Why Is My Monstera Dying? (Causes+What To Do)

The beauty of the monstera plant lies in the leaves, and sometimes we see that the leaves are wilting, the edges of the leaves are turning brown, or the leaves have not developed the pattern despite all your efforts. Is this a sign that your monstera is giving up on you? But why is your monstera dying? Let’s find out!

Underwatering, overwatering, or exposure to direct sunlight can harm the monstera’s delicate leaf, leading to a dying plant. Pest, inadequate fertilization, or root rot can also be an underlying problem. Review their care schedule and immediately fix the underlying problem to save your plant from wilting.

In this guide, you need not worry because we will list out all the signs that show that our lovely plant is giving up and how we can prevent this.

You might take all the necessary care that the plant needs, but we fail to revive the plant despite all your efforts.

Propagating the plant is always an option, but propagating the unhealthy plant might not give you success. Let us check the causes of the dying Monstera plant and how we can prevent the same.

Why is my Monstera wilting?

What we expect from our monstera is the fenestrations on the leaves. It surely means that your monstera is happy and healthy.

Leaves wilting is one of the most common issues for indoor plants. In the case of monstera, there might be two reasons as to why the leaves are wilting.

Firstly, it might be, or most probably, it is the sign of watering problems. Sometimes, we tend to forget when to water our plants, and often we care for them so much that they start to die.

You might not do that knowingly and have only thought about giving the plant a bit more water, but the problem arises when we overwater or underwater the plant.

If the plant is overwatered or the roots are made to stand on water, then the plant roots might develop root rot.

The amount of water that we supply to a plant depends on the size of the plant. A smaller pot will not require as much water as the larger pot needs.

When we choose a pot for the monstera plant, we need to make sure that the pot has a good drainage system or drainage holes.

The best technique of adding water is to feel the soil first. Take your finger or a spoon, dig out some soil up to 2 inches deep, and check if it is moist. We do not want the soil to be wet. If it is just a little bit cold, we can add water.

The monstera requires water once a week during the summer and spring season and once every two weeks during the winter season. Never forget to check the soil first.

Often, the soil’s top area feels dry, but from the inside, the soil is still moist. This can lead to overwatering. Hence, we always suggest feeling the soil.

The next reason for the curling of the leaves on the monstera plant could be the sunlight.

The monstera deliciosa requires bright to medium indirect sunlight. If we keep the plant out in the sun for too long, it might cause the plant to burn.

Burning the plant gives similar signs of overwatering the plant. Hence, we need to check the placement of the plant.

Placing the plant in a north window where it gets indirect sunlight will help the plant be healthy.

There might be another cause for this issue, which is the nutrients required for the monstera.

The monstera plant needs the right amount of nutrients to suck up from the water. Never add a little extra nutrient to the plant, thinking it might help them.

The key to getting it right is to add a little less amount of nutrients than it is prescribed.

By adding the nutrients, we add salt to the plant, which it will use for photosynthesis. The extra amount of nutrients added will harm the plant and the roots.

Also Read: How Often Do You Water A Monstera? (Watering Requirements+Tips)

Checking the color of the leaves

The color of the leaves tells us a lot about the plant and the health of the plant. We might come across yellowing leaves on the monstera and don’t know what might have caused it.

Getting your plant back to life is like solving a mystery puzzle, but never try to achieve everything at once. Always take one step at a time so that your plant can tolerate the changes.

Yellowing leaves on the monstera are some signs of underwatering the plant. It might happen that the plant has not been watered because you were not available.

It is natural for one to forget the watering. If it is underwatered, the smallest of the monstera leaves start to turn yellow and fall off the plant in the case of monstera.

Because the plant cannot suck up enough nutrients from the water, the plant starts to shed its leaves to keep the photosynthesis running.
Another reason for the changing color of the leaves is overfertilization.

As suggested above, never add extra nutrients to the soil. Less is better in this case.

Light plays an equivalent role in the changing color of the leaves on the monstera plant. We now know that the monstera plant requires bright to medium sunlight.

If we keep the plant in direct sunlight, the plant might burn. The leaves’ edges on the monstera will turn brown and crispy by the burn, and it might cause the plant to die.

