Pennyroyal Turning Brown
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Linda Stebbins
Posted on: March 14, 2001

I was not able to access your information regarding Pennyroyal.

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Can you forward this to the correct person as I have a question about growing it?

I have a problem with the stems of a Pennyroyal house plant turning brown and the stem withering away. I recently bought this plant and I have been fighting to keep it alive since transplanting into a larger pot. I water it to keep soil moist and mist but cant seem to correct this problem.

There are several possible reasons for the browning and dieback. It is necessary to experiment a little to see if changes can alleviate the problem.

1. Try moving your plant to a brighter window. If you have grow lights, place them in the window so that the plant gets both natural light supplemented by artificial light.

2. Check the soil zone: is the soil excessively wet? If the roots show signs of rotting then you know there is a watering or drainage problem.

3. Hold the fertilizer.

4. If your potting mix is homemade you may have too much compost or composted manure or other nutrient source in the mix. Too rich a soil can burn the roots. You may need to remove the soil and repot in a good commercial potting mix.

If these suggestions do not do the trick, it may be worthwhile to take the plant back to the store for help to identify what the problem is.

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