Mysterious Decline in Spider Plant, Syngonium, and Creeping Charlie

Likely Fungal/Bacterial Disease

Symptoms—leathery leaves, yellow blotches, leaf drop, death at pot level while tendrils stay healthy—suggest a soil-borne pathogen affecting roots/crowns. The fact that cuttings root but then die in 6 months confirms the pathogen is in the soil or spread via tools.

Home Treatment Trial

Lysol Spray (original scent): Spray plants and soil surface daily for 2 months, including leaf undersides. Water very lightly (⅓ normal) during treatment—excess moisture fuels pathogens. Then weekly until confident.

Better: Professional Diagnosis

Take a symptomatic plant (with root ball) to a university plant diagnostic clinic (e.g., Purdue, if accessible). They can culture the pathogen and prescribe targeted treatment.

Sanitation

• Discard dead plants and soil.
• Sterilize pots (10% bleach soak).
• Use fresh, sterile soilless mix.
• Isolate new plants.

This is challenging but not hopeless.