Monstera grows fiercely, and if we are thinking of keeping the monstera in the garden area, we might keep it under a shade. If kept indoors, keep it away from the direct sunlight or keep it behind the sheer curtain.

Another cause of the yellowing leaves on the monstera could be spider mites.

Yes, you heard that right. It is very uncommon for a monstera to have any disease, but it could be mites if we see any such issue.

The color of the new leaf on the monstera is a bit different from the old leaf. The new leaf has a little shiny texture. It is straightforward to differentiate the new leaves.

For the mites, these new leaves are like dessert. They feed on the fresh leaves of the monstera.

We can figure this out by looking at the color of the newest leaf. The leaf loses its shiny texture and will turn yellow.

Also Read: Why Is My Monstera Leaves Turning Yellow? (Causes+What To Do)

Do the leaves have holes or marks

The monstera deliciosa is likewise inclined to insects. The most hazardous part is being assaulted by spider mites.

The spider mites are white in shading and feed upon the monstera’s new leaves, leaving gaps on the leaves. Along these lines, if there are openings on your plant, it is undoubtedly assaulted by insect bugs.

An ideal approach to dispose of the mites would be by showering a neem solution on all the leaves.

You can also use insecticides to spray on the monstera leaves. The monstera plant is an extremely delicate plant for this situation. The explanation for this issue is generally a result of the water.

The water that we use to water the plants is tap water and has a high
concentration of chlorine blended in it, consequently causing the assault of the bugs.

Dealing with fertilizer is crucial. On the off chance that there is less compost or an excessive amount of manure, at that point, it very well may be of damage, giving a possibility for the bugs to attack the plant.

We can likewise dispose of the bugs by following the beneath referenced method.

Initially, we will take lukewarm water and add a pinch of salt in it. When the mix is prepared, we should spray the solution on the monstera leaves. Try to cover all the territories of the plant.

After the principal cycle, we will take only lukewarm water, and we will splash it everywhere on over the plant.

The plant will look clean at this point. The bugs may be covered up in the corners. Subsequently, please ensure.

We can likewise follow the cycle once a day for two weeks.
The reason behind doing this process is the eggs.

By following the process once or twice, we might remove the leaves’ mites, but the eggs are left behind.

If there are eggs on the plant, the issue may arise again as the eggs will hatch and give birth to new mites.

If we follow the process for two weeks, it will ensure that both the active mites and their eggs are off the plant to be healthy again.

If we are using the pesticide, please do follow the instruction that is given by the pesticide. Neem solution is the most common and natural solution for this issue.

Also Read: Why Does My Monstera Have Brown Spots? (Causes+What To Do)

How do you revive the Monstera Deliciosa?

By now, we know what can go wrong in the case of the monstera deliciosa. As discussed above, it could be the watering problem, or the fertilizer issue, or sunlight.

These three are the most common factors where we can go wrong with monstera plant.

To overcome this rookie mistake, we first start with the watering.
Getting a planner ready for the care of the plant is a wise choice.

We can create a calculated water regime on the monstera by keeping a note or adding it to the calendar.

The monstera plant needs water once a week during the summertime and once every two weeks during the winter, but this depends on the size of the plant and the pot’s size.

To overcome any other watering problem, we should Feel the Soil before watering the plant.

The soil should be cold before we water the plant and not wet. If the soil is moist, we can leave the plant and water it after a couple of days.
We always suggest using terracotta pots in case of monstera deliciosa as they keep the water supply better.

Well-drained soil is of utmost importance while adding any soil. Aeration in the soil will help the drainage.

Use perlite and soil mix for the monstera plants. Perlite helps to create good aeration in the soil and will keep the well-drained.

Next comes the nutrients or fertilization. Nutrients are vital for the monstera for its growth. The plant’s general requirement is adding the nutrient once a month during the summer and spring season.

If the plant is unhealthy, then it avoids the use of fertilizer. The indoor plants such as Monstera deliciosa are delicate and will not suck up the nutrients if unhealthy.

It is never suggested to add any fertilization to the plant during the winter as it is not the growing season.

In the growing season and with the correct amount of fertilization, we will see our monstera grow fiercely.

Pruning will also help the monstera grow healthier and happier. Prune the plant from time to time.

Furthermore, the light needs of the monstera are bright to medium sunlight. However, it should not be kept under direct sunlight as the leaves will burn.

