This is my first plant…uh, if you don't count the four tiny succulents I've killed. (Two fell off the balcony from a windstorm).
I went with my mom's method of plant caretaking, which is "Soil dry? Give water" and was dumping like 30oz water into this guy for a month. Then I learned they don't like that, so now I do 30z once a week. Used to have it up against the window, but now have it a foot away from the window as apparently they don't like direct light?
Why is he so bendy? Why are two leafs a beautiful bright green, but the other leafs are dark and not pretty?
WHY DOES HE BEND ALL THE TIME?
by The-Last-Anchor
14 Comments
it looks good to me, just facing the light source other than that it looks fine leaves get darker as they mature it’s normal
and ur mom is right water when dry if not roots will rot, ur soil is to dense to water once a week that a death sentence 😭
Put it closer to the window and open the blinds so it sees as much sky as possible. Water only when the top few inches of soil is dry and give it fertilizer
She’s reaching for the light. Literally.
Check the roots, I read that the new leaf came out brown…usually that’s root rot. Also wipe the leaves and put it under a grow light! He (I read that too😆) may be sad for a while after checking the roots but he should bounce back again!!! Bottom water if possible, that way you know your not overwatering.
Monsteras absolutely thrive with a few hours of direct light through a window. I have left my monstera outside last summer and it got BRIGHT direct light from 1pm to sunset and it did pretty good. You just have to acclimate it properly to prevent burning. (They can get top heavy tho, so I don’t do it anymore cause she kept blowing over in the wind and damaging leaves from falling over, need a heavy planter to do that.) Mine gets a grow light and a few hours of direct sunlight from a west facing window in the evening. Definitely give more light, transfer to a chunky mix in a proper sized pot if you haven’t already, and fertilize weakly when the soil gets dry a few inches down into the pot. Give her a rinse with just water once a month to prevent build up. She will thrive. This is my newest leaf inflating. I have had her since the spring of 2021 and she went through a lot of neglect in the first 3 years of me not knowing what I was doing. If you do these things correctly, you will get amazing results a lot quicker.
https://preview.redd.it/cdazgq6mx8nf1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9234e7e59508f06ade48a473be1b954c352334e5
She needs light, and she needs her leaves cleaned. They are dusty, which hinders photosynthesis
https://preview.redd.it/42f76rf3d9nf1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a04b5dec77265633e35c1db557c4c1ea73c3b9c4
It wants to go outside and play with all the other kids
I feel like your are getting good watering advice but that can easily be misinterpreted. Water when the soil is dry, like waayyyyy dry. But water it pretty well. I put all my plants in the shower like 2x a month (or less for some) and just give them all a good soak. It’s about how OFTEN you water, not the total ounces.
For this to work- you need a pot with good drainage holes, and a chunky soil. You may already have those, can’t tell from pics.
Beyond that, put it back by the window and give it all the light it wants. And maybe throw a pole in there to tether it to (YouTube it). But that’s optional. Mainly to help keep it contained a little.
Only water when the top 2 inches of the soil are DRY DRY. Keep it facing the window (the plant has a front and a back so the front should be facing the window). Also give it something for support (such as a moss pole or trellis). Maybe watch some videos on tictoc or something to learn the front and back, how to get it to thrive instead of just surviving. Also look into fertilizer/food for the plant. They are HEAVY feeders so they go through a lot of the nutrients that are in the soil so you need to supplement. One of my FAVORITE plants!
Repot in cactus soil and horticultural pumice and coconut coir and orchid bark in equal parts. Big terra cotta pot. More light but put a single sheer up. That first Pic had me thinking was wall mounted under a sky light! A month after repotting start fertilizer with 1/teaspoon 20-20-20 fertilizer in a gallon of water. Get a $30 Sansi grow light too. You will see some much better growth rate.
My monstera’s bend like crazy, i always say my plants are just neurodivergent like me and like go all weird.
As for water i give mine water about once every three weeks, 30oz sounds about right but every week is WAY too much. Make sure your pot has drainage! If not, add LECA beads in the bottom of the pot.
Monstera’s like lots of light but don’t like direct sunlight as much. If you live in a colder part with less intense sun it can handle some direct sunlight.
Etioliated aka smarty-plants way of saying reaching for light. Raise it up to height of window, wash the leaves and rotate it every couple of weeks.