12 Reasons Why Chenille Plant Leaves are Turning Yellow and Dying with Remedies

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Chenille Plant leaves may turn yellow and die due to poor lighting, poor soil quality, low light, low humidity, pest infestations, root-rot, poor feeding, improper watering among others.

Chenille Plant (Acalypha hispida) also called Red Hot Cat Tail, Monkey Tail, Foxtail or Philippine Medusa is a popular plant with pendulous, brilliantly colored, furry flowers which are spectacular in a hanging basket or on a pedestal.

Chenille Plant flourishes in bright, indirect light, average warmth within the range of 18-28⁰C, above average humidity between 55-70% and moderately moist, well drained soil that is rich in organic matter coupled with fortnightly feeding during the growing season.

Failure to meet these conditions may cause the Chenille Plant leaves to turn yellow and die. Below are 12 causes of yellow leaves in Chenille Plant and how to fix them.

Related: 10 Reasons Why Chenille Plant is Dying and their Remedies

12 Causes of Yellow and Dying Leaves in Chenille Plant & How to Fix Them

1. Poor lighting

Chenille Plant prefers dappled light away from direct sunlight. Enough light is required for photosynthesis, the process of food making in plants, which is needed for growth and energy for the plant.

Too little light means that the plant cannot make adequate food for growth and development which causes the leaves to begin dying where they turn yellow, then brown and eventually die.

Exposure to too bright light or hot direct sunshine will cause the plant to develop yellowish leaves and brown sunscorch marks.

How to fix it

Position your Chenille Plant in a spot where it will receive bright, indirect light or instal a grow light if the natural lighting is not enough. Check out these full spectrum grow lights on Amazon.

Where the light is too bright, place the plant in a more shaded place or shield it from direct sunlight by installing a light curtain to filter the light.

2. Poor soil quality

Chenille Plant requires rich, free-draining soil, therefore, poor quality soil which does not drain easily will become compacted or soggy which will lead to reduced growth, yellowing of leaves and death.

How to fix it

Grow your Chenille Plant in fertile, well-drained soils which does not get soggy while providing the required nutrients. Buy quality potting mix from Amazon.

3. Too low humidity

Chenille Plant grows best in above average air humidity within the range of 55-70%. Too low air humidity will cause the plant to develop yellow leaves and which may begin to die.

How to fix it

To raise humidity, grow your Chenille Plant in a bathroom and other humid areas in the home, set the pot on a wet pebble tray or use a cool mist humidifier.

4. Pest infestations

Chenille Plant is prone to mealybugs, whiteflies and spidermites. The sap-sucking insects will cause wilting, reduced growth and yellowing of leaves.

How to fix it

Always ensure that your Chenille Plant is healthy at all times by giving it with the proper growing conditions. To discourage pest infestations, increase the humidity as these pests are more common in dry conditions.

Keep the plant well pruned by removing spent flowers, dead and yellow foliage to minimize pest infestations. Cut the leaves with a clean sharp knife or scissors as close to the base as possible.

Seperate the affected plant away from the rest of the plants to reduce spread and treat it appropriately with Insecticidal soap or Neem oil to get rid of the pests. Make sure to cover the entire plant.

5. Root-rot disease

Root-rot is a fungal disease that is prevalent in soggy soil and is characterized by wilting, drooping, yellowing and death of leaves.

How to fix it

Slip the Chenille Plant out of its pot and inspect the roots. Brown-black mushy roots indicate root-rot, trim them off and treat the healthy roots with a copper-based fungicidal solution.

Disinfect the pot with the fungicidal solution or use a fresh pot to repot the plant in fresh, free-draining soil. Keep the plant dry for some time before resuming watering.

Confirm that the pot has a drainage hole and the soil is free-draining to prevent it from getting soggy in the future.

Decrease watering during the cold season as growth is minimal at this time, therefore, the plant does not require a lot of water.

