While yellowing Monstera plant leaves can be cut off to maintain the plant’s appearance, caution must be exercised when trimming the rest of the plant. To maintain the size and shape of the plant, occasional trimming may be required. It is advisable to avoid taking out more than a third of the entire plant at once.
Do I need to remove the injured Monstera leaves?
Your Monstera should have any damaged leaves removed. Trimming dead leaves helps your plant’s health in addition to improving its appearance.
- Unable to photosynthesize are dead leaves. Any brown or black areas on your Monstera’s leaves are no longer able to supply the plant with energy.
- Dead leaf sections have no protection against rot and infection in comparison to healthy leaves. Dead plant cells provide nutrients that are consumed by bacteria and fungi. For instance, you can notice mold growing on dead leaves that have been left on the plant or in the soil. To help defend the remainder of the plant against these diseases, remove any dark or damaged tissue.
It is possible that only the ripped edge of a leaf will become brown to seal a cut if there is only very minimal damage, such as accidently ripping or torn a portion of the leaf. Leave minor imperfections alone if they don’t affect other parts of the plant or interfere with your pleasure of the plant’s aesthetics.
Monstera damage to the roots and stems can be more serious than damage to the leaves because it prevents the plant from transporting water and nutrients. Visit our soon-to-be-available guides on stem damage and root rot.
Yellow Leaves With Black Spots
Act quickly if the leaves on your monstera plant are turning yellow and getting black patches. Your monstera most certainly has root rot, which, if left untreated, can swiftly kill your plant.
Repot your monstera into new soil and a clean pot to treat root rot. Remove as much soil as you can from the root ball, and then cut off any rotten roots. Make sure the soil and new pot both drain well.
Once your plant has been repotted, put it in a location with plenty of bright, indirect sunshine and water it less frequently than normal. Use our Root Supplement when you water to help the roots heal and stop additional infection.
Yellow Leaves With Brown Spots
What if your leaves are browning and turning yellow? Here, the texture and color both play a significant role.
Your plant is likely underwatered if the areas are light brown, dry, or crispy; check to see if the soil is dry.
You should repot your plant as soon as possible if the areas are mushy and dark brown, as this indicates possible root rot.
You might have a bacterial infection if the spots are dry and more medium brown, however this is uncommon. Yet another thing to think about! Try carefully removing the afflicted leaves using clean hands and tools after ruling out dryness and root rot, then repotting the plant as you would for root rot. That ought to stop the virus from spreading (no pun intended).
Yellow Leaves With Brown Edges
You can have a nutritional shortage if the leaves on your monstera are yellow with crisp, brown edges. Chemical burn from too much fertilizer is another possibility. Finding out when you last fertilized is the greatest method to discern the difference. A white crust on the soil’s surface may indicate overfertilization and the accumulation of certain minerals in the soil. Here’s how to stop monsteras from overfertilizing.
Check the soil’s moisture content because the plant could also be underwater.
Should I Cut Yellow Leaves Off Monstera?
Yup! When a leaf turns yellow, it no longer benefits your plant and instead becomes a drain, thus your monstera is better off without it. Remove any yellow leaves you spot using clean shears, but first inspect your plant to see whether there’s a problem that needs to be fixed or if this is just a typical, healthy amount of leaf fall.
Why are the leaves on my Monstera yellow?
“Help! My Monstera appears to be dying. I’m clueless as to what to do as its leaves are turning yellow.
The yellowing of Monstera’s leaves may be due to improper lighting, fertilization, or temperature stress. Never discount potential causes like pest infestation or organic ones.
To pinpoint precisely what problem is producing this discoloration on your Monstera, you will need to do a comprehensive inspection.
Can you keep a Monstera from going bad?
- When the top inch of soil seems a little bit dry to the touch, water monstera. Depending on the climate and conditions, the exact frequency can vary, but generally speaking, watering monstera once every seven days with a deep soak maintains the ideal moisture balance. If you’re unsure, feel the soil with your finger to check for moisture. Water the monstera thoroughly as soon as the top inch of soil feels a little dry.
