Brown, crispy leaf tips are the one complaint almost everyone with a spider plant or a dragon tree shares. The honest answer comes in two parts. First, the brown bits are dead and won't recover, so trimming them is purely cosmetic. Second, there's rarely a single cause. Watering, feed, dry air and the water itself can all do it. You find the cause by watching whether the new leaves come through clean.
01At a glance
- Dead tissue doesn't heal. Snip the brown off for looks. Judge success by the new growth.
- Watering both ways: the RHS lists too much and too little water as causes on spider plants.
- Salts: feed and hard water leave salts in the compost. A white crust on the surface is the clue.
- Dry air: a pot above a radiator is a classic spot for crispy tips.
- Fluoride: both plants are sensitive, but most tap water in England has none added. Rule out the other causes first.
02Work out which cause is yours
### Uneven watering
The RHS's spider plant guide names too much water, too little, or a combination as causes of brown tips. Both plants want the compost to dry partly between drinks, then a thorough soak. Neither wants to sit in a full saucer. If you water in bursts, a bone-dry fortnight followed by a drowning, the leaf tips take the hit first.
- Spider plant: the RHS keeps the compost just lightly moist to the touch, and waters a little less often in winter.
- Dragon tree: our profile lets the top half dry, which works out at roughly monthly in winter. It copes with being forgotten far better than with fussing.
### Salt build-up from feed and hard water
The University of Missouri's extension service names too much fertiliser as a cause of tip burn. It explains that salts concentrate in the root zone, especially when the compost dries out or softened water is used. A whitish crust on the compost surface or the rim of the pot is the giveaway.
To flush it out, stand the pot in the sink and run plenty of clear water (rainwater if you have it) through the compost. Let it drain fully, and tip away whatever collects in the saucer. Then feed less. The RHS feeds spider plants only every other month from April to September, and only when they need it.
### Dry air and heat
The RHS lists very dry air and bright sunlight as causes, and says to keep spider plants away from radiators, which dry the air. A dragon tree copes with ordinary dry room air, but not with being baked on a sill above a radiator. Move the pot away from the heat source before you change anything else. It costs nothing and it's often the whole answer in winter.
### Fluoride in tap water
Both plants really are sensitive. NC State Extension warns that fluoride and chlorine in tap water can burn spider plant leaf tips, and says most dracaenas are fluoride-sensitive. Missouri adds that perlite in compost also contains fluoride.
The UK context matters, though. Government figures say about one in ten people in England live where fluoride is added to the water supply. Some water also contains natural fluoride. So fluoride may well be your problem, but don't assume it is. If you've sorted the watering, the feed and the radiator and the new leaves still brown, switch to rainwater for a few months and see whether the new growth comes through clean. The RHS recommends rainwater or filtered water for spider plants anyway.
03How to trim brown tips
- Use clean, sharp scissors.
- Follow the leaf's natural shape. On a spider plant or dracaena, cut at an angle to recreate a pointed tip rather than squaring it off.
- Leave a hair's width of brown. Our dracaena profile advises staying just inside the dead tissue rather than cutting into the green.
- Remove any leaf that's mostly brown entirely. The RHS says you can pull dead leaves firmly from the base or snip them off.
Trimming is a short-term cosmetic fix while you correct conditions, as the RHS puts it.
04Is it brown tips, or something else?
- Brown tips on otherwise firm green leaves: water, salts, dry air or fluoride, as above.
- Yellow, soft lower leaves on a dragon tree with wet compost: that's overwatering. A few yellowing at the very bottom is normal shedding as the cane grows. See overwatering houseplants.
- Pale, dull spider plant leaves: the RHS says they usually need more water. Too little light also washes them out.
Before placing a dragon tree where pets or children can reach it, check the safety flags on our dragon tree profile.
How we checked this
Every care and safety claim on this page is verified against horticultural and veterinary sources.
Sources: RHS — Spider plants: growing guide · RHS — How to help a poorly houseplant · NC State Extension — Chlorophytum comosum · NC State Extension — Dracaena marginata · University of Missouri IPM — Leaf tipburn of houseplants · Penn State Extension — Humidity and houseplants · GOV.UK — Water fluoridation health monitoring report for England 2026: short summary
Checked 8 October 2026. If our advice ever conflicts with the RHS, believe them and tell us.