How to recover a monstera with yellow leaves?
Monstera is a type of plant that looks great indoors, as well as on terraces and gardens in places where the climate is sultry all year round. Moreover, it adapts perfectly to life in a pot, which is why many people do not hesitate to buy a copy to decorate their home. The problem comes when its precious green leaves turn yellow.. Then we worry.
»Why does my monstera have yellow leaves?», »What is happening to it and how can I save it?»… if you are asking yourself these questions, don’t worry, because we will solve them later.
When a monstera has yellow leaves, the first thing we need to do is consider whether we are making a mistake in growing it. Sometimes, by simply making miniature changes, we can make it recover quickly. Therefore, we will see what the causes are and what we need to do to make our plant green and hearty again:
Low ambient or relative humidity
Monstera is a tropical plant that lives in moist jungles. But these places are not moist just because it rains often, but also because the relative humidity or ambient humidity is high, which is not always the case in our homes and/or gardens. This causes the tips of the leaves to first desiccated out and then turn yellow.
But beware: To know exactly whether our plant has this problem, we need to check the relative humidity level in our area.. For this purpose, it is most advisable to purchase a home weather station, because this way we will always have access to information. Nowadays they are very affordable, so much so that for 15-20 euros you can buy good quality ones like this one:
However, if not, we can Google “X relative humidity” by replacing X with the name of our location. If it is less than 50%, we will spray the leaves with rainwater or water suitable for everyday human consumption.or place containers of water around it.
Drafts or excessive ventilation
Photo – Flickr / Maja Dumat
All plants must be in ventilated rooms, but not all of them are resistant to powerful air currents, and monstera is one of them. Nothing will happen to her if she is on a terrace sheltered from the wind or in a room away from the window, but its leaves turn yellow if it is near a fan, air conditioner or other device that produces, for example, air currents.
Fortunately, there is a plain solution to this: if we suspect that this is the problem with our installation, we just have to move it. Bad leaves won’t regenerate, but hopefully we’ll prevent them from getting worse and recent hearty ones will grow.
indigent lighting
Monstera needs airy to grow, but not as much as other plants. The problem arises when we place it in a dim place or in one where there is almost no airy. Under these conditions leaves lose color and may turn yellow. For this reason, I always recommend placing it in a place where there is plenty of airy, whether it be inside or outside the house.
Now you also need to avoid exposing it to direct airy because its leaves are not prepared to withstand it, which I will explain now:
direct sun or airy
Related article:
Monstera who
As I have already said, monstera is a plant that lives in the jungle, growing in the shade of larger trees and palm trees. Therefore, if we place it in front of a window with direct airy or in a radiant place, the more exposed leaves will burnchanging color first to yellow and then to brown.
This problem too can be easily fixed by moving ittaking it to a more protected area where it is not exposed to direct airy.
Lack of water
It is not a plant that can go long without taking in water, that’s why we need to be a little aware of the humidity of the earth, because if we notice that it is very desiccated, the recent leaves will soon turn yellow. Although earlier we will see that the stems lose their firmness and “fall”, therefore the monstera will look sorrowful. This is the first sign that should make you suspect that it needs water, because when the leaves turn yellow, it means that the problem has gotten much worse.
But nothing should worry you too much: lack of water is one of the less solemn causes because it can be easily corrected. This is why, you only need to do one thing: water. Pour water over the soil until it is well soaked. If you have a plant in a pot, take it away after watering because it is weighty. After a few days, pick it up again and you will notice that it weighs little or nothing, so you will have to water it again.
Excess water
Image – Wikimedia Commons / David J. Stang
If lack of water is one of the smallest problems that a monstera can face, then excess water is the most solemn because when the situation gets much worse, fungi appear and cause even more damage. Fungi are one of the most complex microorganisms to eliminate. So, you need to pay attention to the symptoms which will show the plant to act as quickly as possible:
- The leaves will start to turn yellow, starting with the elderly ones (the ones below)
- The soil will be damp and the verdina can grow.
- When you pick up the pot, you will notice that it weighs a lot
- And as I said, in advanced cases fungi will appear (mold on the ground and/or leaves, brown spots)
What to do? Well, in such cases we need to do two things: desiccated the soil as quickly as possible and treat the plant with a fungicide, which is an antifungal product.
This is why, first we will stop watering, and if it is in a pot, we will take it out and wrap the soil with absorbent paper. If this one gets humid quickly, we’ll remove it and put another one on. Then we leave it for a day in a desiccated place, protected from direct airy. After this time, we will plant it again in a recent pot with drainage holes, with a universal growing medium or for green plants of one of the brands: Flower, Westland, BioBizz. If you are interested in any of them, please click the link to buy it.
And finally, it should be treated with a multivalent fungicide. I recommend buying a spray, e.g. East of Flower, because it is easier to utilize and does not need to be diluted first. Spray the preparation on the leaves – on both sides -, the stems, and the soil that needs to be soaked. And we’ll do it again next week.
What to expect? This will depend on how solemn our plant is. If caught in time, it is normal for it to lose some of its leaves, but it will eventually grow back. However, in more solemn cases, recovery may take a long time or may not occur at all if the fungi have already attacked its roots.
Frigid
The last cause is icy. Monstera can withstand temperatures close to 0 degrees if it is protected from the wind, but it has a tough time tolerating frost, so it is often kept in rooms with a moderate climate. Therefore, As soon as the thermometer reads 15°C or lower, it is best to take it home.
If it has already suffered icy damage, we will see that the leaves most exposed to air currents are yellow or brown.. They will not regenerate, but in spring the plant will sprout recent, completely green leaves.
We hope these tips will facilitate you recover your monstera plant with yellow leaves.