I moved over a year ago and since then almost all my old plants have died. The ones alive don't look good. All the new ones I purchase don't live long either. Immediately leaves turn yellow and drop off. I have tried watering less. I have city water and a water softener now, so tried bottled water with liquid fertilizer once per week. I have also repotted and moved my plants around. I am going to try using my tap water but letting it sit for 24 hours. Any other ideas?

Hi Diana
First, let me welcome you to the garden helper. You will find a great bunch of folks here, each with their own knowlege and experience. Some are professionals, some are novices, and some are longtime, self (or family/friend) taught gardeners. Almost all are very friendly and helpful. sometimes, the right help consists of asking the right question of the original poster!
Whew! That said, let me ask you a few questions to better get an idea of what is happening with your plants.

First, you didn't mention what kind of plants. that is very important to knowing what the right thing to do is. And we need to now how long you have been trying to get them to grow.
Second, you didn't mention where you moved from. The local area? another part of the country? overseas? those are all other considerations.
third, have you gone from a large house to a small apartment or the other way around. from gas to electric heat or the other way around? how are the windows oriented in the new place as compared to the old place? all of these things will have a dramatic effect on the way your houseplants survive.
fourth, I have found very few plants that respond well to a "weekly/daily/monthly" watering cycle without some challenges until the plant is established in its current environment. When moving plants, I usually water on demand based on the plant's needs until I can determine how the new location affects the water usage of that particular plant.
one last thought. I personally prefer tap water that has sat 24-48 hours to water my plants with. That won't eleminate trace elements, but will let the clorine dissapate and will allow the water to reach the same temperature as the plant itself. And some of the trace elements are actually good for the plants.

Hi Diana,

Most important is to make sure your plants are getting proper light. What is proper depends on the plant species; some need direct sunlight everyday, while others do best in bright indirect light. If your new home is substantially dimmer than your old one, that could be the problem.

Once you ahve matched each plant with proper light, don't move them around. Plants are creatures of habit and prefer not to be relocated more than necessary.

Repotting is never a good idea with new plants or ailing plants. It will aggravate any problems a plant may already have.

Likewise, fertilizer should not be used on recently repotted plants or ailing plants. Too many minerals can damage tender roots.

It is good that you have switched to filtered water. Softened water is very bad for plants. Allowing hard or softened water to stand overnight will not eliminate the mineral salts in the water. It will dissipate chlorine, but the chlorine levels in drinking water are not usually high enough to cause a problem for plants.

My mom has a water softener hooked up to the whole house and was using that to water her house plants with. No wonder the plants were dying....wasn't sure if it was that or she was killing them with kindness....or a lot of both!

Thanx Will for unknowingly solving a mystery!

Catlover,

I love doing things unknowingly, inadvertently and unwittinglly! Especially when it leads to good results.

Will