I have had this plant for about 3 years. A few months ago the leaves at the bottom were yellowing. I got better lighting. Now I have 4 grow lights in this plant area. I feared pests so I used systemic insecticide granules and a non toxic spray for pests. She was pretty dry yesterday so i watered her. I use a moisture meter. She was at a 2.
Does anyone know why this plant is going yellow and what the brown spots mean? I saw one like the one in the 3rd picture near the bottom a few weeks ago.
Thank you for any help. I want to keep her healthy and safe.
by Small-Contest-2368
1 Comment
The widespread yellowing across multiple leaves points more toward overwatering/poor drainage than lighting. 4 grow lights is actually quite a lot for a pothos and unlikely to be the issue. A moisture meter reading of 2 before watering sounds right in theory but if the pot lacks drainage or the soil is compacted water can sit around the roots even when the surface reads dry.
The brown lesion with the yellow halo in Pic 3 looks like bacterial leaf spot or a fungal lesion. These tend to appear or worsen when the plant is already stressed by root issues or high humidity around the foliage.
The small black dots on the yellowed leaf in Pic 4 are worth watching closely. They could be pest frass (thrips or aphids). Systemic granules take 2–4 weeks to fully kick in so keep monitoring the undersides of leaves.
What I’d check:
– Does the pot have drainage holes and are they clear?
– How long has it been in the same soil? Dense/old soil holds moisture too long.
– Are the grow lights adding heat close to the leaves? That can stress tissue and make it more vulnerable to infection.
Remove the fully yellow leaves and the one with the brown lesion. They won’t recover and keeping them risks spreading the bacterial/fungal issue. Let the soil dry out more thoroughly before the next watering. I hope this helps.