What Causes the Flowers on Houseplants to Wilt?

Water

• The amount of water your houseplant gets will effect the health of flowers and can cause wilting. Water feeds the foliage and the flowers of a plant and if it is not receiving enough to support it, the plant parts begin to wilt. Check the soil moisture by inserting your finger into it. If it feels dry an inch or more down, water your houseplant with warm water until the water runs out of the drain hole. Warm water is absorbed by plants faster than cold and will rehydrate your flowers quicker. Overwatering is more often the problem for wilting houseplant flowers and foliage. When the soil is saturated it will remove oxygen from the soil, which the roots require to be able to take up water. Repotting your houseplant in slightly moist soil may allow the plant and flower to recover.

Light

• The amount of light your houseplant receives can effect the health of the flowers. Most flowering houseplants require a strong light when flowering, but placing them in direct sunlight will shorten the bloom life and may cause wilting. Placing your flowering houseplant where it doesn't receive enough light produces immature and weak flowers that have a tendency to droop and appear wilted. Grow your flowering houseplants where they will receive strong, indirect sunlight.

Temperature

• Houseplants prefer temperatures that remain fairly constant in the 65 to 75 degree F range. Sudden changes or variations in temperature may cause your houseplant flowers to wilt. Cold drafts or too close to an air conditioner can cause flower wilt. Heat, like too much sun, frequently is the cause of your houseplant flower wilting. Placing your plant too close to a heater vent will dehydrate your plant and the flower will wilt.

Repotting

• When a houseplant is root bound in a pot its roots cannot get sufficient water to sustain the flowers and the blooms wilt. A symptom that your houseplant may need repotting is wilting a day or two after you have watered the plant and the soil is neither too dry or too wet. To repot, water the plant two days before repotting and again right before repotting. carefully remove your houseplant from the pot, loosen the root-bound mass and repot in a pot size larger, filled with new potting soil.