Hello all,
After a few months of struggling with my Monstera, I'm out of luck and desperately need help.
In September I moved, and my Monstera was placed from a corner between two open windows (with morning and afternoon sun) to a place that barely gets any direct sunlight and a no air circulation.
This air circulation problem is a problem for the whole appartment, and caused my Monstera to be infected by Fungus Gnats.
This took weeks, maybe months, to resolve. Combination of traps and nematodes did not help, only hydrogen peroxide decreased the amount of gnats.
At the same time, my Monstera was getting too big for the coconut stick that was supporting it. So considering this and the gnat infestation I decided to repot.
I repotted the plant with a mixture of airy soil together with perlite coconut coir and other Monstera-apparoved potting soil and a better coconut stick.
After a week or 2, half of the leaves turned yellow. It was a disaster. I was preparing to take the yellowing leaves off when you can pull them off without force. I let them die and took them off. After that I was left with a sad little plant.
Now, another month later, more leaves are yellowing and maybe 2/3rd of the leaves are gone.
My watering schedule changed drastically after the gnats infection. the soil had to be drieer. so now I water it only once every 3 weeks. The soil right under the dry soil stays damp for that time.
Can someone tell me what to do to make the plant not die, and maybe even make the leaves grow back?
It's so limp now.
I feel like it's my fault the plant is dying. and honestly it makes me feel emotional, like I'm watching a family member die.
by CanIHaveSupplyDrop
1 Comment
I will go through and try and tackle each issue.
1. Gnats can be easily controlled by using mosquito dunks/bits. I put them in my 5 gallon water bucket I use and let it sit in there and infuse at least over night or longer. I’ve never had issues since using the.
2. You mentioned the soil under the top dry soil stays wet. This sounds like an issue. I know everyone always says water after the top 2 inches are dry or whatever but realistically if your soil is wet in the areas where the roots are then it doesn’t need watered again. I have clear pots on most of my plants and if I see humidity/condensation deep in the pot, I’m not watering it yet.
3. I think what is happening is you had 5 plants or more growing in one pot. When it was healthy and in good sun it was easily handling the water you gave it. Once the leaves started dropping it can’t handle the water and you may have root rot at this point.
4. Next steps. Your leaves will never grow back, monstera don’t do that. You can get new leaves up top but that’s going to be it. Your plant will sadly always look like a mess at the base. I know you’re sad about your baby but if you want something aesthetically pleasing you are going to have to chop this one up and prop the top cut and go from there. In the future I wouldn’t put multiple monstera in one pot. It creates problems and a it’s a hassle. One monstera gets big enough as is! Also, your plant needs more light than what you think. Your plant looks like it was getting enough light not to atrophy but not enough to fully mature. It’s why it is so leggy with a thinner stem and long petioles. Since you mentioned it’s in a place without good light you need a strong grow light. This will prevent most issues you have. 90% of problems people have with their monstera is not enough light.
Sometimes trying to save a plant is just more stress than it’s worth and you shouldn’t feel bad. It happens to us ALL.