Monstera cold damage – House Plant Journal

Monstera cold damage

Plant: Monstera deliciosa

How long have you had the plant? Less than 1 month

Concerns:

I recently acquired the plant last week and since transporting, experienced Canadian winter for 10 mins, leaves have become crispy. The soil is at 4 on soil meter and pH is good. I’ve also set up a humidifier and mist the leaves:

Overall plant:

Light Situation:

Sitting next to this balcony door, the plant receives roughly 2 hours of direct sun.

How do you determine WHEN to water? I wait for the soil to become slightly dry before watering.

Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil, letting excess drain away

Fertilizer? Yes, I’ve always the sticks for indoor potted plants.

Darryl’s Analysis

Environment:
The current location where you have it is pretty good in terms of light.

Effort:
WHEN to water: aiming for “partially dry” (around halfway between fully saturated and totally dry) is the right cue to water.

HOW to water: fully soaking and letting excess drain away is the way to go.

Fertilizer sticks are fine.

There is no need to mist or use a humidifier – Monstera deliciosa will grow fine with winter indoor humidity down to 25%.

Expectations:
This will have to be the hard lesson that most tropical plants cannot be exposed to near freezing temperatures for more than a few seconds else their tips will turn black – as yours are now.

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to reverse the damage – these leaves will forever bear the scars of having been exposed to the cold.  If you want, you can cut off some of the severely damaged leaves and, for less damaged leaves, just cut off the tips to help yourself feel better about how they look.  Your plant is not dying!  It should continue growing new leaves and after a few years, there will be a new set of leaves to replace these damaged ones.

If you want to learn a healthy, balanced approach to houseplant care, check out my online course or my book.


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One response to “Monstera cold damage”

  1. My monsters plant leaves got to cold and became water laden leaves.
    I wonder if the roots remained protected and how will I know?

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