Thanks for the link Rachel, I’ll make sure to check it out – the fertilizer thing makes sense too :)

Yesterday I just happened to get a newsletter from my local plant shop with a link to a blog post about why plants get tip browning, and I thought of this post. It says, “You might also notice a crusty layer of fertilizer build-up on the surface of the soil,” so the crystals could have been fertilizer. It also said about watering, “Plants with long, strappy leaves, like dracena, spider plants and calathea are often affected, because water has to make the long trip to keep the cells at the leaf tips well hydrated.” If you want to read more, here’s the post: http://pistilsnursery.com/5-reasons-houseplants-leaves-turning-brown/

Ha, Yes I am also not that lady ;)

I have only heard of the browning due to flouride when I was researching for this post, it made sense to me, because there are times with this plant that I can see salt crystals forming on the top of the soil (never knew what it was before). However, I’m sure browning can be caused by more than one thing with any plant. My spider plant was browning after I brought it home last year, it was in a lower light area and above a radiator so I moved it to the sunnier, south facing porch where it has been thriving ever since. To your point, I never did anything to the water.

Thanks for the comment!

Hey Kristi, I bet that is the problem. I actually didn’t realize that the fluoride cause browning until I started the research for the post, I always figured it was due to in adequate light. I think you should try it and see if it works.

Hey, that is so awesome! I’ve been really pleased with everything that I’ve received from them, and I’m glad to hear they worked out for you too! Good luck on your kitchen!

Moving on…I’m not sure about the fluoride causing browning. We don’t have fluoride in our water (because people here love cavities–don’t get me started), but I still get browned leaves. I always thought it just meant I had let the plant dry out too much. So I just googled it, and came across this article, which says that tip burn probably isn’t caused by fluoride, but is more likely a result of other problems, like dry air, cold, or too much fertilizer. http://www.schundler.com/tipburn.htm So I guess maybe it’s not so simple.