Monstera Albo browning on white part
Plant: Monstera albo variegata
How long have you had the plant? Less than 1 month
Concerns:
Leaves started turning brown along the edges 2 days ago. I suppose, humidity is not enough around this plant, and I just fertilized the soil (soil poison and fungicides).
Here’s the overall plant:
Light Situation:
How do you determine WHEN to water: I wait for the soil to become about halfway dry.
Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil, letting excess water drain away.
What fertilizer do you use? I used Fungicides (Penncozeb) and worm castings.
When was the last time you repotted? I have not yet repotted.
Darryl
You haven’t had this plant for very long so here’s what you need to know about Monstera albo: the browning of white sections is inevitable. Enjoy those white parts when the leaf is new and don’t panic when they eventually turn brown – the goal is that by the time one leaf has some brown spots, the overall plant would have grown some newer leaves (which will be nice and fresh looking).
Having said that, here are some things you can do to maintain the niceness of the leaf for as long as possible (which is realistically just a few months from what I’ve observed):
- An occasional soil flushing can help to minimize the appearance of new browned tips and dark spots – this is when you pour lots of water through the pot and allow it to drain away. This will leach away potentially built up minerals but be sure to follow up with a fertilizer since the flushing also washes away nutrients.
- Avoiding too many hours of direct sun (but from where you’ve put the plant, this shouldn’t be a problem): 1 or 2 hours of direct sun is completely fine but if the duration starts to exceed 2 or 3 hours, the plant will be transpiring faster, which leads to more rapid browning of white sections of an albo Monstera.
- Using the right amount (and type) of fertilizer: excessive fertilizer will cause leaf tip burn and not using any at all (or an unsuitable kind) will affect the overall plant health. Worm castings is a good supplement but in the long term, you will want to use a complete fertilizer – more info here.
Remember: even if you do all the above measures, the white parts WILL EVENTUALLY turn brown…don’t fall into the trap of thinking that soil flushing/avoiding direct sun/good fertilizer will ensure you never see any brown tips – it’s not a realistic view of how plants grow and will make you enjoy them less.
Here’s my plant, which I’ve enjoyed for over 2 years:
The white parts:
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