The cast-iron plant is known for its toughness and low maintenance requirements. But why your cast iron plant is dying! In this article, I will answer this question in detail.
Plus I will tell you the specific reason behind the death. And what is more importantly what to do in order to save your dying cast iron plant.
But before diving deep into the details I will put the answer for our main question as simple as this: Why is my cast iron plant dying? A cast-iron plant can die because of overwatering, underwatering, chemicals, inappropriate light, lack of nutrients, or inappropriate temperatures.
Keep reading to know the real cause behind your plant suffering.
Reasons why a cast iron plant is dying
Below are the different possible reasons behind the suffering of your cast iron plant. Your job is to know the exact cause in order to take the correct actions.
Overwatering
Overwatering is the most common reason behind cast iron plant death. Reassess your watering schedule, if you water your cast iron plant too often most probably your plant is dying because of overwatering.
The right watering schedule is the one that allows the top two inches of soil to dry between waterings.
Also, note that you need to water less during winter compared to spring and summer. Because in winter cast iron plant is focusing on resting instead of active growth.
Also, note that a cast Iron plant located in a low light environment will need less water when compared with the ones located in brighter locations.
Overwatering causes root rot. Root rot makes the roots unable to absorb the required water.
Therefore overwatering may cause your plant death. You may find that your cast iron plant’s leaves turning yellow, such a sign most probably because of overwatering.
But to make sure that you are taking the right action reassess your watering practice.
Underwatering
It is always better to underwater your cast iron plant than to overwater it. Your plant will forgive you for little neglect.
Although if you neglect your cast iron plant for a long period of time and left the soil dry. Such an attitude may cause your plant’s leaves to turn brown or even yellow.
A cast-iron plant that suffering from drought will recover easily. Simply adjust your watering schedule and water your plant whenever the top two inches of the soil are dry.
And be careful to not compensate for underwatering by overwatering. Things don’t work that way!
Inappropriate light
The cast-iron plant is native to the rainforests. In the rainforests, it grows beneath the shade of the trees. This is the type of light that cast iron plants evolved to like and tolerate.
Therefore if you exposed your cast iron plant to direct sunlight the leaves will burn.
Put your plant in a location that gets low to medium indirect sunlight and it will bounce back.
Although the cast iron plants will not tolerate complete darkness. If your plant in a location that is completely dark it will suffer too and die eventually.
In such a case invest in a grow light. Grow light will be as effective as indirect sunlight.
Inappropriate temperatures
The cast-iron plant is very forgiving when it comes to temperature tolerance. It can tolerate a wide range of temperatures ( 45 – 80 F).
Although it will thrive in temperatures between 55 F and 70 F.
If your environment has a temperature below 40 F most probably your cast iron plant is dying because of cold.
Bring your plant indoors where temperatures are ok for humans. And remember if the temperature is ok for you it means it is ok for your cast iron plant.
Chemicals
Another reason why your cast iron plant is dying is chemicals that accumulated in the soil.
Such chemicals are in tap water. Tap water contains treated chemicals, those chemicals stay in the soil as salts.
They prevent the roots from absorbing the necessary nutrients from the soil. Therefore if you water your plant by using tap water then there is a chance those chemicals causing your plant to struggle.
Rainwater is ideal for watering your cast iron plant. You can collect rainwater during autumn, then use it throughout the year.
If you currently don’t have rainwater you can use distilled water. In case you don’t have access to both rainwater and distilled water, you can use tap water after you process it.
You process tap water by letting it sit in an open container overnight in order for some chemicals to be lost in the air.
Lack of nutrients
The cast-iron plant is not a heavy feeder because it gets low light and grows very slow.
But if your plant does not get any fertilizer during the growing season it may suffer.
Fertilize your cast iron plant once or twice per month with all-purpose liquid fertilizer.
Only use ¼ of the fertilizer manufacturer-recommended dose. And only fertilize when the soil is moist. And stop the fertilization completely during winter.
Pests Infections
As its name indicates cast iron plant is tough and hardy even with pests. But those little creatures can make trouble too.
If you noticed yellow spots in the plant’s leaves that look moist most probably your plant is dying because of pests infection.
Also, take a deep look at the leaves if you saw any trace of bugs it is a sure sign your plant is suffering because of infection.
You can solve the problem by cleaning the plant’s leaves and stems with neem oil.
In conclusion
In this article, I hope I answered one of my reader’s most asked questions:” why is my cast iron plant dying”.
simply cast iron plant can suffer and die because of either overwatering, underwatering, inappropriate sunlight, inappropriate temperatures, lack of nutrients, chemicals, or pests infections.
You should know the exact reason in order to take the right corrective action.