Hey Guys,

I'm in a bit of a pickle. I'm awful at looking after plants but refuse to give up. The guy I'm about to show you has already been through the wars. It's first life I overwatered it and gave it root rot, so bad, I could only save 4 cuttings, which I propagated for a year until eventually its root structure was strong and I re-potted it.

The plant grew super fast and super strong. recently I moved the plant in from a conservatory for the winter and popped in on a deep windowsill, over a radiator.

Now, I only water my plant when the soil is 2" down bone dry, but recently have noticed there are soooooo many roots 1. they're trying to escape out the bottom and 2. the pot is virtually all root when I poke my finger in.

Now look at the state of my poor plant, am I overwatering again, I swear I'm only watering when it feels bone dry to me? is the pot too small? is it dehydrated? :(

Do I need to re-pot, see, I didn't want to and figured the leaves may just die off if there are too many, but now I'm freaking out, I've brought this guy back from the brink of death before, it grew and was super happy... now he's super sad again What does this look like? what should I do?

Some of the black spots are soft, some are crispy. All are on the edge or tip

p.s. hat' not where it normally sits, that's just for these photos.

Thank you in advance

Still a fine looking plant.

Probably a combination of things.

Over-watering and possible root rot.

Root-bound.

Possible browning on the edges of the leaves from heat of the radiator.
This time of year can be hard on indoor plants.

If that spiraled dying leaf near the top was a new uncurling leaf, I'd be concerned.

I'd cut off the dead and anything over a third to half dead, re-pot.

Check out the roots while transplanting. If they've gone south, look into beneficial bacteria for the soil, it can't hurt and could very likely help.

I'd avoid "bone dry" as an indicator. I've seen plants that were bone dry on the top because they were so root-bound there was not enough soil to hold moisture at the top.
But if they sat in water in a tray at the same time, the bottom roots would turn to mush.

Feel the soil but also go by season, amount of light, humidity.

I hate to suggest watering on a schedule since it can very depending on the above.

One thing I like to do with "special" plants is take a photo every week, and review them after a few months.

Memory is great when it comes to judging plant health and growth but pictures are more factual for me.

Last count at work I have ~70 plants. Use memory for about 65 of them.

The radiator is probably cooking the roots. It should be NEAR, not, ON TOP OF the radiator. Heat rises. I doubt it's being overwatered unless it's sitting in water all the time, especially since the soil is so full of roots. Monsteras prefer to be moist, not dry. Remember, they come from rainforests, not deserts.

Humboldt said:

If that spiraled dying leaf near the top was a new uncurling leaf, I'd be concerned.

Blast, it was an uncurling leaf, in fact, there are 3 what should I do?

Right, some excellent things to get started on, thanks, guys.

I'm going to start by moving to a sensible location, and give the old roots an inspection/re-pot.

The worse thing is, I've left it like this as I was hoping, if I left my plant in a given size pot, it would figure it out and not grow any more I thought it was just trimming off the excess baggage. Oh dear.

Right... operation "3rd life" here we go

Move the plant away a atleast 3ft from any heat source. The leaves are just being roasted and the roots too probs.

Second, even though it's winter, it might do with a repot into a bigger one. Really loosen up that root mass, don't be afraid to cut and/tear.

Third, when watering make sure the water dripping out the bottom doesn't collect there. Remove it often or water in the sink/shower and let it sit there for a few hours.

I wouldn't repot it. A stressed plant doesn't need more stress, it needs less. Wait until it recovers a bit.

CPPgardener said:I doubt it's being overwatered unless it's sitting in water all the time, especially since the soil is so full of roots. Monsteras prefer to be moist, not dry. Remember, they come from rainforests, not deserts.

Looking at my posts last night, I didn't explain myself well.

A lot of that damage does look like under-watering, like that dried new leaf.

Some of the roots aren't getting enough water.
Whether that's from letting it get too dry or from root damage (rot) is hard to tell.

I referenced over-watering incorrectly, thinking of the standing water in a tray possibly causing root rot instead of the frequency/amount of water.

If so, the water is draining too quickly through the top where's there's not enough soil to hold it, so the leaves are drying out (along with the heat and low humidity factors), but standing water doesn't compensate for that and can cause more issues.

JayClark said:
The worse thing is, I've left it like this as I was hoping, if I left my plant in a given size pot, it would figure it out and not grow any more I thought it was just trimming off the excess baggage. Oh dear.

That'd be nice, but no, new growth is required for survival.

Leaves will die and need to be replaced.

Supported by roots, which always grow and eventually displace the soil that holds moisture long enough for the roots to access it.

That's my understanding at least.