Try keeping the monstera under a shade when kept outdoors or behind a sheer curtain when kept indoors.

Keeping all these factors in mind, if you still do not see any signs, but the plant is giving up on you, try repotting the plant to another pot.
This time you might use terracotta pots for the process. Fill it with a mixture of soil and perlite and some compost and try repotting the monstera.

The repotting might take some time for the roots to develop in the new pot. The monstera loves to be rootbound. Take care of the watering, and the plant should thrive.

Also Read: How To Save A Dying Monstera Plant?

What to do if your Monstera is dying?

Even after all the efforts, we see that the effort used goes in vain. Else we want more plants from what we have. It is always wise to propagate the plant.

All of us have queries like will the Monstera survive in water, or can it be propagated? Let us get right into it and try to get the queries resolved.

Also Read: How To Tell If Monstera Is Dying? (7 Signs You Need To Look For)

Can propagating or repotting save dying Monstera?

When we want more plants from what we have, we can use the propagation process to multiply the plant.

Propagation also gives you an option to revive the plant. In the case of the monstera, we have two different processes of propagation.

We can either grow the monstera in water first or pot the pruned plant into the soil directly.

It is at your discretion which process you would like to opt for.
If we choose water prorogation, firstly, we will need to cut the monstera so that there is at least one node available.

Always use a clean pair of disinfected scissors/ pruners/ clippers to prune the plant to avoid any chances of disease spreading.

It could be that the cutting we made has one or two leaves along with the air roots, stem, and a node.

If we want, we could remove both the leaves and just keep the stem. However, for a higher success rate, we should keep at least one of the leaves.

If there are any air roots available on the node, it is an optimistic sign.

Once it goes into water/soil, the air root will develop in the type of root it is submerged in and will help enhance the growth of the roots from the node.

Take a container and fill it with tap water.

Now, immerse the pruned monstera stem into the container so that the node is under the water.

Keep changing the water frequently.

We change the water because plants suck up nutrients from the water, and changing the water will maintain the required nutrients.

Once a week, changing the water should be fine.

Also, changing the water will not allow the algae to settle on the container. You need not add any type of fertilizer when you opt for water propagation.

Keep the container away from direct sunlight. After a few days, we will see little roots developing from the node.
Once the node is about 2-3 inches long, we should consider repotting the monstera into the soil.

There is one essential technique once we repot the plant into the soil. Never keep the soil too moist. It should be a little wet during the first week so that the water roots get well adapted with soil roots and will grow as soil roots.

The type of soil that we need is a standard potting mix and perlite for good aeration. We can also use compost for the soil mixture.
The above will be the process of water propagation.

Coming to the soil propagation, we need not plant the monstera into the water first and can directly pot the plant into the soil.

In this case, if there are air roots, it will directly develop into soil roots and need not adopt from water roots first.

We will choose aerated soil by adding perlite or pumice. Use standard potting soil and choose terracotta pots.

As mentioned earlier, the monstera loves to be rootbound. Thus, it requires a continuous change of pots as and when the root system grows.

Take the cutting and plant the monstera in the soil. Water the plant normally and make sure to feel the soil before watering.

After about 2-3 weeks, we will see that the root system has developed, and there will be roots growing from the node.

The placement of the plant will remain the same as in water propagation. The monstera loves humidity, and misting the plant is considered as a good option.

With these simple steps, we can revive our monstera. The monsteras are one of the simplest plants to grow and take care of. I hope the propagation is also easy now?

Also Read: Do Monstera Like To Be Misted? (Monstera Humidity Requirement+Tips)

Do they need any sort of medication?

The monstera requires nutrients during the growing season. We can use general fertilizer for the monstera, such as Miracle-Gro, which is readily available.

Please do follow the instruction that is mentioned on the fertilizer. Remember, less is always better in case of providing nutrients to the plants.

Apart from the fertilizer, seaweed solution for the plants also helps in healthier growth.

Never add any nutrients to an unhealthy plant. First, take care of the plant, revive the plant, and then the fertilization.

No such medication, apart from the timely providing of nutrients, is required for the monstera deliciosa. If there are any queries, feel free to write to us.

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Sources: leaf morphogenesis in Monstera, Monstera overview