Tap water sensitivity
Browning, crisping edges on a prayer plant watered from the tap usually point to fluoride, chlorine, or salt sensitivity.
Diagnosis
Tap water sensitivity
What's happening
Prayer plants are unusually sensitive to the fluoride, chlorine, and dissolved minerals in tap and softened water. Those salts build up in the soil and burn the delicate leaf margins from the edges inward, leaving brown, crispy tips and edges with a thin yellow halo — a classic prayer plant complaint that other houseplants shrug off.
How to fix it
Switch to filtered, distilled, or rainwater, or let tap water sit out uncovered overnight so some chlorine off-gasses. Flush the existing soil by running plenty of clean water through the pot until it drains freely, several times, to wash out accumulated salts. Trim the browned edges with clean scissors following the leaf's natural shape so it looks tidy while new, undamaged growth comes in.
What fixes it
- A long-spout watering can — A dedicated can lets you keep filtered or sat-out water on hand so you never reach for the tap by reflex.
If that doesn't fix it
This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.
Read the full Prayer Plant care guide →
Reviewed June 2026 · how we check this