Brown tips or crispy edges
Why does my Peacock plant have brown, crispy tips?Calathea makoyana
Brown, crisp tips and edges on a Peacock plant are the plant telling you its environment is a little too harsh or dry. The pattern points to the cause.
Dry air (low humidity). Raise humidity: group plants together, sit the pot on a tray of damp pebbles, or run a humidifier. Misting helps only briefly.
Not sure this is it? Snap a photo — the Plant Doctor answers in seconds.Get the app →
What's causing it
Dry air (low humidity)
How to tell: Just the very tips and edges go brown and papery while the rest of the leaf is fine — most common in winter with the heating on, and Peacock plant prefers 50-60% humidity.
The fix: Raise humidity: group plants together, sit the pot on a tray of damp pebbles, or run a humidifier. Misting helps only briefly.
Tap-water salts (fluoride/chlorine)
How to tell: Peacock plant is one of the more sensitive houseplants to minerals in tap water — tips brown even with otherwise good care.
The fix: Switch to filtered, distilled, or rainwater — it makes a real difference on this plant — and flush the pot occasionally to wash out built-up salts.
Inconsistent or under-watering
How to tell: The soil dries out hard between waterings, so the tips — the last to get water — crisp first.
The fix: Water more evenly: check the soil regularly and don't let it go completely bone dry, then soak thoroughly.
Fertiliser burn
How to tell: Brown tips appear with a white crust on the surface, usually after feeding too often or too strong.
The fix: Flush thoroughly with plain water and feed less often, always diluted.
Too much direct sun
How to tell: Dry brown patches or scorched edges show up where strong sun hits the leaf — Peacock plant is medium / indirect light, not a full-sun plant.
The fix: Move it back from the glass into its medium / indirect light range.
Not sure which one it is?
Share photos of your Peacock plant and a few care details. Botanicaly's Pro Plant Doctor builds a step-by-step rescue plan; try it with the 7-day free trial.
App Store Google Play
Get the app →Prevention
Keep humidity up, use filtered or rainwater since this plant is genuinely salt-sensitive, and never let the mix go bone dry for long.
Common questions
Should I cut the brown tips off my Peacock plant?
You can — trim them with clean scissors, following the leaf's natural shape, but leave a thin sliver of brown rather than cutting into green, which just re-browns. Cosmetic only; fix the cause to stop new tips browning.
Does misting fix brown tips on a Peacock plant?
Only a little and only briefly. A pebble tray or humidifier raises humidity far more reliably than misting, which evaporates within minutes.
More for your Peacock plant
Pinstripe calathea care guideCalathea ornata
Rattlesnake plant care guideCalathea lancifolia
Round-leaf calathea care guideCalathea orbifolia
Monstera care guideMonstera deliciosa