Figure out what's wrong with a sick plant
A likely diagnosis for a struggling houseplant or garden plant, with what to check, fix, and avoid.
The prompt
Help me figure out what's wrong with my plant.
Plant: [NAME if known, or describe it]
Symptoms: [e.g. "yellow lower leaves", "brown crispy tips", "white powder on leaves", "holes", "drooping even after watering", "sticky residue"]
Photo description: [what you see on the top and underside of leaves, stems, and soil]
Care routine: [watering frequency, light, fertilizer, when last repotted]
Pot and soil: [drainage hole? soil type? pot size]
Location: [indoors/outdoors, climate, recent changes like moving it or a cold snap]
Give me:
1. The 2-3 most likely causes, ranked, with what I've described that points to each. Be clear this is a best guess without seeing the plant.
2. Quick checks to confirm (e.g. finger test for soil moisture, inspect roots for rot, look for insects under leaves with a magnifier).
3. A treatment plan for the most likely cause, starting with the least harsh option (adjust watering or light, prune, wash leaves, insecticidal soap) before any chemical product. If a product is needed, follow its label exactly and keep it away from kids and pets.
4. What NOT to do (e.g. fertilizing a stressed plant, overwatering to "help").
5. How long recovery should take and signs it's working or that the plant should be discarded or isolated to protect others.
If it's a vegetable or fruit plant I plan to eat from, note any harvest waiting period after treatment.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Personal Life & Wellbeing prompts
What to fill in
- NAME if known, or describe it
- watering frequency, light, fertilizer, when last repotted
- drainage hole? soil type? pot size
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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