If you are puzzled by curling leaves on plants in your garden or landscape, you may need to do some detective work to figure out the cause. Curling leaves can be caused by many problems, including insect damage, disease, abiotic disorders, or even herbicides.
Insects
There are several insect pests that cause leaves to curl when they suck plant juices of new or young leaves that are still growing. These include aphids, thrips, and whiteflies.
Peach leaf curl
If you have peach or nectarine trees and see curled, reddish, puckered leaves, your tree likely has a disease called peach leaf curl. This plant fungus affects only peach and nectarine trees.
Abiotic damage
Leaf rolling in vegetable plants like pepper, eggplant, and tomato is very common during wet spring conditions. This isn't caused by a disease, and no action is necessary.
Herbicides
When spraying for weeds, herbicides (weed killers) can accidently drift onto or come in contact with desirable plants, causing damage. Herbicides containing active ingredients such as glyphosate and 2,4-D can cause leaves to curl.
Determining the Cause
For further help in finding out what is causing leaf curling on your plant, use the UC IPM plant problem diagnostic tool. This easy-to-use tool contains useful photos and will help narrow down and diagnose the problem.
Leaf curling can sometimes be a difficult problem to diagnose. If you're stumped, contact your local UC Master Gardener Program or UC Cooperative Extension Office.
FAQs
Leaf margins curling down, yellowing – overwatering. Leaf margins curling upwards – heat or wind stress. Leaf curling mainly in new growth and in deformed ways – often a disease or insect pest. Middle or old leaves curling and have patchy yellowing but green veins – Magnesium deficiency.
Why are the leaves curling on my plants? ›
More often than not, your plant curls its leaves when it's short of water. This happens if you've forgotten to water it for a long time, if your watering is irregular or if it's not copious enough. To be sure, touch the substrate. If it's dry on the surface and deep down, get out your watering can.
What is curling in plants? ›
Curling leaves can be caused by many problems, including insect damage, disease, abiotic disorders, or even herbicides. Insects. There are several insect pests that cause leaves to curl when they suck plant juices of new or young leaves that are still growing. These include aphids, thrips, and whiteflies.
What is the function of curled leaves? ›
Leaf curling, most often interpreted as a response to water stress (e.g. Heckathorn & DeLucia, 1991), represents a dynamic behavioral response in plants whereby the normal sunlight orientation of the two leaf surfaces may be reversed.
What deficiency causes curling of leaves? ›
Lack of nutrients: Soil lacking in key elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium and trace elements like manganese, boron, or zinc may cause leaf curling. Consider soil testing to identify deficiencies and supplement them with a well-balanced fertilizer.
Will leaf curl go away on its own? ›
Leaf curl disease shows up in spring, does the damage, and then disappears (until next spring). It will have disappeared by late summer. However, you may still be able to find signs of it, if you know what to look for. If your trees were infected last spring, they should have completely recovered by mid to late summer.
How do I cure leaf curl? ›
To control Peach Leaf Curl, treat Peach and Nectarine trees with a fungicide in the fall after leaves have dropped. In the past, the disease could be successfully treated with either lime-sulfur fungicide or a fixed copper fungicide with a copper compound containing at least 50 percent copper.
What does leaf curl look like? ›
About two weeks after the leaves emerge, they develop yellow or reddish raised areas. They become distorted and puckered as they grow. The raised areas become red or purple.
Why are the tips of my leaves curling up and turning brown? ›
Inconsistent watering, in particular allowing plants to dry out too long between waterings, will cause leaf edges and tips to turn brown. Excess salts can build up in the soil when too much fertilizer is applied which can also lead to brown leaf tips. Water and fertilize appropriately to prevent further browning.
Why are my plant leaves turning brown and curling up? ›
Your plant's leaves may be turning brown due to insufficient light, too much or too little water, pests and diseases, or even factors like the amount of fertilizer in its soil. Most often, brown leaves are caused by improper water and sunlight for the plant's needs.
Leaf curling, cupping, and rolling in vegetables can be caused by virus diseases, aphid infestations, herbicides and growth regulators. We are currently finding physiological leaf roll in vegetable crops.
How does leaf curl spread? ›
The disease can spread through leaf detritus. After pruning, spray the naked trees until they are dripping with a copper-based fungicide that coats the tree and kills remaining spores so they will not infect new leaves come spring.
How do you control leaf curl naturally? ›
Organic Control Methods for Leaf Curl
Trees which are infected will carry the disease all season and should be given extra care to help them cope with the burden. Regular applications of eco-seaweed and eco-aminogro will help improve the vigour and health of the tree.
What does leaf curl disease mean? ›
: any of numerous plant diseases caused by ascomycetous fungi (genus Taphrina of the family Taphrinaceae) or viruses (especially genus Begomovirus of the family Geminiviridae) and characterized by curling of leaves. especially : peach leaf curl.
What is my plant trying to tell me? ›
Thankfully, plants communicate with us all the time. If your plants' leaves are wilting, they're saying “Please water me.” Yellow leaves are saying “Hold off on the water. You're killing me with kindness.” Let's look at a few things your plants are trying to tell you. No one likes stress, not even plants.
What nutrient is the soil deficient in if the leaves are curling? ›
Potassium deficiency occurs frequently in plants grown on sandy soils resulting in a number of symptoms including browning of leaves, curling of leaf tips and yellowing (chlorosis) of leaves, as well as reduced growth and fertility.
Why are my leaves curling too much sun? ›
Spotting the Culprits Behind Curled Leaves
Sunlight is crucial, but too much can cause your Summer Savory's leaves to curl like a protective reflex. It's a plant's version of squinting in bright light. Aim for a sweet spot of sun exposure. Heat stress can make leaves curl up as if trying to escape the heat.
How often should I water my plants? ›
If the soil feels dry, it's time to water. In the spring and fall and in cooler climates, it might be sufficient to water container plants every two to three days. In the summer and in warm climates, container plants usually require daily watering, unless they are succulents or other drought-tolerant xeriscape plants.
