10 Causes Of Monstera Yellow Leaves (Solutions Included)
Monstera leaves turning yellow is one of the commonly seen problems with houseplant owners. Read on to know the 10 common causes for monstera yellow leaves.
One of the signs that your Monstera is not properly cared for is when its leaves start turning yellow. Monstera plants are so delicate that any little mistake you make can affect them seriously.
So you can prevent yellow leaves by providing your plant with adequate lighting, watering, soil, and temperature levels. You also want to deal with pests effectively and properly repot your monstera when necessary.
Monstera yellow leaves are mostly caused by pest infestation and poor growing conditions, but you can easily remedy these issues. Read this article to discover 10 causes of Monstera yellow leaves and how you can fix them.
Causes of Monstera Yellow Leaves
Yellowing leaves is a common issue with monstera houseplants.
There are several causes of yellow leaves on monstera, here we’ll help you identify and fix these problems!
1. Monstera yellow leaves due to Improper watering
One of the most common mistakes people make in the care of monstera is improper watering.
They try not to kill the plant with excess water and end up underwatering the plant. If you must make your monstera retain its evergreen leaf color, you must not overwater or underwater it.
You may be wondering, why overwatering causes yellow leaves in monstera plant?
The explanation is a simple one; when you give your monstera more than enough water it requires to grow healthy, it causes water to log at the base of the pot and the monstera root typically sits in the water. This results in stem and root rot as the leaves turn yellow.
On the other hand, if your monstera scarcely receives water, it makes its leaves drop so that it could prevent transpiration thereby saving water.
This could typically make the leaves of your monstera turn yellow as it utilizes only the little nutrients for water conservation.
If you notice that your monstera is turning yellow leaves as a result of improper watering, what you need to do first is find out what you are not doing right.
Are you overwatering the plant or underwatering it? Finding out which one is wrong with the plant, would help you solve the problem.
If you discover that the problem is overwatering, you need to stop watering the plant immediately and then may need to repot the plant in a new pot with a good soil mixture and proper drainage holes.
However, if the problem is underwatering, you need to supply water to the plant adequately but not enough to suffocate the root.
Expect your monstera leaves to jump back to life once the problem of improper watering is solved.
2. Monstera yellow leaves due to Light stress
It may interest you to know that monstera plants do better in shady medium-lighted places.
This is why when you expose them to more than enough sunlight, it causes sunburn to their leaves thereby turning yellow.
It is also very important that you know that too little light can also affect the color of the leaves as there might not be enough light to improve photosynthesis and the chlorophyll responsible for the plant’s evergreen color would be affected thereby the leaves changing color.
So now that you have noticed that your monstera leaves turning yellow may be a result of light stress, how do you fix this?
You must learn to adequately supply light to the plant.
You need to place your monstera plant in areas in your home that have a bright, indirect light.
If you place the plant where it is exposed to harsh afternoon sun, replace it and watch the leaves blossom to life again in a few days.
3. Monstera yellow leaves due to Temperature stress
If you do not want your monstera leaves to turn yellow, then you must provide them with the right temperature and humidity level.
Being an indoor plant monstera does better in a moderate temperature and humidity level.
Why? This is because if the plant is kept in too cold an environment, it can cause stunted growth of the plant resulting in leaves dropping and eventually yellow leaves.
On the other hand, a too-hot temperature causes excessive heat on the plant’s leaves causing them to dry out and eventually turn yellow.
So you have discovered that your leaves plants are turning yellow as a result of temperature stress, what do you do? Never worry too much, it is still fixable.
All you need to do is make sure you maintain the humidity level. Put your monstera plant in warmer conditions around winter but never allow them to dry
out.
You can also fix this by misting the plant once a day during winter when indoor moisture is minimal.
4. Monstera yellow leaves due to Nutrient deficiency
Just like you do, the monstera plant needs sufficient food(nutrients) to do very well and blossom.
If the soil nutrient is very poor it will affect not just the leaves of the plant to get yellow but will also affect the general growth of the plant.
Why does nutrient deficiency cause the plant leaves to turn yellow?
The answer is quite simple. Chlorophyll is the nutrient responsible for the greenish color of plants. When this is lacking in a plant, it can cause discoloration of the plant and the monstera plant may eventually have discoloration and droppings.
If this is the case with your monstera plant, never worry too much, you can simply correct this by enriching the soil nutrients of the plant either through the repotting process or by simply applying adequate fertilizer.
5. Monstera yellow leaves due to Overfertilization
Many people in a bid to enrich their monstera’s soil nutrient end up overfeeding it with fertilizer. This can eventually cause the leaves of your monstera to get yellow.
Why is this so? Overfertilization causes burns on the roots and stems of the monstera and this can eventually lead to yellow leaves because the burn caused by the overfertilization passes through the plant’s root and stem to the leaves.
To fix this, stop fertilization for some time, change the soil of your monstera plant; you can prepare your soil mixture or simply buy from the local gardening store near you. You can then add a mix of nitrogen-rich fertilizer that is quite mild to the new soil.
This will eventually make the leaves of your monstera return to normal and to ensure you don’t kill the leaves again, you can only fertilize the plant once a year just before warmer months.
6. Monstera yellow leaves due to Root rot & Root bound
This is another common reason why monstera leaves turn yellow. When a monstera plant is overwatered, it causes the root of the plant to typically sit in water and over some time begin to rot. And this prevents the roots from supplying nutrients to the stem and leaves which in turn causes leaf discoloration.