- Always water deeply enough for any extra moisture to flow out of the drainage holes in the pot’s base. As a result, the soil is guaranteed to be evenly moist and the water will have reached the roots where it is needed. If you water monstera too lightly, it may experience drought stress, which causes the leaves to become yellow. Monstera leaves that have become yellow from dry soil typically recover rather fast following a watering cycle.
- Regularly empty the trays and saucers under the pots. Avoid letting water gather under your monstera for an extended period of time as this might lead to root rot.
- In pots with drainage holes in the base, always plant monstera. Water must be allowed to readily drain from the pot’s base since monstera plants need proper drainage.
- If the dirt feels too heavy or compacted and you can’t stick your finger into it, repot the monstera. Because there is not enough oxygen for root respiration when the soil is compacted, the leaves will become yellow. The optimum soil for monstera growth is one that is easily aerated so that oxygen can reach the roots and water can drain efficiently. In order to more closely resemble the permeable soil of the monstera plants native environment, repot the monstera in potting soil or compost and add around 1/3 succulent and cactus soil or orchid potting media.
- Place your Monstera in a spot with strong, filtered light. The pierced leaves of the monstera vine, which grows like a vine in the canopy of tropical forests in Central America, spread out widely to absorb as much light as possible. The leaves can become scorched by direct sunshine, and too much shade turns the foliage yellow (in rooms with north facing windows for example). A room with good lighting and perhaps an east or west facing window is ideal for monstera growth.
- When it’s growing, fertilize your monstera once every month. As a result of their big leaves, monstera plants are relatively nutrient hungrier than other plants. The roots of the monstera may deplete the soil of nutrients if it has been in the same container for a long period. Additionally, the starting potting soil may not have been extremely nutrient dense. Use an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer at half strength once a month from Spring through Mid-Summer (do not fertilize in the Fall or Winter) if your monstera has yellowing leaves with weak development and is not suffering from overwatering or underwatering. This should revive the yellow foliage.
If your monstera has turned yellow due to a lack of water, it should quickly recover following a thorough soak and a regular watering plan, usually once every seven days.
However, if your monstera is overwatered and the leaves keep turning yellow and beginning to droop and seem dead, it may be very difficult to preserve the plant.
Roots that have root rot appear squishy, rotting, and smell unpleasant, whereas healthy roots should feel hard.
You can take immediate action in this situation by removing the monstera from the container, emptying the dirt, and using a clean pair of pruners to trim back any diseased roots and encourage healthy development (wipe the pruners with a cloth soaked with disinfectant after every cut to prevent spreading any pathogens to otherwise healthy root).
However, this causes a lot of harm to a plant that is already unwell. Take a cutting of a monstera leaf for propagation, which is what I would advise you to do first.
The easiest approach to save a monstera plant is to propagate it if there are some healthy-looking leaves and stems still present.
Watch this instructive YouTube video to learn how to grow monstera quickly:
How do I trim a Monstera leaf that is fading?
Fortunately, trimming a monstera is not too difficult. Since they are a hardy plant, they don’t need to be meticulously pruned. In other words, even if you don’t perform a great job, your plant will probably be alright.
You’ll want to remember a few things, though:
1. Put on gloves. When pruning or propagating your monstera, be sure to use protective gloves because the sap is poisonous and can cause severe skin irritation.
2. Use a tidy, sharp instrument. You can avoid crushing or damaging the stem by using sharp pruning shears or a knife to make the cut. Your plant is also shielded from hazardous microorganisms by clean tools. Bacterial diseases can even spread to your other plants and are difficult to treat. (Protect your monstera from insects, fungi, and bacteria with our Houseplant Leaf Armor!)
Instead of slicing the stem off, just give it a good snip or chop while cutting. The cleanest cut will be made as a result.
3. If you can, prune in the spring, especially if you want to promote growth. Growth spurts occur in the spring and summer for the majority of plants, including monstera. Pruning in the spring will yield the best benefits and hasten the recovery of your plant. You should prune in the spring because that is when your cuttings will grow the fastest if you intend to propagate them.
4. Arrange the slices. Starting at the base of the stem, remove any outdated or diseased leaves.
Cut where you want the plant to grow if you are pruning to promote growth. Make a top cut if you want it to grow higher.
