Monstera leaf curl is typically brought on by a watering problem. Your plant may be being overwatered or underwatered!
Checking the soil’s condition is the greatest place to begin. Your soil may be retaining too much water if it feels moist an inch or two down and you last watered at least a few days ago.
On the other hand, if the soil in your monstera seems dry a few inches down, your plant may require water. You can be watering too little if you previously watered and the soil is still dry.
To obtain a more precise picture of the moisture levels in your soil, we advise utilizing a moisture meter. (We like this one because it measures soil pH, light levels, and moisture levels.) Even if the top few inches of soil seem dry to the touch, depending on how well-aerated your soil is, it’s absolutely possible for the root ball to be damp.
To use a moisture meter, poke the sensor halfway down into the pot and into the soil halfway between the base of the plant and the side. Your plant is definitely too dry and needs water if the meter shows less than 3.
Your plant might have been overwatered if you last watered more than a week ago and the meter reads more than 4. Although you may be watering too frequently, this doesn’t necessarily indicate you’re watering your monstera too much. Instead, it’s probably a sign that the soil is either too dense or compacted, or that the pot doesn’t drain properly.
Drainage problems are more frequently to blame for overwatering than actually giving your plant too much water!
Too Much Direct Sunlight
Additionally, excessive sun exposure can make leaves curl, and it frequently comes with symptoms of leaf scorch like fading or even dried brown areas.
This can be the problem if your soil seems to be in good condition and your monstera typically receives a lot of direct sunlight after 10:00 a.m. To prevent the light from being too direct and beating on your plant’s poor leaves, try moving your plant further away from the light source or filtering the light with a sheer curtain.
Heat Stress or Low Humidity
As a tropical plant, monsteras thrive in environments with at least 40% humidity. Your monstera’s leaves may pucker, wrinkle, or curl if humidity levels are constantly low because of water loss.
Monstera leaf curl can also be a result of high temperatures from a heater, fireplace, or heating vent. If your plant’s leaves curl up very quickly, it may be because of this, which frequently happens in response to a sudden, dramatic temperature change. The combination of humidity and temperature is frequently a problem because these intense heat sources can also cause a plant’s leaves to dry up.
Here’s an easy fix: if you observe your plant’s leaves abruptly curling, quickly move it away from any hot drafts.
Your plant can require humidity if the curling is more gradual, you reside in a dry location, the season has changed, or you’re utilizing more indoor climate control. (A humidity meter can be used to determine the precise indoor humidity levels!)
If this appears to be the problem, try placing a humidifier near your monstera plant, moving it to a steamy bathroom with lots of indirect sunlight, grouping it with other houseplants (the respiration of the other plants will increase the humidity around your monstera plant), or putting it on a humidity tray. You may buy these from gardening supply stores or make your own by setting your plantpot and other accessories on top of a shallow tray that has been filled with water and pebbles.
Accidental Herbicide Damage
Given that herbicides are normally used outside, this is a highly uncommon reason why indoor monsteras’ leaves curl, but it’s still important to know in case you have outdoor monsteras or have ever placed your indoor monstera outside where this may have been a problem. (It is not unusual.)
There isn’t much you can do but give your monstera time to recuperate if you suspect it may have picked up any herbicide on the breeze. With minimal, regular maintenance, it should survive!
Soil Conditions
Issues with the soil are the root of so many monstera health concerns, including curling leaves. As we previously stated, soil concerns more frequently cause watering issues than actual watering issues with plants. It’s important to consider how your soil’s pH and nutrient levels may also have a big impact on the health of your plants.
Compacted Soil
Long-term storage of soil in a single pot can cause it to harden and become dense. When a plant hasn’t been replanted in a year or more, this frequently happens.
When this occurs, water may not soak into the soil very quickly and may instead sit on top of it. On the other hand, when the soil does eventually absorb the water, it could retain it too long rather than allowing it to drain correctly. Both over- and underwatering problems may result from this.