The monstera root may also outgrow the pot on which it is planted, this is called ‘root bound’. This can also cause monstera plants to turn yellow leaves because there isn’t enough soil to support them.
Root bound eventually leads to nutrient deficiencies which can cause the plant leaves to turn yellow and probably die.
But the good news is, this can be fixed! The best thing you can do if this happens is to simply repot your monstera plant or loosen the root ball and return the monstera to its pot.
When you do this, in a few days the leaves of your monstera will return to normal.
7. Monstera yellow leaves due to Pest infection
One of the reasons why people prefer monstera as an indoor plant is because of its mild resistance to pest attack, this could even be why you chose the plant for your home interior.
But monstera plants are actually prone to pests like thrips, scale, fungus gnats, powdery mildew, and spider mites. These pests infestation can severely affect your Monstera leaf color.
If these pests have attacked your monstera, you kill them or scare them away from your plant using insecticides.
If you haven’t noticed any pest attack on your monstera, you can prevent such by constantly removing dead leaves, regulating adequate humidity levels, and ensuring that the soil is clean.
8. Monstera yellow leaves due to Fungal diseases
The leaves of a monstera can also turn yellow as a result of a fungal disease the plant is suffering from.
Three common fungal diseases affect monstera plants.
Improper watering, temperature stress, and poor humidity level make the monstera houseplant very susceptible to these diseases. One of such fungal diseases that affect monstera plants is leaf blight. If you notice your leaves browning or the foliage dying, then your plant may be suffering a fungal disease.
This fungal disease can be caused by insects and too much direct sunlight on the plant. If you notice the symptoms described above on your monstera, you can fix it by relocating your monstera to a more shady place to avoid exposure to direct sunlight, then maintain an adequate humidity level and make sure to water the plant properly.
Another fungal disease that can turn Monstera leaves yellow is Anthracnose disease. Other symptoms of this fungal disease include leaf spots, leaf curling, and eventually leaf dropping.
If you notice these signs on your monstera plant, then the plant might be suffering from anthracnose fungal disease.
To fix this problem, all you would need to do is prune out infected leaves then try spraying your monstera with a copper-based fungicide.
Septoral leave spot is also another disease that your monstera is prone to. One of the frustrating things about this disease is that it starts underneath the older leaves but can spread as rapidly as possible to other leaves if not controlled.
They can also weaken your plant and kill it. If you notice signs of a septoral leaf spot on your monstera, you must treat it immediately. To fix this problem, simply remove the infected leaves carefully then carefully spray organic fungicides made with either copper or potassium bicarbonate. This disease can equally be treated with chemical fungicides from a gardening store near you.
9. Monstera Yellow Leaves Due To Repotting Stress
You must carefully repot your plant otherwise it could cause problems to your monstera.
Repotting stress occurs as a result of damaged stems and roots while repotting. When the roots and stems are damaged, nutrients may not be able to pass from the roots and stems to the whole plant and this can cause yellow leaves as well as leaf curl and droppings.
To prevent repotting stress, you must learn how to repot properly. So how can you repot your monstera properly?
To properly repot your monstera, get a new pot and fresh potting soil, then repot by scooping the old soil from your plant’s roots.
Now, take the new pot and create drainage holes. After this, fill the base of your new pot with fresh soil and try to compress it below with your hand. The next thing is to place the plant’s base on top of the soil and fill it in with the rest of the soil.
Then water the repotted monstera appropriately by pouring a quantity of room temperature water in a circle around it and making it sink deep into the potting soil, and make sure not to overwater!
10. Monstera yellow leaves due to natural yellowing
Not every monstera leaf yellowing is caused by a fault.
You don’t have to be bothered about the occasional yellowing of your monstera plants, it’s natural! When your plant gets newer growth, the older leaves would naturally turn yellow and then brown before falling off.
But if you hate to see yellow leaves on your Monstera plant, simply prune the yellow leaves with a pair of gardening scissors. This will make the plant look fresher and healthier.
Monstera Yellow Leaves – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yellowing of monstera leaves is a common problem many houseplant owners face. And that has led to a plethora of the same questions repeated again and again in different forums and comment sections.
So, let me answer some of the most commonly asked questions so that you don’t have to ask these separately.
Should I cut yellowing leaves off monstera?
If more than 30% of your monstera leaves are yellow, then it is not advisable to cut the leaves back. Because when you cut a majority of the leaves, the plant will get into a state of shock which will halt the growth.
If the yellow leaves are very less in number, then you can cut them off without any worries. It will help the plant in terms of energy utilization and also make the plant look more beautiful.
Can yellow monstera leaves turn green again?
Once a monstera leaf turns yellow, there is no going back. Even in the case of 1 in million, it is practically impossible to make a yellow leaf green again. So, it’s better to trim them off and re-route the plant’s energy to focus on growing new leaves.
Wrapping Up
Most people fall in love with the dramatic, monstera leaves, but when they turn yellow, it can be really frustrating. So you want to make sure you keep those unique leaves beautiful and healthy using the tips provided here!
If you’ve skipped watering for days or exposed your plant to direct sunlight, and your Monstera leaves are now turning yellow, don’t beat yourself up. Take the necessary steps discussed here and watch your plant flourish.
Sources
- Infection by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides through lesions of Puccinia paullula f.sp. monsterae on Monstera deliciosa.
- First Report of Colletotrichum siamense Causing Anthracnose of Monstera deliciosa in Zhanjiang, China.
- Anthracnose disease of Swiss cheese plant [Monstera deliciosa Liebm.] caused by Colletotrichum.