When the time comes to actually trim your monstera, keep in mind that pruning promotes growth so choose where to make your cuts. You can safely reduce the plant’s size if you’re pruning to manage your monstera’s size. Just remember that it will eventually need to be done again because it will grow back.
5. Be sure to cut below a node if you’re propagating. Don’t be concerned if you’re only trimming to reduce the size of your plant or get rid of dead leaves. However, if you want to grow your cuttings from them, make sure that they have a node, which is a tiny knob that develops on the stem opposite a leaf. When your cutting begins to grow, these will subsequently develop into aerial roots!
Try our new Houseplant Propagation Promoter!
6. Prevent unintentional proliferation. When you’re done pruning, be careful to dispose of your cuttings in the trash if you’re not going to propagate them because if you place them in a compost pile or somewhere else where they can root in the earth, they’ll start to grow roots.
I’m done now! Don’t be afraid to prune your monstera; it’s an essential yet easy component of care for this plant. This plant develops rapidly and bounces back quickly from pruning. Good fortune!
When should I trim the leaves on my Monstera?
After you have pruned your leaves, you can reuse the cuttings by growing more of them or by composting the dead leaves.
Propagate your cuttings
Making a new plant from a cutting of an old plant is known as propagating your cutting.
Your cuttings can be rooted in either water or soil. The method you choose to utilize generally depends on your personal preferences.
To see how long the roots have grown and whether there is any rotting, I prefer to cultivate my Monstera cuttings in water.
Make sure the plant is not overwatered if you wish to place it in soil. This could result in the formation of germs and mold, which could harm or kill your plant cutting.
Use the dead leaves as compost
It is a smart notion to compost the leaves from a plant whose leaves have been clipped after they have died or become yellow.
Dead leaf composting is a reasonably easy process:
- Put all of the plant’s leaves in a bag after you’ve collected them all. Mixing some grass clippings with the leaves is also a good idea.
- Compost makers and natural fertilizers can be added to hasten the composting process.
- If your compost mixture seems dry, be sure to add extra moisture, and make small holes in the bag so that air may reach the compost.
- To achieve the finest effects from your handmade compost, keep the bag in storage for at least two weeks.
In conclusion
Making your Monstera happy by pruning. You’ll be able to maintain the appearance of your living area and see fresh growth. Additionally, it is a great technique to prevent the illness from spreading after a leaf becomes infected.
The best time to prune your Monstera is in the early spring. Avoid the dormant season because it could cause more harm than good to the plant.
Will the yellow leaves ever revert to green?
Yellow leaves are beautiful in the autumn on trees like gingko and quaking aspens. However, if you notice a large number of them on your fern, green-leafed pothos, or other indoor plants, it can be a concerning sight. However, it’s not always a terrible thing.
All year long, tropical plants maintain their leaves. But the life cycle of houseplant leaves exists (like all living things). Each leaf ages, gets yellow, and eventually dies. It’s not a problem if one or two leaves are yellow. However, if several leaves start to turn yellow, it’s time to intervene.
The most frequent causes of yellowing leaves are inconsistent watering (either too much or too little) or improper illumination (too much, too little). You must determine the cause of the issue in order to prevent other leaves from becoming yellow. Learn more about additional reasons why leaves could yellow.
Usually, when a leaf on a houseplant turns yellow, it is about to die. A leaf’s green tint is caused by chlorophyll. The plant abandons the leaf after it stops producing chlorophyll and starts utilizing any remaining nutrients in the leaf. Because of this, you usually can’t convert a leaf back to green once it turns yellow. (However, in instances of nutrient deficits, yellow leaf color occasionally becomes green again with therapy.)
There are numerous types of plants that naturally produce leaves with splashes and streaks of yellow. Variegation is what we refer to as when this occurs in healthy plants. When plants are exposed to more light, variegation may appear brighter.
Conclusion: It’s not necessary to panic if a few leaves turn yellow. The yellow leaf is like a warning light, therefore you should pay attention to it. It might be a normal shedding process or it might be an indication that something is wrong.