Question: My houseplants have cupped leaves. The newer leaves just don’t look like the leaves that were on the plants when I bought them. What causes that?

Answer: That’s usually low light intensities. Scheffleras and dieffenbachias are two classic examples. The same thing happens to our outdoor landscape plants, too. When they’re grown in dark corners, they are more open, with larger and differently shaped leaves than when they have full sunlight. Try moving the plants gradually to brighter conditions and see if the subsequent growth isn’t more normal.