Monstera drooping is something most plant owners will experience if there is a little neglect towards their precious plant. Monstera wants the right environment, care, and lots of love.
Fortunately, there are good solutions to make your beautiful plant happy and hearty again. This article discusses all you can do to make your Monstera joyful as before, so read on for some great tips.
Contents
What Are the Causes That Monstera Is Drooping?
The causes that monstera is drooping are because of watering excessively or insufficiently, due to having dry soil, lighting issues, temperature stress, and fertilizer issues. It can also cause transplanting shock, or lastly, it may also be having inadequate support.
The Monstera deliciosa is also known as the Swiss Cheese Plant, and it is a popular houseplant, owing mostly to its spectacular leaves. These plants are simple to care for but have one drawback: if they feel neglected, they will sulk, and your Monstera leaves droop. However, don’t be too concerned; they can be convinced to recover with loving plant care.
If you notice your common Monstera adansonii wilting after repotting or the entire plant’s leaves drooping and curling, examine it carefully and review the care instructions to assist you in solving the problem. The good part is that this plant is exceptionally hardy, and yours will quickly recover if you properly care, so it is important to look at each possible cause of drooping Monstera leaves one at a time.
– Watering Less than The Requirement
There are typically sad-looking replicas of these plants in office buildings and lobbies, with the droopy monstera almost usually covered in dust and hanging forlornly. Despite their neglect, they appear to hang on to life. These stalwarts will bounce back and repay the caring gardener with spectacular sparkling leaves with minimal maintenance and attention.
Getting the watering properly can be one of the most difficult difficulties for people new to raising houseplants. Some plants need more water, while others require very little – and what exactly is the proper amount of water?
Knowing where your plant comes from can tell you a lot about the circumstances it requires, and these plants come from humid areas places where they thrive in moist tropical jungles, and there are better settings for them.
– Lighting Issues
These plants are quite tolerant, but remember that they are forest plants, so they should get proper lighting but not direct sunshine. If you notice dry brown spots on the leaves, your plant is getting a lot of direct sunlight, so transfer it to a more suitable location.
Low light will lead your plant to stretch, develop thin leaves, and become more prone to drooping and languishing. Both direct sunlight and partial shade are great, and the light will play an important role in your plant’s health and size.
– Overwatering
Overwatering your Monstera plant is conceivable, though less common than underwatering. It will immediately show you how unhappy it is by developing weak-looking yellow leaves, generally beginning with the lower leaves turning yellow first or by displaying brown dried-out patches at the leaf tips.
A decaying scent from the soil may also indicate the existence of root rot, which is extremely bad news. Propagate monstera with the correct water requirements for better results.
Repeat the finger test on the soil; if it is moist, you have been overwatering and there will be root rot along with drooping leaves. Check for adequate drainage and holes in the bottom of the container before allowing the plant to dry out.
– Temperature Stress
While Monstera plants are very forgiving in this regard, remember that they are tropical plants and do not like to go too chilly. When the given temperature around the plant is less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, you should know that it would start to grow in stress, or if it is above 85 degrees, the stress of the heat would cause it to droop.
Keep an eye out for cold drafts, which can create significant stress in your plant and cause your Monstera leaves to droop if you see monstera leaves pointing down. If you suspect a temperature problem, use a digital thermometer to measure the minimum and maximum temperatures over some time.
– Fertilizer Issues
Take care not to over-fertilize since too much fertilizer applied too frequently will generate a buildup in the soil and root toxicity. This will occur if the roots cease working and the plant cannot absorb the necessary water and nutrients.
Look for indicators of a buildup of fertilizer salts on the soil’s surface and consider your fertilizing schedule. If you believe you’ve been too liberal, run water through the soil for 5-10 minutes to flush it. This will aid in dissolving surplus fertilizer salts and their removal from the soil.
You might also report your Monstera into new soil and resume a more cautious fertilizing plan. For all the techniques you need to keep your houseplants thriving, see my guide to fertilizing houseplants.
– Transplant Shock
Your Monstera deliciosa will grow quickly if they are satisfied with its growing conditions and do not have plant shock or transplant shock. You will eventually need to repot the plant into a larger pot and use one only a few inches bigger than the one where the plant has been growing.
This reduces the possibility of waterlogging while ensuring that growth does not become out of control. You want an eye-catching plant that won’t require you to use a machete to get through the front entrance.
Houseplants can sometimes react negatively to repotting, leading to transplant stress. These cheese-like leaves that droop after repotting are more common if the roots are in poor condition or were damaged during the repotting procedure.
Unless the aerial roots are unhealthy, there is no need to loosen the root ball or prune them during repotting. Pay extra attention to it for many weeks following repotting to ensure that your Monstera fits into its new home.
