Moisture can harm Monstera Adansonii. If you overwater it, the leaves have a tendency to turn yellow. Its foliage turns yellow and is scorched when exposed to strong sunshine. Too much fertilizer is a less frequent cause of yellow leaves on Monstera Adansonii. By providing your Monstera with strong indirect sunshine and watering it only when the soil is nearly dry, you can resolve these issues. You can minimize the harm caused by overfertilizing your plant by scooping the fertilizer and flushing it. The stress of environmental changes and shipping may also be to blame for the fading of the leaves.
Why are the leaves on my Monstera Adansonii yellowing?
The bad news is that yellow monstera adansonii leaves can have a variety of causes, so figuring out the real problem and fixing it may need some investigation.
Verify your plant’s nutritional requirements, light requirements, and soil conditions.
Incorrect Watering
Improper watering is the most frequent cause of houseplant problems in general, including yellowing leaves.
Parents of indoor plants typically fall into one of two categories: either overwaterers, who love their plants to death by watering them excessively or too frequently, or underwaterers, who may water too sparingly or forget to water at all.
Overwatering Monstera Adansonii
The first thing you should do if you observe yellow leaves is to examine the soil’s moisture content. You can do this by feeling the soil with your finger, using a chopstick-like wooden stick, or using a moisture meter.
Your plant may have been somewhat overwatered if the top few inches of soil still feel moist to the touch, if the stick emerges wet, or if the moisture meter reads more than 5 or 6 days after your previous watering.
Observe which leaves appear to be turning yellow as well. Overwatering is most likely to be to blame if the bottom leaves begin to yellow first, feel soft, or have any dark-brown patches.
The immediate fix may be to just stop watering your monstera adansonii until the soil has had a chance to dry out, but there are a number of other elements that affect how rapidly your plant can use water, so you should consider those as well.
Initially, check to see if the soil and pot are draining properly. Make careful to repot into a fast-draining potting mix like our Premium Monstera Soil and a pot with drainage holes if the soil is too dense or compacted, or if the vessel lacks drainage holes.
Examining the lighting conditions for your monstera adansonii is another smart move. For this particular kind of monstera to be healthy and utilize water well, it need a lot of bright, indirect sunlight. You may want to transfer it to a sunny location where it will receive indirect light (but not direct, hot afternoon or midday light) or supplement with a grow light if it doesn’t receive strong light for the majority of the day.
We suggest these bulbs that you can simply put into standard lighting fixtures if you do decide to buy a grow light.
Underwatering Monstera Adansonii
Yellowing of a monstera adansonii’s leaves is another effect of submersion. (Yes, it’s frustrating. Over- and underwatering can also result in problems.)
Observe which leaves are yellowing to distinguish between a plant that is overwatered and one that is underwatered. Underwatering is the likely cause if leaves appear to be turning yellow all over the plant rather than only at the bottom, especially if the yellowing is accompanied by dry, light-brown areas.
Make sure to assess the soil’s moisture content as well. Your plant probably needs water if the top half of the soil feels bone dry to the touch, if a wooden stick emerges entirely dry, or if a moisture meter reads 3 or lower a few days after your previous watering.
Give the dirt a thorough soak, then allow it to completely drain. (Does your pot have drainage holes?) If your plant is badly dehydrated and the soil is absolutely dry, you might need to repeat this procedure a number more times.
Direct Sunlight Exposure
These plants thrive in direct, bright sunlight. The leaves, however, may begin to lose their color if the plants receive too much direct sunshine, particularly during the middle or afternoon when the sun’s rays are more intense.
Examine your monstera adansonii’s lighting setup if over- and underwatering don’t appear to be the issue. Is it positioned in a window that faces west or south? Do the sun’s rays ever directly hit the leaves after ten o’clock in the morning? Are the leaves yellowing first in the area nearest to the window?
These are all indications that the lighting conditions may not be ideal for your monstera adansonii. Adapt as necessary!
The greatest windows for plants are those that face east since they may receive some morning sun and receive a lot of indirect light throughout the day.
If transplanting your plant is not an option, you might consider hanging a sheer drape to block the sunshine from directly hitting the leaves of your monstera.
Nitrogen Deficiency
Consider nutritional deficiencies, especially nitrogen deficiencies, as another major cause of yellowing leaves.
Among other things, nitrogen is essential for the synthesis of chlorophyll, which gives plants their characteristic green color and enables them to absorb and transform sunlight into energy. If the leaves on your monstera adansonii aren’t lush and green, low nitrogen levels may be to blame for the decline in chlorophyll production.
Consider the last time you replanted or fertilized your plant if it appears to be content with its lighting and the soil’s moisture level is suitable compared to when you last watered.
If you don’t start fertilizing around that time, your monstera adansonii may end up with a depressed, yellow appearance because a potted plant like that can quickly consume all the nutrients in its potting soil. Repotting your plant into new, quick-draining, nutrient-rich soil about once a year is very crucial, not just to give it room to grow, but also to replace the soil’s nutrients.
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. Get as much of the soil out of the root ball as possible and prune away any rotting 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 is my Swiss cheese Monstera turning yellow?
Tropical plants like Monstera prefer greater humidity levels. While these plants can survive for a while in homes with an average humidity level, prolonged exposure to reduced humidity levels may cause the leaves to yellow or turn brown.
If so, clustering your Swiss Cheese Plant more closely with other plants or setting it on top of a pebble tray with water filled with water may be necessary to increase the humidity surrounding it. More information on how to make your indoor plants more humid may be found here.
Lighting Problems
Another potential reason for your Swiss Cheese plant’s browning leaves is poor illumination in your home. In order to thrive, Swiss cheese plants demand bright, indirect light.
If the plant is exposed to direct sunshine, the heat and intense rays could scorch it, turning the leaves yellow or even brown. If this is the case, relocate the plant to an area that receives bright but indirect light, away from the sun’s direct rays.
Pale yellowish leaves could also result from inadequate lighting. The plant won’t produce enough chlorophyll to keep the leaves a glossy, dark shade of green if it doesn’t receive enough light.
If you keep your Monstera in a dim space, you might also observe leaf loss, sluggish development, and the plant spreading out to seek out more light. If this is the case, you may either transfer the plant to a room with more natural light or install a grow lamp to provide it with more lighting.
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:
Should I remove the Monstera Adansonii’s yellow leaves?
Your Monstera Adansonii’s yellow leaves occasionally occur naturally. You shouldn’t be frightened if only a few of the oldest leaves on it have turned yellow.
Your Monstera wants to get rid of these old leaves. Older leaves are beginning to deteriorate and will eventually fall off. This is a routine procedure.
You should be on the lookout for signs of leaf yellowing when they first appear and when more and more of your Adansonii’s leaves start to do so.
Other than elder leaves turning yellow, taking proper care of your Swiss-cheese plant is the most important thing you can do to prevent yellow leaves.
Put your Monstera plant in a spot with some diffused light. The Monstera Adansonii that I have on my room’s north-facing window continues to thrive.
As a general rule, your plant wants you to give it plenty of water each week. Water more precisely when the soil is going to become dry.
They should have slightly damp but not soggy soil that drains nicely. Maintain a temperature range of 6481 F (18 to 27 C) and a humidity of 60 percent for your Monstera Adasonii.
Your Monstera Adansonii may be stressed by sudden environmental changes and shipment, which will cause yellowing of the leaves.
If terrible pests attack, it may also begin to turn yellow. Therefore, it is best to examine your plant carefully before deciding whether or not its yellow leaves are natural.