As a result, it’s crucial to keep your plant’s soil well-aerated. You may accomplish this by repotting your plant each year or by periodically poking the dirt with a chopstick or dowel to loosen it up.
Phosphorus Deficiency
One mineral that plants require in pretty high concentrations is phosphorus. Therefore, you can have health problems if the soil of your plant (or the ones that come after) lacks this crucial component.
With phosphorus deficiency, discoloration is typical, and you can also observe your monstera’s lower leaves curling under. Your plant may be deficient in nutrients if you notice these symptoms and light, water, pests, and humidity don’t appear to be the issue—especially if it’s been in its present soil for longer than a few months and you haven’t fertilized!
Potassium Deficiency
Another crucial nutrient that plants require to develop and prosper is potassium. Potassium shortage may be the cause of your monstera’s leaves curling and discoloring from the tips.
Nitrogen Deficiency
The nutrient that plants need the most in order to function physically is nitrogen. The bottom leaves of your monstera may yellow and curl inward if it has a significant nitrogen deficiency, and there may also be some dry, light-brown spots on them.
Maintaining the health of your monstera involves giving it nutrition. In the wild, monsteras obtain all the nutrients they require from the soil because the ongoing decomposition of organic waste ensures a consistent supply of these nutrients in the ground. But in just a few months, your potted monstera can readily consume all the nutrients in its soil.
We advise using a mild liquid fertilizer on a regular basis after you’ve had your monstera for a few months (or within a month or two of repotting) to make sure that your plant is receiving all the vitamins and minerals it needs to stay healthy and develop into the large, stunning monstera plant of your dreams.
Why is my monstera wrinkly looking?
A plant’s leaves will initially display evidence of inconsistent or inadequate irrigation. Examples of this include curling, wrinkling, withering, and drooping.
You should check the soil first if the leaves are wrinkly. The leaves will grow wrinkled if they are under- or over-watered.
How Can You Tell Them Apart?
The dried-out potting mix is most likely the result of underwatering. The leaves wrinkle, twist, or curl due to the acute lack of moisture in the foliage.
Due to the lack of turgor pressure in your monstera plant, it will also appear wilted. It becomes dry because leaves shed more moisture than they absorb from the roots.
- Look for further underwatering symptoms on your monstera, such as:
- Overly thirsty DroopingMonsteras are notorious to droop or fall limp.
- wrapped-up leaves
- Lack of moisture in the leaf tissue is the cause of the foliage’s curling.
- tan leaf edges
- One of the most typical signs of acute dehydration is this. If your monstera is situated near a heating vent or in a bright environment, the leaf tips and edges will brown more quickly.
- Monstera leaves with brown dots
- Water your plant now if you see faint, crusty brown spots on its leaves.
- leaves turning yellow
- Yellow patches or leaf changes will occur. Brown dots and points on the leaf’s surface are a regular occurrence.
- dry as bone earth and withering foliage.
Overwatering is more likely to be the root of wrinkled monstera leaves than underwatering. The cause of this is that monsteras dislike standing in wet or flooded areas.
An even worse condition called root rot can result from overwatering a monstera. The root damage will hasten the wrinkling and curling of the leaves.
Unfortunately, overwatering symptoms can be misconstrued for underwatering signs. An effective technique is to check the soil for moisture. If the potting mix is sludged and wet, your monstera is receiving too much water.
- Other signs of an overwatered monstera deliciosa include:
- They start to turn yellow starting with the leaves closest to the ground.
- The undersides of leaves get water-soaked brown patches as a result of edema.
- Leaf wilting typically follows leaf dropping or collapsing.
- Root rot can be identified by its brown or black, squishy roots and rotten-egg stench.
- The excessive moisture in the potting mix causes mold or mildew to develop on the soil’s surface.
How to Correct Improper Watering
You must make sure to provide your plants regular watering. Due to their special requirements, watering monsteras cannot be done in a way that is universally effective.
- You should water your monstera at least once every two weeks in the spring and summer.
- You should only water your monstera a few times a week in the winter and fall.
