Your popular houseplant Monstera has black spots and you don't know what's causing it? Find out below what this can do and how you should react to it!
In most cases, discolored or curled plant leaves indicate serious problems with the plant in question. When it comes to window leaf, when healthy, its leaves are dark green and fleshy, with the houseplant growing like an ear of wheat. A common symptom that can be traced back to various influencing factors are black spots, or black dots, on the leaves of the plant from the arum family. This can often be frustrating as it is not always easy to identify the root cause of it. Here are some useful information and tips that can help you take timely countermeasures to save your favorite plant.
The reason is unclear and my Monstera has black spots – why do they appear?
There are several possible answers to this question, as spots occur either due to improper care and plant disease orbecause of pest infestationappear. Therefore, it would be helpful if you knew more about the individual cases in order to avoid possible mistakes and proceed correctly. For example, the more rare causes of such a problem are aging, viral or bacterial infections and nutritional deficiencies. All of this requires a few steps that can help the plant recover and thrive again. For this purpose you can first proceed as follows:
- First, examine the plant leaves and stem, where spots could be of different sizes and shapes. Some of them are round, while others occur irregularly around the edges.
- Although this type of plant is resilient, the problem does not go away immediately and Monstera has black spots long after new leaf growth. Therefore, in most cases it makes sense to isolate or cut off the affected leaves.
- It may also be that as your window leaf ages, it puts its energy into new leaf growth, causing old foliage to turn black. This mostly happens to the lower plant leaves, although you could slow the aging process by providing more light.
- With such plants, it is also recommended to regularly remove dust and dirt from the leaves with a damp cloth.
- The next step is to check the potting soil for overwatering. This is one of the main reasons for such problems, and they start at the roots. So it would be best to remove the plant from the pot and check its root system for rot. If it is root rot, you can remove the affected roots and repot the window leaf with new soil. Then water it moderately, again paying attention to the condition of the leaves.
- Excessive watering can also cause fungal infections. To avoid such problems, water the plant only through the saucer.
Consider other possible causes of black spots
After you have familiarized yourself with the usual factors and your Monstera still got black spots, you should rule out a few more reasons. Consider the following possibilities, although these are generally less likely to occur. It is also possible that the plant leaves become pale, yellow or brown, or the houseplant has other symptoms.
- Although nutrient deficiencies are rare, such a condition can cause brown or yellow and brittle leaves.
- Excessive sunlight also has a negative effect on the window leaf and can cause mottled foliage due to sunburn. This causes the plant leaves to fade or the leaf surface becomes crispy and brown.
- Monstera plants also prefer slightly higher humidity, and dry air can slow their growth and dry out the plant's dull and lush leaves.
- Significant temperature fluctuations or drafts are two other influencing factors to consider. This can be a shock to your houseplant, which in turn would cause it to have spotty or curled foliage.
Your Monstera has black spots due to lack of plant care or pest infestation
- A suitable location as well as normal indoor air and temperature can also contribute to healthy plant growth. Additionally, it would be best to water your window leaf with filtered water in the morning. However, this should happen less often in winter than in summer. Water quality is equally important and can cause leaves to appear unevenly colored if the water source is heavily mineralized. Window leaves and other house plants are very sensitive to pollutants.
- Fertilize the plant every 2-3 weeks in spring and summer using complex mineral fertilizers for it. When repotting, you should also use permeable potting soil, and not clay soil, which can cause black spots on the monstera.
- It can be difficult to detect damage caused by scale insects, so you should isolate the plant and observe it for a few days. If there is an insect infestation, you can spray the leaves with soapy water or, in worse cases, use insecticide.
- If your living space is too warm and poorly ventilated, thrips could also infest your window leaf. These are difficult to control and require the use of insecticides as they form large colonies under plant leaves. However, they mostly attack the flowers of the plant.
Also read:Caring for the single leaf: How to plant, water, fertilize, etc. the beautiful peace lily!
