Monstera deliciosa smaller leaves yellowing
Plant: Philodendron Monstera (call it *Monstera deliciosa* as it is not a Philodendron and will cause you confusion when you start collecting Philodendrons)
How long have you had the plant? 1-6 months
Concerns:
Several weeks ago I noticed a couple of the smaller leaves turning yellow. After a few weeks, when it didn’t seem to improve, I checked and saw that the roots were growing out of the bottom of the pot.
Two weeks ago I moved it into a bigger pot, and have been very careful not to overwater it, but now even larger leaves seem to be turning yellow. Please help!
Light Situation:
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? I’ve never used fertilizer.
Soil:
Darryl’s Analysis
Environment:
The current location where you have it is suitable in terms of light: as close to the window as possible is great.
Effort:
You are fixated on the false idea that overwatering causes yellowed leaves. Older leaves yellowing will eventually happen – the reality is that leaves have a limited lifespan – they don’t last forever. This means that WHEN (no if) a leaf turns yellow, it’s not always indicative of something that needs correcting – and once a leaf starts yellowing, in most cases, it cannot be reversed.
You can lessen the occurrence of leaves yellowing by using fertilizer (again, you can never completely prevent it) – more info on fertilizers here.
Correct watering: (determining WHEN to water a Monstera) whenever the soil is about halfway dry. HOW to water: fully soak the soil, letting excess drain away (which you are doing).
You can repot your Monstera into a pot that has roughly the same diameter as your largest leaf. So I think your plant can go into a larger pot than this.
Expectations:
Older leaves yellowing is inevitable. Ensure your environmental conditions are good for growth – most notably the light situation. Make that growth possible by watering/fertilizing/repotting accordingly. Then let Nature take its course – your plant can still grow as older leaves die.
When I removed this pup, it only had Leaf 1 and 2. About a year later, as many new leaves have grown, the time has come for Leaf 2 to retire.
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