Regardless of the season, you should wait between irrigations to let the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the potting mix dry up. Before the subsequent irrigation, check the soil moisture using the finger test.
Deep watering can make a monstera that has been submerged wrinkle less. But be aware that leaves may sustain damage that prevents them from restoring their natural shape.
However, a monstera that has received excessive water and has symptoms of root rot needs to be repotted.
Why are the leaves on my monstera wavy?
In response to high water loss, Monstera deliciosa and other Monstera species curl their leaves to minimize surface area and minimize evaporation. Although it is a common adaptation of Monsteras and many other houseplants, it is also a symptom of stress in your plant.
Monstera leaf curling can be brought on by any factor that increases water loss or decreases the amount of water reaching the leaves. Let’s examine each cause one at a time. I’ll go through the signs to watch out for as well as what you can do to fix the issue and get your plant back to full health.
Underwatering
Your Monstera will respond by curling its leaves if you haven’t been watering it sufficiently. It is one of the most frequent reasons for Monstera leaves to curl, therefore look into it first. Search for extremely dry soil, crispy, brown leaf edges and tips, and drooping. Due to the lack of water, the plant container should feel much lighter than usual.
Giving your Monstera a good watering is the straightforward answer in this situation. Till water freely runs out of the drainage holes on the pot’s bottom, thoroughly soak the soil.
Try to establish a pattern of regularly examining your Monstera to see whether it needs watering. Every few days, check the leaves for damage and the soil’s dryness. Water when the top 1-2 inches of soil feel dry to the touch.
Avoid scheduling your plant’s watering because the amount of water it needs will change depending on a number of circumstances, such as the plant’s pace of development, the season, the surrounding temperature and humidity, and the size of the plant in comparison to the pot. You may get some wonderful advice on how to maintain your houseplants in top shape by reading my guide to watering houseplants.
Try putting a reminder on your phone every few days to assist you check your plant on a regular basis if you frequently forget to water your houseplants.
Low Humidity
In the understory of tropical rainforests, where there are constant temperatures and high amounts of humidity, many of the common houseplants that we grow are bred.
Many houseplants struggle to survive in our normally much drier houses because of the low humidity. When the humidity is low, monstera leaves frequently curl.
Although more resilient than some other common houseplants, Monsteras thrive in humidity levels above 40% and generally develop leaf curling, brown leaf tips, and leaf margins in environments much lower than this. Some less common Monstera species need very high humidity levels to stay healthy and attractive.
Following are some ways to tell if an issue with underwatering or low humidity-caused curling of Monstera leaves;
- Examine the soil. Underwatering is rare if the soil is still wet.
- If the issue is solely caused by low humidity, your Monstera is not likely to wilt.
- To keep track of the humidity levels in your house, use a digital hygrometer/thermometer. Low humidity is not the problem if humidity levels are consistently above 40%.
To benefit your Monstera and other houseplants, there are several ways to raise the humidity levels in your home.
- Due to plant transpiration, group your plants together to produce a humid environment.
- Underneath your Monstera, use a humidity tray. It works great to use a drip tray with a wide base and water in it. Make sure the pot’s base is just above the water’s surface by placing a few scattered stones there.
- To quickly and simply raise the humidity, use a humidifier. You can maintain your preferred humidity level with several models. This humidifier is an excellent choice for indoor plants.
What do the leaves of an overwatered monstera look like?
The Swiss cheese plant, or Monstera, is a great choice for interior design because of its distinctively sized leaves. However, if not properly cared for, the plant is susceptible to temperature changes and overwatering and may display unfavorable symptoms including drooping and discolored areas on the foliage. What are the symptoms of monstera overwatering, and how can you save the plant?
The yellowing, drooping, and development of brown patches on the leaves are indications of an overwatered monstera plant. To prevent root rot, repot the monstera in a potting mixture that drains properly. Lightly water the plant to keep the soil moist, and then wait until the top 2-3 inches of soil are completely dry before watering the plant again.