Why is my Philodendron Birkin drooping?

With its incredible white striped leaves, there’s no question as to why the Philodendron Birkin plant has very quickly become one of the most popular plants. Although they aren’t the most difficult to look after or sensitive plants out there, it can often happen that the leaves or stems on your Philodendron Birkin start to droop down. If you do notice your Philodendron Birkin plant is drooping, it’s not the end of the world and can be fixed pretty easily.

If there are no other issues other than the drooping leaves, then it actually means you’ve caught the problem fairly early which gives you the best chance at getting it back to full health. Below you’ll find the most common reasons why your Philodendron Birkin may have drooping leaves as well as how to fix the issue and prevent it from happening again in future.

Overwatering is the most common cause of Philodendron Birkin’s Drooping

It’s super easy to do accidentally and can cause quite severe problems fairly quickly that plants find it hard to recover from. If drooping leaves is the only sign of unhappiness, then hopefully the problem shouldn’t be too advanced yet. You may find that the drooping leaves are fairly soft which is another sign of overwatering.

The problem with overwatering is that it causes waterlogged soil which then causes the roots of your Philodendron Birkin to rot. Once the root system starts to become damaged, it can’t take in the vital nutrients it needs to thrive. It also means that the roots can’t physically support the plant anymore and it’ll start to hang and droop down. The combination of these two issues is why overwatering causes your plant to droop.

If you think your Philodendron Birkin might be suffering from overwatering and root rot take your plant out of its pot immediately and inspect the root system. If the potting mix feels soggy and clumpy replace it straight away after trimming off any rotten roots. Don’t wait for the potting mix to naturally dry out as this risks causing more harm to your plant.

Over the next few weeks, only water your Philodendron Birkin when the potting mix feels dry and hopefully your plant can begin to recover. To avoid the problem from reoccurring, get into the habit of checking the moisture in the potting mix before watering your Philodendron Birkin. We recommend buying a moisture meter to make sure you are only watering your plant when it needs it.

Underwatering can also cause drooping leaves

The strange thing about drooping leaves on a Philodendron Birkin is that as well as too much water, they can also be caused by not enough water. Consistent underwatering can lead to a variety of issues and sometimes plant death if not solved in time, but even just the occasional underwatering can result in drooping leaves.

If the leaves are quite dry and are drooping down then we suspect that a lack of water is the culprit. However, before you start watering more frequently, we recommend taking your plant out of the pot and seeing how dry the potting mix feels. The worst thing would be assuming that your Philodendron Birkin is drooping because it needs more water but it’s actually the opposite, or even caused by temperature fluctuations.

Once you are sure that the soil is bone dry and it’s underwatering that is causing your Philodendron Birkin to droop, then slowly reintroduce watering. Your first instinct might be to drown the plant in water but this can actually cause more damage and more brown leaves. This is because plants get shocked by a sudden change in environment.

Instead, the best way to treat underwatering is to water your Philodendron Birkin plant a little bit once a day for a week. After a week you want to go back to a more normal care routine, making sure to check the moisture in the soil frequently to avoid the leaves drooping again.

Picking up a moisture meter like this one will make this easier to monitor, but investing in a nice self-watering pot will take out all of the guesswork and guarantee a great result. We recommend this one from Amazon all the time and love it!

Cold temperatures could cause your Birkin’s leaves to droop

If you have inspected the potting mix of your Philodendron Birkin, and analysed your watering schedule and just can’t be sure that watering issues is the cause of the drooping leaves, then it may be cold temperatures that is the reason.

Philodendron Birkin plants are native to the tropics so thrive in warm temperature meaning they’ll struggle in homes with cold drafts. You may not notice the cold air coming through cracks in doors and windows but if your Philodendron Birkin is right next to them then the constant stream of cold air from outside can really shock and damage the plant.

Make sure that you draft proof any windows or doors that are close to your Philodendron Birkin (and other heat-loving houseplants) as well as moving them away from any air conditioning vents as these can be quite damaging to your plants during summer.

If your Philodendron Birkin is living in a cool room, it’s also more at risk from overwatering and root rot. Your plant won’t need as much water as the soil will take a lot longer to dry out.

This is the perfect mix for problems such as root rot to occur which is why you should be extra cautious when it comes to caring for your plants in winter or in colder rooms in your home. If warming the room isn’t an option, try out a heat pad like this one through the colder months to mitigate the risk of root rot entirely.

Those are the most common reasons why Philodendron Birkin plants might start to droop down. The problem should fix itself a couple of days or weeks after working to solve the issue and as long as you aren’t spotting any other issues like brown or yellow leaves, then this is a good sign. Keep a close eye on your Philodendron Birkin after changing the environment or watering routine just to see how it gets on as plants can be a little fussy when things change.

If you want to find out more about caring for your Philodendron Birkin, as well as how to diagnose and fix other common issues, check out our Philodendron Birkin care guide.