Peacock plant leaves turning yellow: causes and what to do
17 results in the diagnosis tree begin with yellowing leaves, 7 of them marked likely when the answers fit. They are ordered here for Peacock plant (Goeppertia makoyana), using what its sources say about soil moisture, light, soil, watering and feeding and 2 problems recorded for it.
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Goeppertia makoyana, also known as peacock plant or cathedral windows, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Goeppertia in the family Marantaceae, native to Espírito Santo state of eastern Brazil. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Native range: Brazil (Espírito Santo) (wet tropical). Also sold as brain plant, cathedral windows and Peacock Calathea.
What Peacock plant’s sources say that bears on this
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Light
- Partial shadeRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Soil
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 11 September 2026
- Watering
- Water with distilled water or rainwater, because fluoride in tap water can turn leaves brown. In winter, water less and stop feeding.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- Feed with a balanced fertilizer every 4 weeks in the growing season. In winter, water less and stop feeding.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
How this shows up on a Peacock plant
New leaves arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
The peacock plant looks sparse rather than sick: fewer leaves, spaced further apart, all angled toward the window.
Placed darker than the partial shade its source describes, the plant invests in length rather than leaf, because length is what finds a window.
Telling it apart: Whether old growth is affected. Light shows in what arrives next; feeding shows in what is already there.
RHS · read 11 September 2026Soft yellow leaves low on the plant, soil still wet
A sour smell from the compost is common on a peacock plant, and the outer leaves come away when pulled. The surface may look dry while everything beneath it is not.
Its source calls for soil that is moist but well-drained. Past that, water in the pot displaces the air the roots need, and damaged roots then fail to supply the leaves above them.
Telling it apart: Whether the compost has dried at all since the last watering. A pot that has not dried in a fortnight is answering the question on its own.
RHS · read 11 September 2026Possible causes, likeliest first for a Peacock plant
Most likely too little water
Ranked higher because Peacock plant's recorded problems point this way.
- Moist but well-drained RHS · read 11 September 2026
Why: Soil dry two inches down, under lower leaves that are yellowing or leaves that are falling, is a peacock plant shedding what it cannot support.
What to try:
- Water until it runs from the drainage hole, then let the pot drain.Useful: pot with drainage holes
- If the water runs straight through a shrunken rootball, stand the pot in water for twenty minutes so the compost can take it up.
What would settle it: Water it thoroughly and look again the same evening. A thirsty plant firms up fast. One that does not has a root problem rather than a water problem.
Most likely not enough light
Ranked higher because Peacock plant's recorded problems point this way.
- Partial shade RHS · read 11 September 2026
Why: Far from a bright window, a peacock plant builds leaves it cannot afford.
What to try:
- Move it closer to the brightest window you have, over a week or two rather than in one step.Useful: grow light
- Water less while it is in low light; a peacock plant that is barely growing uses little.
What would settle it: Compare a new leaf with one from last year. Smaller and paler, with a longer gap below it, is the reaching pattern rather than a nutrient one.
Most likely too much water
Ranked higher because Peacock plant's recorded problems point this way.
- Moist but well-drained RHS · read 11 September 2026
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral RHS · read 11 September 2026
Why: Soil that is wet two inches down, under leaves that are yellowing from the bottom or falling, points at roots that cannot breathe.
What to try:
- Hold off watering until the top two inches of soil are dry, and check again with a finger rather than by the calendar.Useful: moisture meter
- Empty any water standing in the saucer or the outer pot within half an hour of watering.Useful: pot with drainage holes
What would settle it: Lift the peacock plant out of its pot. Healthy roots are firm and pale; roots that have been wet too long are brown, soft and smell sour.
Less likely for a Peacock plant, still possible
- Most likely cold
- Most likely short of nutrients
- Most likely a build-up of salts in the soil
- Light and feeding are both plausible, and this does not separate them
- Nutrients are an unlikely explanation here
- Possibly root rot, in a pot that has stopped draining
- Probably too much water, but this is not settled
- Probably too much water
- Possibly too much direct sun
- Possibly too much direct sun, or feeding
- This may be ordinary leaf loss
- Possibly dry air
- The answers do not point at one cause
Questions
- What usually causes yellowing leaves on a Peacock plant?
- For Peacock plant: most likely too little water, most likely not enough light and most likely too much water.
- How can I tell which one it is on my Peacock plant?
- Where is the yellowing? The lowest leaves, working upward; New growth at the top, while older leaves stay green; Between the veins, the veins themselves still green; At the leaf tips and edges, browning as it goes; Patchy, only on the side facing the window.
- What do Peacock plant's sources say about its soil moisture?
- RHS: Moist but well-drained.
- What does this look like on a Peacock plant?
- The peacock plant looks sparse rather than sick: fewer leaves, spaced further apart, all angled toward the window. Telling it apart: Whether old growth is affected. Light shows in what arrives next; feeding shows in what is already there.
Other plants that show yellowing leaves
Prayer plantNew leaves arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
AlocasiaThe crown yellows from below and the pot stays heavy
Arrowhead plantNew leaf blades arrive smaller and paler than the ones below
Asparagus fernPale, undersized fronds at the tips of the stems
Baby rubber plantYellowing that begins at the lowest leaves
Baby's tearsYellow, limp leaves at the base
Something else wrong with the Peacock plant?
What this does not cover
This page orders a decision tree's results using a plant's sourced care. It has not seen your plant, its pot or its window, and two problems at once are common: that is the usual reason a confident answer turns out wrong. The questions in the diagnosis tool narrow it further than a list can.