Yellow leaves huh. . . It could be over fertilized, but these plants seem to be sensitive to so many things, it's hard to say. It is usually a watering issue. They don't like to be 'wet' but they really don't like to go dry either. Lack of water and they droop, very dry the leaves fall completely over. Too wet, the leaves turn brown and crisp. I don't think too much light would cause the leaves to turn yellow.

I think I would start by checking the roots. Do this by taking the plant out of the pot, removing as much of the soil s you can. If the pot was sitting in a dish for drainage and the dish held water, it could have root rot. You will know this if the roots are soft and mushy or smelly. At this time also check for bugs. If everything checks out repot it. What size is the rootball? It is possible it is in too big of a pot which would cause root rot too. You should be able to put your fingers between the rootball and the side of the pot, any bigger is too big.

Amend the soil with perlite and bark (orchid bark) 1-1-1. For now, until it starts to recover, no fertilizer. I wouldn't feed it for a couple of months. Put it in bright, no direct sunlight. The new soil is fast draining so check it often and water as needed. Stick your finger in the soil, if it is dry 2" down, it's time to water.

I have a huge one (3' tall x 4" wide) I take it to the tub about every 5-7 days and pour 3/3 gallon buckets of water in it, letting it drain well each time. Then I let it set there until it is completely done draining. Mine sits in front of a west facing window, after a few hours I pull the blinds so it gets filtered light for about 4 more hours. Your plant is probably smaller and that would be too much water, but just water til the water comes out the bottom. Do this a few times, this will help flush the salt buil-up as well as the excess fertilizer it is holding.

Hope this helps.

Thanks maidinmontana - the problem is that I don't know what my friend's been doing so it's SO hard to tell what the problem is...I'll do a bit of root checking as you've suggested.

would it be correct to say that if the plant tips over accidentally and there's water coming out, that it's either been overwatered or the soil just isn't absorbing water properly?

Yes, indeed. There should be no signs of water, either in the pot ot the drain dish. If the soil is draining properly, it should not take any longer than 15 minutes to let the water completely drain thru the soil. That's why its a good idea to use the soil mixture I suggested. You may have to water more often, but it is much better on the roots sytem. And the perlite and bark do retain some moisture as well. Like I said, I water mine about every 5-7 days, but it's a huge plant.

If water leaked out when it was tipped over, that's not good. Hopefully it hasn't been in thosse conditions for very long, otherwise root rot is almost a given.

Even plants that like to 'stay moist, more so than a PL, don't like to have excess water around their roots. It prevents them from getting oxygen, and the suffocate. The roots end up looking like bean sprouts left in water, if yu will. This is alos why the pot size is so important. If the pot is too big, the soil stays wet, the roots can't take in all the water that is around the roots, thus causing rot.

PL's are a more challenging plant to grow. Believe me, I have had to learn a lot about them, but I think I finally figured it out. Mine is extra special to me, it was given to me from my grandmothers funneral 4 years ago.

Hope this helps, don't be afraid to ask more questions if you need to. That's how I learned. Hers a pic of mine.
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Thanks again maidinmontana

On the note of the existing yellowed leaves; they're really big, and when I moved some aside, I noticed little partly-unfurled GREEN leaves. Thing is, they're being 'blocked' by the big yellow leaves (which are mostly curled inwards) so sun can't get to them. Would you recommend snipping off some of the yellowed leaves and how would you do so? I want to encourage the baby leaves to come out!

Hi, I would trim off the yellow leaves, as the roots are putting a lot of energy into them. Getting rid of the sick leaves will let the roots nourish the rest of the healthy plant.

To trim the yellow leaves, just use a pair of scissors and cut down on the stem of the infected leave(s) as far down as you can. Do this at the same time you repot the plant. After repotting, the plant may pout a bit, that's normal. But at this point it is necessary, to examine the root ball. What size pot is it in? How big is the plant? Is it the kind with the bigger leaves?

Hope this helps,

Hi all, for reference this is the plant in its current state!

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Well, it's kind of hard to tell, but I am thinking it is probably an over-watering issue. I say this b/c the leaves are curling over at the tips. The pot size looks to be OK, but I would still take it out of the pot and examine the roots,(try not to disturb them too much) amend the soil, don't fertilize. I also think it could use more light. The healthier leaves look a tad pale, but that could just be the exposure. I would put it in a east (morning sun) area not right up against the glass, or west facing (afternoon sun) with some sort of filter (sheer curtain or blinds) and see if that helps.