– Inadequate Support
The plant will climb up trees in its native environment. Therefore, you must provide it with something to cling to continue growing upwards. This will keep your Monstera from sagging and slithering about the room, looking for something to climb. Moss poles are great for this use.
Another reason your plant may begin to expand is because it is looking for more bright light. Plants that lack light do not create the slots in the leaves that are so distinctive of the delectable monster. When the plant leaves are deprived of light, they do not develop slits and stay small and feeble. Move the plant to an area with more natural light, and the problem will be solved quickly.
– Pests
The usual sap-sucking suspects that attack most indoor foliage plants, such as mealy bugs and red spider mites, that attack these plants. The first and most crucial line of safety is always the close observation of pest infestation and to do necessary. A bad bug infestation can cause the plant to lose a lot of water and nutrients through the injuries on its leaves, causing your Monstera leaves to sag and the entire plant to wilt.
What Are the Solutions To Help The Drooping Monstera?
The solutions to help the drooping monstera are to water them correctly and place them in the right type of soil. In addition, you should also give it the right type of light, provide accurate temperature, and give it good support, and lastly, fertilize it well.
– Water it The Correct Way
Water the plant well and wait until the top three inches of soil have dried up before watering again. If the plant container is on a saucer, ensure it isn’t regularly filled with water. Make sure there are good humidity levels in its environment.
Another typical cause of excess moisture is that the plant has been potted for a long tim. It’s easy to believe that putting your plant in a larger pot with additional potting soil will give it more room to grow. Instead, the different soil absorbs more water, causing the pot to grow soggy. The dirt around the roots functions like a wet sponge. When potting a plant, always use the next larger pot size.
Meters for monitoring the moisture level of your potting mix can be purchased, although their accuracy varies, and they aren’t necessary. Placing your finger into the soil mix and feeling wetness is significantly preferable. The first three inches of soil should be dry but remain cool and moist afterward.
– Use the Right Soil
Because orchid soil drains effectively, it can be used for Monstera plants. Still, you’ll need to add some items to guarantee that your plant retains adequate moisture. To solve this problem, add some compost, ordinary potting soil, or even coco coir or peat moss.
If you check and see that the soil is dry, it’s time to water your plant well. When watering your plant, you can moisten from the top or bottom, but ensure that you soak all the soil. Half-fill a basin with water and stand your plant in it for 10 to 25 minutes to water from the bottom. The soil will gradually absorb water through the process of capillary action.
When watering from the top, the dry potting medium will occasionally allow most of the water to pass through without being taken up by the soil. To combat this, apply a little water at once, giving the soil plenty of time to absorb.
Once you’re satisfied that your soil is moist enough, leave the pot to drain any extra water from the drainage holes, then wipe off the leaves with a moistened cloth to eliminate any dust before relocating it.
– Give the Accurate Lighting
Monsteras want bright, indirect light from the sun and will be happy beside a sunny window where the sun’s rays do not directly hit the leaves. A monstera grows best in an east-facing window or near a south-facing window, so the plant will not look droopy if you supply the right light.
Direct light isn’t the best for a monstera and is the one light condition you should try to avoid. Bright, sunlight, meaning the sun’s rays hit the leaves directly, and the leaves cast a shadow, can burn the leaves, leaving ugly brown or tan spots that won’t recover, so keep this in mind when you are locating it.
– Provide the Appropriate Temperature
Despite being native to the jungle, these plants show winter endurance: they can tolerate cold temperatures as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit. They thrive in semi-shady places with indirect sunshine and should be watered every few weeks. This is why, in summer make sure that it is not in the warmest temperature, and in winter bring it inside, if you are growing it outdoors.
– Supply Good Support
Staking a Monstera Deliciosa with support such as a moss pole, trellis, or garden stakes is the best way to keep it upright. These natural climbers can be tied and trained to climb these poles, and they will be supported as they do so. Do not try monstera cutting or to remove drooping leaves.
– Fertilize it Well
Because these plants can grow large, they demand a lot of fertilizers. They can reach a height of about 60 feet in the wild, but when enclosed in pots, they rarely exceed a more manageable nine feet. However, this is possible with the right fertilizer, not the excess, nor the lack of it.
Growth like this necessitates a consistent supply of nutrients, so feed them biweekly with a general-purpose fertilizer except during the winter months. You can reduce this to one monthly feed during the slower-growing cold season.
Conclusion
If you notice your Monstera leaves drooping, various factors must be considered. Sometimes one or a combination of issues leads to the monstera problem, but see that:
- The first thing to consider is irrigation issues. After carefully inspecting the plant and soil to rule out this possibility, check each factor and look for any problem indicators.
- Check if the plant is anxious by ensuring it is in the right environment with ample indirect light to eliminate drooping.
- Support the plant to make a climb and revel in its natural climbing habits.
With these strategies, you should have a thriving monstera in no time.
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