I've had this mini monstera for about a year. I reported it and split it into two pots last week. I used the same soil as what it was in before. And now it's dying. What is going on?? I haven't changed anything other than giving it fresh soil. Watering is the same, location is the same. It's kept inside, near a window and gets 6-8 hours of indirect light every day. What's going on?? This was the first time it's been repotted.
by Signal-Control-1382
11 Comments
I’ve repotted mine twice since I’ve had it and it always does this. I’m sticking around to see if anyone has advice 🙂
it looks like maybe the pots are a little big? this is what mine looked like when i repotted it into too big a pot
I would say that she is overfed with nutrients. What kind of soil did you use and what NPK does it have? A really light mix for cacti always works best for me and I only feed her every 4-5 months with a little bit of alge extract. She will probably recover, but it will take some time.
Looks like fertilizer burnt.
The brown and yellow you can see on the leaves is probably a fungal infection, that means overvatering. You have to allow the top 2-3 inches of soil to dry out between waterings. The soil also may be too dense so even if it feels dry at the top, the bottom remains constantly wet – in this case you should consider repotting it in well-draining soil (removing damaged leaves and rotten parts of the roots in the process)
Edit: misspellings
Needs a chunkier soil, perhaps. My mini monstera (Rhaphidophora tetrasperma) is thriving in a mix of equal parts orchid bark, crushed pumice, and cactus soil. I added a handful or so of worm castings as well.
This plant is an “aroid” that climbs on other trees and likes its roots to have air around them. A moist potting mix that allows air flow, if that makes sense. Good luck.
Edit: there is a subreddit for it, even: r/RhaphidophoraPlant
While you’re troubleshooting test the soil pH or even acidify your water by adding pH down to the water. Sometimes wet soil becomes too alkaline and when you repot the roots can get shocked more. You mentioned you gave it “fresh soil”, maybe it was cooler, damper soil that added to the shock.
You could also try exposing to more direct sunlight or warming the soil with a heat mat if you’re in a region where the daylight is becoming less, night temps dropping etc.
That’s what has worked for my monsteras.
agreeing with a few people here, looks overwatered. the pot looks really big for this plant but if the roots are really taking up that much space that you think this size is necessary, then use a soil with more aeration to allow it to dry out faster. i’d check the roots when you change the soil because some could be rotted
Hmm, this does look like fertiliser burn, which is odd. You didn’t fertilise between repotting?
That soil is absolutely too dense, it looks like almost pure peat. I would repot ASAP into a way, way, way chunkier mix. Like, water should run through it all super fast.
Mine threw a royal tantrum when I changed pot. It has taken three years for it to begin to grow back a bit ‘normally’. It yellowed, dried up, became just a leafless vine…..I don’t know what changed its mind as it has been in the same spot. 🤷🏻♀️
Quick question, is that a self watering planter? It looks like the kind I’ve seen in the past. If so, was your mini monstera in a self watering planter previously?
My gut reaction–based on the assumption that my guess is correct–is that since it is an aroid that likes to dry out between waterings and it has not been potted into a chunky aroid mix, it’s possible that the roots are staying wet a bit too long and this is a sign of overwatering, even if you are not personally watering it a higher rate than usual.
A self watering planter in non-chunky soil is how I lost a *Monstera adansonii* that I had rescued off of a sidewalk a few years ago. I did not realize at the time that water was staying in a hidden chamber below and recirculating into the soil and was trying to figure out why the soil stayed wet for so long. That was my first time dealing with root rot, so I was a little too slow to act unfortunately. I did technically restart it from cuttings, but distributed all of those cuttings in a plant giveaway and was left without the mother plant 😭