Hello! I hope it's ok to post questions like that here. I have ALWAYS had problems with Monsteras and their leaves browning and dying off. I always thought it might be a too dark or too sunny location. Now I've made some new living room space and I thought maaaybe this spot would be good (bit away from a large window, lots of light but no direct sunlight hits it)
But once again the leaves turn brown, just as they did with the regular Monsteras I had. I tried spraying them with water for humidity, but no help.
So now I wanna ask if anyone has an idea what could cause this? If there might be something I'm obviously doing wrong?
Any help would be greatly appreciated <3 ๐ฟ
The top layers of the soil dry out a lot faster than the bottom layers. Deepening on how large the pot and volume of soil is, often when your finger comes out dry and you think your plant needs more water, the rest of the soil is still wet and your plant is still trying to absorb that.
I recommend using the "chopstick method" or my personal favourite - "picking up your plant and seeing how light it is".
Chopstick method
Gently stick a chopstick in the soil, being careful not to damage any roots. If it comes out dry, then the soil is dry. If it comes out mostly dry but the bottom 20% has some damp soil sticking to it, then 20% of the soil is still hydrated. From this, you can decide if you want to water your plant depending on what it likes. In this case with your beautifully variegated monstera, as the person before me mentioned, they're adapted to dry spells, so if the chopstick is dry you can wait a few more days before you water.
Picking up your plant and seeing how light it is
Self-explanatory, feel how heavy or light the pot is. I like this because it lets me get to know my plants better, but I also understand that it's not for everybody.
Hope this helps, it sounds like you've placed your monstera in a good spot so it should be happy there :)
Thank you so much!! I think it's great to learn other people's tricks, that way I can try to see what works best for me and my plants! Shame that I haven't thought of just picking up the plant to see if it's lighter or not, seems like such an easy thing to do with smaller plants