse after cleanup, and how to follow new growth for weeks.
Plant care · 12 min
Christmas cactus is a forest cactus, not a desert one. Water by the mix and ease off in its two rest periods, feed lightly in spring and summer, and give it cool, truly dark autumn nights to set buds. Plus pruning and propagation with RHS numbers.
Plant problems · 11 min
Fungus gnat larvae live in damp potting mix, so spraying the flies changes almost nothing. Find the pots that breed them, change the moisture habitat without drying your plant out, and know when a labeled larval treatment is worth it.
Plant care · 12 min
Snake plants rarely suffer from a missed watering. They suffer from a pot that stays wet. Learn the light it actually needs, how to check a tall pot before watering, how to spot root rot and when to divide or repot.
