Got this Monstera for my wife for Christmas. We have been diligently watering it and opening the shades for it over the last 5 months, but gradually the leaves are dying. It seems to be accelerating in the last month or two.
Watering: once a week until soil is moist but not saturated, about 24 oz each time
Light: from south and west-facing windows
Location: central North Carolina, USA, indoors
Wondering if air conditioning is making it worse?
What should we change here?
by eggfoam
16 Comments
Thank you for posting to r/plantclinic!
It looks like you may be asking about a monstera. In addition to any advice you receive here, please consider visiting r/monstera for more specialized care advice.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/plantclinic) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Based on what you said, you may be over watering. I water mine once a month ( I soak the whole pot in the sink for like an hour)
Is the pot draining? I can’t tell. May be over watered and sitting in its water for too long.
Root rot.
Too much water. (standing water?)Anaerobic root zone. Monsteras and most philodendrons are actually quite drought tolerant. They need to pretty much dry out between waterings.
have you looked on the backs of the leaves for spider mites or thrips? this could be pest damage. maybe take your plant outside, repot it if you like, but spray the leaves and stems well with fresh water and use a regular dawn/water mixture and wash those leaves well with your hands. i use knit gloves or a wash cloth with the soapy water. rinse off the soap and then repot the plant (if you’re going to) and saturate the soil. make sure its getting plenty of sunlight and let the soil dry before watering it again. take a look at some shorts or videos with Tanner the Planter about watering.
Cut off all those yellow leaves!!!
Those leaves will never be green again.
Black around the tips of the leaves usually means over-watering.
Sir, this thing is COVERED in thrips. See all those lil spots on each leaf??? Those are thrips.
I just lost the thrips-battle with three of my monsteras that were more than five years old. It was devastating, but my leaves looked exactly like yours. You can try a systemic solution, but I ended up tossing mine to save the rest of the pack.
As long as you get rid of the root rot and start watering less (2/mo max), soaking well with well draining soil, you’re good. Cut back those yellow leaves and make sure when you repot the pot is only 2 inches bigger than the root ball.
it has thrips!! that’s the biggest issue and it has to be resolved or this plant is a goner.
!thrips
You clearly have thrips, and quite bad situation going on there. I wish you luck with this battle!
lots of thrips
U have thrips unfortunately. The monstera at my job is laced with thrip larvae. Look closely at the leaves and stems u will see little yellow ovals then u will see them move. Best be cut off all the yellow leaves as close to the base as possible then hose that thing down. Add a systemic granule pesticide like bonide. Shower that thing like daily the leaves not the soil. Then hope for the best. Repeat bonide every two months