Loved for their dark green and white leaves, Aluminium Plant are one of the fastest houseplants out there when it comes to outgrowing their pots! This can make them a little tricky to care for and issues such as drooping leaves and stems may crop up from time to time.
However, you’ll be pleased to know that if you don’t spot any other signs of trouble other than the drooping stems, it means you have probably caught the issue early which makes it easier to fix. Below we will go through each of the main causes of a drooping Aluminium Plant as well as tips to make the right diagnosis and how to treat the issue in the long term.
Underwatering can cause a drooping Aluminium Plant
Too little water can harm your Aluminium Plant in quite a few ways but one of the earlier signs of trouble is drooping leaves and stems. If you find that the stems and leaves look a little lifeless, it could be because the soil has been dry for too long.
The best way to confirm if underwatering is the cause is by checking the soil moisture. There are a few ways you can do this including the chopstick method or lifting your plant. But the best way to know for sure whether your Aluminium Plant needs watering is by using a moisture meter. You just pop them into the soil and it’ll tell you how damp or dry the potting mix is. We recommend this one from Amazon.
To solve the issue, water your drooping Aluminium Plant once a day for a week. This is a lot better than just pouring a whole bucket of water over your plant as not only does it avoid shock, but it also ensures the soil is becoming moist, rather than the water just running straight out o the drainage holes.
Moving forward, try to increase either how frequently or how deeply you are watering your Aluminium Plant to ensure that the potting mix doesn’t dry out fully for extended periods of time.
If you find yourself often forgetting to water your Aluminium Plant, then a self-watering pot might be the thing for you. It will water your Aluminium Plant for you and avoid any risk of under or overwatering. We have found this one from Amazon to work really well!
A drooping Aluminium Plant can also indicate overwatering
But it’s not just the underwatering extreme that can be damaging for your Aluminium Plant because overwatering can also cause your plant to start drooping.
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 Aluminium Plant to rot. This will only start to cause visible issues on the leaves once the issue has progressed quite a bit which can make it a challenging problem to solve.
If you think your drooping Aluminium Plant 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 Aluminium Plant 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 Aluminium Plant. We recommend buying a moisture meter to make sure you are only watering your plant when it needs it.
Direct sunlight can also cause your Aluminium Plant to start drooping
If your Aluminium Plant is receiving too much sunlight this can cause the leaves to become quite scorched and droop down. You might also start to notice dry patches throughout your plant.
If this is happening to your plant then move it to a slightly shadier location during the sunniest months of the year and this should stop your Aluminium Plant from drooping down so much. You might also need to think about moving your plant depending on the seasons so that you maximise on the light level during winter, but avoid intense direct light in summer.
Low humidity could also be to blame
Humidity issues are quite a common problem for all types of houseplants, including Aluminium Plants. It is often forgotten about as people tend to focus on light and water requirements. Although dry air won’t actually often kill your plant, it can lead to drooping leaves and stems.
Luckily, dry air is quite easy to fix. Here are some great and cheap ways to increase the humidity in your home:
Mist the leaves regularly
This is something that you should build into your houseplant care routine. Misting the leaves with a spray bottle a few times a week is a great way to increase the humidity. It also gets rid of any dust on the leaves so your plant can get more of the sunlight which is a nice little bonus!
Make a pebble tray
This one requires a little bit more work to put together but it’s definitely worth it and will go a long way to stopping your plant from drooping down. Gather a load of pebbles and fill up a tray or plate before adding water. You want the water to reach about halfway up the pebbles with the top ones staying dry. Then place your Aluminium Plant on top of the pebbles and the water will begin to evaporate around the plant.
Buy a humidifier
The number one thing we recommend to plant parents is a humidifier. They create a nice stable humditiy level without you having to do anything other than turn it on! They are pretty small and affordable too so a great investment for all plant parents.
Those are the most common factors behind drooping Aluminium Plants. We recommend going through each of them one by one whilst inspecting your plant and its soil to figure out what is causing the issue.
To learn more about how to best look after your plant, check out our Aluminium Plant care guide.
