Monstera Leaves Blackening? Save Your Plant Now!
Seeing….
your Monstera leaves blackening can be a disheartening situation. With the right knowledge, you can distinguish your Monstera leaf black spots and figure out how to fix them. Here we will discover the most common reasons for Monstera leaves turning black and solutions to bring it back to life!
Let’s bring those leaves back to life!
Common Causes of Monstera Leaves Blackening
Monstera leaves turning black can be due to a few different things and identifying them can sometimes be confusing. Some common reasons for black leaves are:
Identifying Pests: A Guide for Monstera Owners
Mealybugs, scale, and spider mites tend to feed on your Monstera leaves. These can cause black spots on the foliage. To avoid this you should regularly check over your plant for pests, especially under the leaves where they like to hide. Treat pest infestations with insecticidal soap to prevent further damage and exposure. If your plant is infected make sure you remove it from the others before it expands.
How Underwatering Affects Your Monstera leaves blackening
Underwatering can lead to black leaves as well. Being underwatered dehydrates your Monstera and will make it lack any moisture needed for its healthy leaf development. This is why your leaves can turn black or dark. You want to make sure you are checking your soil regularly, especially during dry seasons like summer. Making sure the soil is kept evenly moist will help a lot.
Temperature and Humidity Needs for monstera leaves blackening
You know that your Monstera is a tropical plant, so you know they will need warm, humid environments to grow in. Sudden cold drafts or low humidity can stress out your plant. This will result in your leaves turning black. Keep your Monstera in an area keeping the temperature between 65–85°F (18–29°C) and the humidity levels around 60%. Humidifiers will help reach this humidity level if your indoor air is dry.
Overwatering and Root Rot for monstera leaves blackening
Overwatering is a common reason for your Monstera leaves turning black. When a Monstera plant’s roots sit in waterlogged soil for a while, they develop root rot. Root rot will restrict any nutrients and oxygen your plant will absorb. This can be the reason for blackened leaves. To avoid this from happening you need to let the top 1–2 inches of your soil dry out before you water again. Make sure your pot also has drainage holes.
Nutrient Deficiency Signs
If your plant does not have essential nutrients like magnesium or calcium this can cause discoloration in the leaves. Additionally using too much fertilizer can also cause dark leaves due to fertilizer burn. In order to avoid this you should feed your Monstera a balanced fertilizer once a month during their growing season, and not in the colder months.
Ways to Prevent Monstera Leaves Blackening and Keep Them Healthy
Proper care and regular maintenance are necessary to prevent your Monstera leaves from turning black. Some great strategies to keep your Monstera thriving:
Pruning Damaged Leaves
To prevent further black leaves you should prune them off. Regular pruning will help encourage healthy new growth and improve air circulation around your plant. This will help reduce the risk of fungal infections and other health issues.
Ideal Monstera Environment
65–85°F (18–29°C) is the ideal temperature you want to achieve for your tropical plant. Placing it near cold drafts or heat sources will only add to health issues. Additionally, you want to keep your humidity levels between 60%-80%.
Proper Monstera Watering
You want to avoid over and underwatering. Make sure your Monstera pot has good drainage holes and let the soil dry out before watering again. When you do water, make sure you evenly soak the soil until some runs out the bottom. Keep an eye on your soil so it doesn’t try out too fast, and adjust your watering schedule according to your soil.
Fertilizing Monstera Plants
A balanced, water-soluble fertilizer will be very helpful for your monstera to get essential nutrients. Fertilize only in their growing seasons and not in colder ones. This will keep you from overfertilizing causing fertilizer burn.
Repotting Your Monstera
Monsteras grow big and fast if in the proper environments. Due to this, it becomes easily root-bound. Repot every couple of years, or when your monstera roots start coming out of the drainage holes. Repotting will provide your monstera with the necessary room for its expanding root system. Repot with fresh soil to prevent further health issues.
Monstera Pest Inspection
Sticky residues, webbing, or crawling insects are something you want to watch out for. Treat any pest problems as soon as you can. Wiping down the leaves frequently will also help in treating pests.
Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing Monstera Leaves Blackening
If you need to fix your Monstera leaves turning black follow this simple step-by-step guide to bring your Monstera back to health.
Step One: pest infestations in Monstera
Look for any leaf discoloration or spots on your plant.
Soil moisture is another important part of the health of your plant. If your soil feels soggy or very damp, you have overwatered your plant. Additionally, if the soil is on the dryer side it will feel crumbly and hard. Adjust your watering schedule based on how your soil is.
Step Two: Pruning Away Monstera Leaves blackening
Now that you have scanned your plant you will know if you need to prune. Prune away any black leaves, spots, or heavily infested pest areas. This will help reduce the amount of exposure to the rest of your plant and others. Keep your infested plant away from the others so they don’t all get infested. Prune away as much as you need. This will help get new growth.
