Hi there.
I received this monstera as a gift around 3 weeks ago, and it doesn't seem to be very happy More and more brown spots are appearing on the leaves, and some of the smaller leaves are turning yellow. There's also a big brown spot on the stem. It has been standing by my window, but I don't think it has gotten a lot of direct sunligt.
It might have gotten a bit too much water in the beginning, but I'm not sure. Also, it does get quite cold here in Scandinavia, but I'm trying to keep the temperature up.
I really hope someone can help save him!

Was the Monstera in that pot when you received it?

How do you decide when to water and how much do you give it?

How cold does it get inside near the plant?

when I first started collecting plants I got a huge monstera for a great price at my local grocery store... but it was in winter. It hadn't even crossed my mind to cover it up in the short cart ride to the car. This damage looks similar but not on the scale that mine was.

Sorry I forgot to write that it's still in the plastic pot I got it in, which just fits into the big pot.
I'm honestly not very experienced with plants, so during the first week or so I probably watered it a couple of times, and I think they might have watered it before they gave it to me.

Then I did some research and read that you're only supposed to water it when the top 2 inches of the soil is dry, so I do that now.
I'm unsure if I have given it enough water, when I watered it though (Sorry for being such a newbie)

Inside my appartment it's around 20 degrees celsius, and outside it's around -1 to 7. I try to move it away from the window when I open it, but the room still gets colder.

No need to apologize for being a newbie. We all were once!

It does appear that your plant is reacting to the initial overwatering. Unfortunately, the leaf discoloration is permanent. The small yellow leaves are suckers and can be cut off.

It sounds like you have corrected the watering issue. Always water enough so that a bit trickles through the drain holes. Maybe let the top one-inch dry before watering. 20 C. is fine but not much colder. Keep it out if any cold drafts.

As long as new growth comes in and stays healthy you will know you are on the right track.

Alright thank you!
The brown spots do still seem to spread though, and I was wondering if it would be worth a shot to try and take some cuttings and try to save them instead, but I'm not sure if that will just upset the plant and the cutting as well?

Leaves that have already started to react to poor watering issues may continue to slowly die back. Focus on the condition of the newest leaves as the best indicators of your recent care.

Your plant is not in danger of dying so there is no compelling need to take cuttings. However, if you do take cuttings, it will not affect the plant other than in its appearance.

Are you sure it couldn't be dying? The brown spot on the stem broke open and it now looks like this. Should I cut it off?
Also the brown spots on the leaves are getting worse and more leaves, that were fine before, are getting yellow.

Hi HaruHaru,

The photos you've provided are quite dark so it's very difficult to tell what might be going on with your Split-Leaf Philodendron (Monstera deliciosa) but my initial thought is that it's likely an issue with the soil staying too wet for too long.

That looks to me like a new leaf emerging

Look at the stem BEHIND the one that you are concerned about. That is how the new leaves emerge...the stem splits and the new leaf comes out. See that old split on the one behind with the dark edges? That is what they do. The cataphyll on Monstera is ATTACHED. It stays on the stem, and the new petiole and leaf kind of shoots out from it. Here is an example on one of my variegated ones...see the white parts like wings on the sides of the new petiole? Those later turned brown, and are what is called 'persistent', they stay on the stem and don;t fall off.


This is the new leaf that emerged

Gina, I thought that last photo might be showing a leaf cataphyll but with my poor vision, I wasn't really sure.

Lin, a lot of folks don't recognize the cataphylls for what they are and think something is wrong. (I know you don't LOL you have a big Monstera). The cataphyll being just basically a part of the meristem can look confusing to some.

Here is one with a big new leaf I have coming out. The long piece of white tissue is the cataphyll. The green tissue projecting from it is the petiole of the new leaf

A view of the other side, same leaf

You can clearly see the petiole and the new leaf. The cataphyll on this side has started to brown and desiccate
And this is an old persistent cataphyll from a long-ago emerged leaf.


In aroids, whether a cataphyll is persistent or deciduous can be a clue sometimes to identifying between species that resemble each other, they are the length of internal space and many other minutae.

HaruHaru I think your plant is fine, look forward to your new growth and shoot us a photo when its out!

Hi again.

This was definitely not a new leaf emerging. The stem broke off a couple of days later, because it was rotten.

I took some cuttings that I would try to save around 10 days ago.
The whole plant is now yellow and the stems are breaking off (even though I watered it as I should and kept it out of the cold), so I had to throw it out today..

The cuttings were fine until now, but today I saw this brown spot.. Do I just have to throw this out as well, and accept that it's too late to save any part of my plant? :(

I think it's likely rot that began at root level and progressed up through the stems of the plant. Rot is usually due to lack of improper drainage and soil aeration, with the soil staying too wet at root level.

In your most recent photo above, did you have the cutting in water? The bottom of the stem appears black as does the area on the side, which sure looks like rotten tissue to me. You might want to allow the cutting to dry for approximately 24 hours, then treat the black area by coating it with ground cinnamon powder (cinnamon is a natural fungicide); then plant it in a very small pot with a barely moist but airy and chunky potting medium. Don't water for a week or so and then check to see if perhaps roots are being produced.

I know some people 'swear' by it, but, IMHO as someone who grows a huge number of aroids and has propagated and successfully rooted many Monstera, Philodendron and vining Anthurium cuttings, you should never try to root in water in the first place. In nature the plant, if broken, would never root ITSELF that way unless maybe a broken end fell in a pond or something. The end would lay on the soil or in leaf litter, the nodes would be in contact with the substrate, and eventually the plant would send out an adventitious root.

I am sorry you are having such trouble with yours. I would follow Lin's advice. And good luck.

Thank you for your messages. I will try that