How do i help my plant?

How tall is the shoot and how wide/long are the leaves? Sounds like a peace lily, but they normally have many shoots and produce white single-leaf flowers. Is the leaf turning white at all, or strictly yellow?

it sounds like you have a heart leaf philodendron

http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week334.shtml

Does your plant container have holes in the bottom to let out water? Not sure what the plant is, but it sounds like it may be getting too much water. Is the stem of the plant soggy?

I’m afraid I have no idea what your plant is from your description – could you post a photo?

Could be an orchid. Those are tough to take care of. But I’m with syz here. A picture would help.

…wonder what that was (see above). Can’t imagine what anyone would say about a plant, or plant owner. lol Must have been bad!

@ spendywatson: It does kind of boggle the mind…..

can we post photos on fluther? it’s not a peace lily, orchid, or philodendron. one of the leaves is about 6” wide and 7” long, the other (healthy one) is smaller maybe 5×4…..
and yes the container does have a hole in the bottom. i think it could be overwatered but that doesnt really explain why one leaf is fine and the other looks terrible…...
also another note of how it looks, the stem at the bottom is thick and looks kinda like bamboo. It’s def not a bamboo plant though…....

@emily; if the stem is thick and probably hollow, that means it can soak up and store water efficiently. Maybe you are overwatering. Try letting the soil dry out and see if the plant perks up.

how about an elephant ear? It may be in the Phil. Family

Sounds like rot from over watering.

If it hasn’t been over-watered and it’s getting enough light, it could just be naturally shedding a leaf- when the dying leaf starts to wilt you can pinch it off. You’ll just have one leaf but I bet you’ll see new growth soon- winter’s the hardest on houseplants.

thanks, everyone! I still have no idea what it is, but i’ll let ya know if i ever figure it out. for now i think i’m gonna let it dry out a little and see what happens. the other really interesting and beautiful thing about this plant is that somehow on occasion there will be one drop of water at the tip of the leaf like its crying. its really pretty. it wont be because i watered it on top either, it soaks it up and it ends up there!

pull the dead/dying growth off. the plant isnt growing because it is expending most of its energy supporting dead weight.