Step Three: Repot
If your monstera had dark leaves or bug infestations when pruning you should repot it in fresh potting soil. Never reuse infested soil as this will just bring back the pests and health issues you were trying to fix. Before you put your fresh soil in you should disinfect the pot to get rid of the existing diseases. For help with repotting, you can check out our repotting monstera post.
Step Four: Fertilize
Once you have repotted your plant it’s a good idea to fertilize. This will help with any repotting stress and will give access to nutrients to regrow from pruning. A water-soluble fertilizer is a great option for quick access to nutrients. If you have repotted during the fall and winter months you should skip fertilizing as this is your plant’s dormant season.
Step Five: Change Environment
Your growing environment will make a big difference for the health of your monstera. To prevent your Monstera leaves from turning black again after pruning and repotting make sure it’s getting enough indirect bright light, between 60%-80% humidity, and a stable temperature between 65–85°F (18–29°C). Using a humidifier or pebble tray with water near your plant will help the surrounding air reach humidity levels.
Step Six: Monitor Monstera Leaves blackening
After you have pruned, treated pests, and repotted you want to keep an eye on your plant. Make sure you put it in a place that gets indirect bright light and monitor so pests don’t come back and leaves grow back. It can take some time to see results improve so monitoring your plant is a key aspect in treating monstera leaves turning black.
How to Identify Monstera Leaves Blackening: Disease or Other Issues
Monstera leaves turning black can be due to a handful of issues including the ones we mentioned above. Here’s how to distinguish black spots from other leaf issues:
Leaf Spot Disease
Leaf spot diseases usually appear as small, dark spots that grow and spread quickly over your plant. These spots often group into one spot on the leaf. They have a distinct, irregular shape. Wet or slimy appearance is usually accompanied by them which does help in distinguishing them from other black spot causes.
Aging Leaf Discoloration
If your Monstera is older its leaves will naturally fade and might develop dark patches as they reach the end of their life cycle. These types of black spots usually only appear on older, lower leaves. Newer growth usually stays unaffected. Age-related black spots aren’t something to worry about because they don’t spread and it’s not a health concern.
Air Circulation Importance
Lack of airflow around your Monstera can lead to fungal infections and other health issues like black spots on the leaves. Unlike spots from physical injury or aging, disease spots spread to other leaves if not treated. Making sure your plant gets sufficient air flow helps improve overall health. To do this you can place your plants slightly further apart to let air flow in between each plant.
Physical Leaf Damage
Black spots on your monstera can sometimes appear after physical damage to the plant or leaf. Things like bruising from repotting or staking your plant, accidentally dropping it, or something as simple as brushing up against it when walking by. These spots are often small, localized, and don’t spread like the normal leaves turning black. These damaged spots typically don’t show any yellow halos or irregular shapes like black leaves do.
Dust Buildup Cleaning
Dust, dirt, or other buildup particles on your Monstera leaves can sometimes cause black spots on the leaves. This is because buildup causes the leaves to struggle to breathe properly. These spots can block sunlight and prevent photosynthesis. To help solve this gently wipe off the leaves with a damp soft cloth. You can find more help with cleaning your monstera here.
Chemical Sensitivity Caution
Leaf shiners, pesticides, and other treatments can cause black spots. This is due to chemical sensitivities. Monstera plants can react to certain products, especially if you don’t dilute them. These spots usually appear soon after a treatment. They affect the exposed areas of the plant and can be accompanied by a residue on your leaves.
Frequently Asked Questions About Monstera Leaves Blackening
How do you fix black leaves on Monstera?
When you have black spots on Monstera leaves that develop yellow rings around them it’s the cause of keeping your soil on the wetter side with cold temperatures. Reduce your watering frequency and change the temperature in the room.
Should I cut off black Monstera leaves?
Yes! If your leaves show black spots especially if they are expanding you want to cut them off. Pruning away diseased foliage is healthy for your plant and will prevent spreading of diseases to other plants.
What does it mean when plant leaves turn black?
Overwatering, underwatering, pests, root rot, low humidity, or cold temperatures can all contribute to black leaves and spots. Check your soil moisture and adjust the humidity and temperature levels to help with this.
Why are my Monstera leaves turning yellow and black?
Fluctuating from dry to wet soil can stress your plant and cause leaf discoloration. Low humidity is another cause. Misting and adding a humidifier will help with this.
How to fix Monstera Leaves blackening?
Neem oil is a great alternative to treating black leaf spots. It’s an oil from an evergreen tree and is all-natural making it a great option. Try a little on the leaf first to see if your plant has a reaction to it before you use it on the whole plant.
Caring for a Monstera with black leaves can seem overwhelming but with the right Monstera leaf care, you can bring your plant back to life! Monitor your Monstera and you’ll see it come back to life right before your eyes!
