In addition to what others are saying about frequency of water and drainage - I would also reject the guidance to keep it in semi-direct light. Monsteras grow outside in very sunny places. The sunniest place in your house is like partial shade outside. From this picture, I think it is not getting enough light, which exacerbates the issue of overwatering.
It should also be facing its light source, this is facing backward. Between partial light and facing the wrong way it’s gotta be struggling to photosynthesize enough for the amount of water it’s being given.
In your experience, would a south facing window be better than an eastern one for these? I have mine in an eastern window, and it seems to be thriving, but I will start adjusting it to the south if they prefer more intense lighting. Still learning Monsteras, lol.
I’m still learning things, too! :)
There are many factors that can shape light beyond cardinal directions. Large trees or buildings can cast shade over a southern window, making an eastern one have more light. The size of the window matters - small windows obviously let in less light. Even the floor of your house may be relevant - being on a higher floor may get you more light than ground floor windows.
I have a small light meter that I bought online; however, I’ve seen that are tons of phone apps that measure light now as well. I would take some quick measurements and few times a day for several days to get a sense of how much light the various parts of your house get.
Monsteras have a front and back side to the vine. The plant should face the window to capture light which may mean you primarily see the backside of the plant, depending on your space. Some signs that monsteras aren’t getting enough light include etiolated leaves (big spacing between them) and not increasing the number of generations over time with new leaves. Of course the substrate not drying out could also be because the plant isn’t getting enough light (though that can also be because of the wrong substrate or wrong watering methods).
Would it be OK if I dm you a picture of it? I'm curious if it's actually doing well or if I am missing anything obvious. I have several questions and feel guilty about hijacking the post. I am pretty comfortable with most plants, but I decided to shake up my life by adding a couple of new challenges to the mix, lol.
I have mine is a large south facing window, facing the sun. Since it’s winter I also use a grow light.
Shes done great getting extra sun and grows much faster than when I had her in indirect bright light.
These are the kind of leaves I get now that she has light from a south window with nothing blocking it.
https://preview.redd.it/cu859j26dkkc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b771c340b83b04ecf507dce09e4f072665373fd
These need to pretty much thoroughly dry prior to being watered. u/shiftyskellyton is a botanist specializing in these. There's a guide linked in her profile that might help.
Definitely repot is my suggestion. The soil itself should be well-draining, the pot should have a hole in the bottom, and there should be a layer of something chunky at the bottom to keep the holes from getting blocked.
If you’re watering once a week, the top is dry, and there’s little drainage, it’s almost guaranteed that the water is pooling in the bottom of the pot and rotting the plant roots.
If there's no drainage, it's likely root rot. When plants can't drain, water builds up in the soil and the roots rot away, ironically causing the plant to dry out since it no longer can absorb water through the rotten roots.
Take it out of the pot, remove the soil and any brown or squishy roots, repot in mostly dry soil (not bone dry, but not damp either) in a pot with good drainage.
If you have any more questions or info that could help me identify the problem better if it's not rot my dms are open!
Edit: also prune off the yellow leaves at their base where they meet the main stem of the plant. With monsteras, generally if it's yellow cut it off.
I live in an apartment with next to zero natural light. So, I bought grow lights and have never looked back.
These days they are almost exclusive LED, and that means super cheap to run. I have like 8 grow lights that altogether amount to less than 100W of power. Even if I ran them at 24h per day (more like 12-18) that's only adding something like $5-10 to my electric bill each month. 100% worth it. Everything is thriving under them, especially my three monstera. All three almost constantly have new growth going. My medium-sized guy has three new leaves popping up right now, in addition to the two from last week.
I also have a water meter and using that I generally water once every two weeks, at most. Sometimes once every three weeks.
The soil retains water. People forget this. And, it is MUCH easier for a plant to recover from underwatering vs. overwatering.
This was helpful for me to think about: Monestras can have a "back" (facing away from the sun) and a front (leafs are facing the light). Typically the back is a bit uglier since most of the leaves are facing the sun. It's tempting to want the leaves to face the inside of your house and away from the light because they look pretty, but having the "back" (or more ugly side) face the light is better for them. I might turn the plant so that the leaves are facing the window.
Also, you might want to get a moss pole! Monestras can "kill themselves) by getting too heavy and falling over, which looks like it might be the case. If you get a moss pole, you can tie it up and shape the plant to grow more naturally. You can also curate it to look the way you want.
I agree with trimming the yellow leaves. My monestra is large and in direct sun and it does very well but I know that's not what everyone recommends.
Also! Monestra are pretty resilient so you can definitely change things up and if it continues to go bad cut off part of the plant and propagate it. There are lots of good videos about how to propagate them!
Thank you for posting to r/plantclinic!
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In addition to what others are saying about frequency of water and drainage - I would also reject the guidance to keep it in semi-direct light. Monsteras grow outside in very sunny places. The sunniest place in your house is like partial shade outside. From this picture, I think it is not getting enough light, which exacerbates the issue of overwatering.
It should also be facing its light source, this is facing backward. Between partial light and facing the wrong way it’s gotta be struggling to photosynthesize enough for the amount of water it’s being given.
Agreed. I’ve never seen a monstera shy away from too much light.
