Why oleander leaves get brown tips

Record browning or dead tissue at leaf tips or margins, whether yellowing came first, and whether the pattern affects one branch or much of the canopy.

Compare uniform yellowing or drooping across branches with browning that moves inward from tips and margins. Check whether decline stays on one branch, whether watering restores turgor, and whether caterpillars or other pests are present.

Brown tips can follow drought or heat stress, salt or boron injury, excessive wetness or root trouble, cold damage, caterpillar feeding, and oleander leaf scorch from the oleander strain of Xylella fastidiosa.

Check root-zone moisture and drainage before changing irrigation, review salt or fertilizer exposure, inspect new shoots and leaf undersides for caterpillars or sucking pests, and seek local plant-health support when one-branch marginal scorch continues to spread.

Recheck new leaves, the direction of marginal browning, branch-by-branch progression, soil moisture and pest activity after conditions are stable. If dieback continues, ask a local plant-health service.

A pot moved indoors in a cold climate has different light, temperature and root-zone conditions from garden oleander in warm regions. Brown tips are a sign to check, not a cause.