6. Improper feeding

Overfeeding your Chenille Plant will cause the roots to die due to fertilizer burn. If the roots die, they cannot take up nutrients and water required for photosynthesis, thus the plant begins to die and the leaves turn yellow.

If you underfeed the plant, it will not get enough nutrients needed for growth, therefore, the leaves turn yellow and die.

How to fix it

Feed your Chenille Plant every 2-3 weeks during the growing season with a phosphorous-rich, water-soluble fertilizer for proper growth of the plant.

Do not feed the plant during the cold season as growth is minimal and feeding at this time can lead to fertilizer burn which will cause the leaves to yellow and die.

7. Extremely pot-bound plant

Chenille Plant grows best when slightly pot-bound but when it becomes extremely pot-bound the leaves begins to wilt, droop, yellow and eventually die.

The reason for this is that when the roots have filled the pot, there is very little soil to hold water when you water the plant.

If there is too little water in the soil for the plant to take up to the leaves for photosynthesis, the plant cannot make enough food for growth and the leaves begin to turn yellow.

How to fix it

Check the bottom of the pot, if a lot of roots are growing through the drainage hole, repot the Chenille Plant into a pot one size larger than the current one.

Repot the plant at the beginning of the growing season when it becomes extremely pot-bound. Confirm that the pot has a drainage hole and the soil is free-draining. Check out these Pots with Multi Mesh Drainage Holes on Amazon.

8. Underwatering

Underwatering means that there is too little moisture in the soil for your Chenille Plant to take up to the leaves for photosynthesis, to make food for growth of the plant.

Inadequate food for growth and other processes in the plant will cause the plant to begin to die from the leaves which turn yellow, brown and eventually die.

How to fix it

Chenille Plant grows best when the soil is kept moderately moist at all times during the growing season. Water the plant liberally during the growing season until water comes out through the drainage holes.

Water the Chenille Plant when the top 2-3 in. of soil begin to dry out to keep the soil moderately moist during the growing season.

Should you forget to water the plant, thoroughly water the plant and mist the leaves immediately and it should perk up in a short time.

Cut down watering in the cold season as growth is minimal at this time but do not allow the soil to dry out completely for prolonged periods of time.

9. Overwatering

Overwatering results in soggy soil which leads to the death of the roots due to lack of oxygen. When the roots die, the Chenille Plant cannot take up water and therefore it cannot make food for growth and energy.

How to fix it

Chenille Plant thrives in moderately moist soil at all times during the growing season. Allow the top 2-3 in. of soil to dry out between waterings.

Reduce watering in the cold season but do not allow the soil to dry out completely. Ensure also that the pot has a drainage hole and that the soil is free-draing to prevent it from getting soggy.

10. Wrong temperature

Chenille Plant does well under an average warmth within the range of 18-28⁰C. Extreme temperatures, either too cold or too hot will reduce growth which will cause the leaves to start turning yellow.

Sudden drops in temperature for Chenille Plant due to cold draughts (drafts) will lead to reduced growth which will cause yellowing and death of the plant.

On the other hand, very high temperatures will cause the Chenille Plant to become dehydrated which causes the leaves to turn yellow and die.

How to fix it

Move the Chenille Plant away from cold draughts (drafts) like windy windows and doors, air conditioning units and other drafty areas to avoid exposing the plant to extremely low temperatures.

Place the Chenille Plant away from hot surfaces, heating units, hot stoves and other hot places to avoid extremely high temperatures.

11. Repotting shock

Repotting Chenille Plant may cause it some shock which may lead to some leaves wilting and turning yellow before it can adjust the new growing conditions.

How to fix it

To minimize repotting shock, water the plant thoroughly one day before repotting as a well hydrated plant experiences less shock and is easier to divide.

Avoid making too many changes at once. For instance, after repotting, maintain the plant in the same spot until it is well established before moving it to a new location.

12. Age of the leaves

As the Chenille Plant leaves mature, the older leaves turn yellow and die. Therefore, do not be alarmed, if one or two leaves yellow as this is a natural process.

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