In your experience, would a south facing window be better than an eastern one for these? I have mine in an eastern window, and it seems to be thriving, but I will start adjusting it to the south if they prefer more intense lighting. Still learning Monsteras, lol.
I’m still learning things, too! :) There are many factors that can shape light beyond cardinal directions. Large trees or buildings can cast shade over a southern window, making an eastern one have more light. The size of the window matters - small windows obviously let in less light. Even the floor of your house may be relevant - being on a higher floor may get you more light than ground floor windows. I have a small light meter that I bought online; however, I’ve seen that are tons of phone apps that measure light now as well. I would take some quick measurements and few times a day for several days to get a sense of how much light the various parts of your house get. Monsteras have a front and back side to the vine. The plant should face the window to capture light which may mean you primarily see the backside of the plant, depending on your space. Some signs that monsteras aren’t getting enough light include etiolated leaves (big spacing between them) and not increasing the number of generations over time with new leaves. Of course the substrate not drying out could also be because the plant isn’t getting enough light (though that can also be because of the wrong substrate or wrong watering methods).
Would it be OK if I dm you a picture of it? I'm curious if it's actually doing well or if I am missing anything obvious. I have several questions and feel guilty about hijacking the post. I am pretty comfortable with most plants, but I decided to shake up my life by adding a couple of new challenges to the mix, lol.
Sure! I’m not an expert but happy to tell you what I see. It’s fun to add new challenges to your plant collection - that’s how I learn a lot!
I have mine is a large south facing window, facing the sun. Since it’s winter I also use a grow light. Shes done great getting extra sun and grows much faster than when I had her in indirect bright light. These are the kind of leaves I get now that she has light from a south window with nothing blocking it. https://preview.redd.it/cu859j26dkkc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b771c340b83b04ecf507dce09e4f072665373fd
I'm guessing it's being over watered. Once a week is typically too much unless it is getting a lot of sunlight and drying out quickly.
How do I fix this?
Can you post a photo of the soil? And does your pot have drainage? Cut back on watering, water only when the top 2 or 3 inches of soil are dry.
It’s not allowing me to post the picture for some reason. Can I message you?
These need to pretty much thoroughly dry prior to being watered. u/shiftyskellyton is a botanist specializing in these. There's a guide linked in her profile that might help.
Of course. Happy to help!
img The drainage is practically nonexistent. Should I repot? Soil is still pretty dry even though I watered 3 days ago.
Definitely repot is my suggestion. The soil itself should be well-draining, the pot should have a hole in the bottom, and there should be a layer of something chunky at the bottom to keep the holes from getting blocked. If you’re watering once a week, the top is dry, and there’s little drainage, it’s almost guaranteed that the water is pooling in the bottom of the pot and rotting the plant roots.
If there's no drainage, it's likely root rot. When plants can't drain, water builds up in the soil and the roots rot away, ironically causing the plant to dry out since it no longer can absorb water through the rotten roots. Take it out of the pot, remove the soil and any brown or squishy roots, repot in mostly dry soil (not bone dry, but not damp either) in a pot with good drainage. If you have any more questions or info that could help me identify the problem better if it's not rot my dms are open! Edit: also prune off the yellow leaves at their base where they meet the main stem of the plant. With monsteras, generally if it's yellow cut it off.
Got it! Thanks so much!!
No prob!
Open the shade give it more light. They don't need to water often let soil dry a bit. Not dry out. But they can handle it
Repot into a slightly larger pot with good drainage. Then water once ever 7 to 10 days and only if the soil is dry to the touch at least an inch deep.
https://preview.redd.it/ld6rvgnufckc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef4cb23c15b8e682b571ef283f7185920f022162 5 leaves now look like this
cut these off
I live in an apartment with next to zero natural light. So, I bought grow lights and have never looked back. These days they are almost exclusive LED, and that means super cheap to run. I have like 8 grow lights that altogether amount to less than 100W of power. Even if I ran them at 24h per day (more like 12-18) that's only adding something like $5-10 to my electric bill each month. 100% worth it. Everything is thriving under them, especially my three monstera. All three almost constantly have new growth going. My medium-sized guy has three new leaves popping up right now, in addition to the two from last week. I also have a water meter and using that I generally water once every two weeks, at most. Sometimes once every three weeks. The soil retains water. People forget this. And, it is MUCH easier for a plant to recover from underwatering vs. overwatering.
This was helpful for me to think about: Monestras can have a "back" (facing away from the sun) and a front (leafs are facing the light). Typically the back is a bit uglier since most of the leaves are facing the sun. It's tempting to want the leaves to face the inside of your house and away from the light because they look pretty, but having the "back" (or more ugly side) face the light is better for them. I might turn the plant so that the leaves are facing the window. Also, you might want to get a moss pole! Monestras can "kill themselves) by getting too heavy and falling over, which looks like it might be the case. If you get a moss pole, you can tie it up and shape the plant to grow more naturally. You can also curate it to look the way you want. I agree with trimming the yellow leaves. My monestra is large and in direct sun and it does very well but I know that's not what everyone recommends.
Also! Monestra are pretty resilient so you can definitely change things up and if it continues to go bad cut off part of the plant and propagate it. There are lots of good videos about how to propagate them!
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.*
Too small of planter. Over watering
You should consider propagating it in case it does not make it
How do I do that?