I got this Mini Monstera to save but am not sure where to start. Most leaves have brown spots and the new growth on one stem seems to be already dead. I’m not sure if I should repot right away or give it a break and just make sure it’s watered. Any help is appreciated, thanks!
I would repot asap. Most of the time those plants aren’t in great soil to begin with. Do a nice chunky mix like the tropical soil mix listed here on planta or the soil with extra drainage mix. You can also clean off the roots and check for rot and pests. All of my new plants (except SOPs because they are too picky) get a spa day when they come in my house. I do a deep clean on the roots to get off as much of the old soil as I can and inspect them. Then I give the tops (everything above the roots) a quick dunk and swish in the kitchen sink with a plant based dish soap. I repot them in my custom mixed soil and give a full watering and clean soil off the leaves from the repotting. Then I spray them down with Dead AF (an all-natural pesticide). Finally, once dry, I trim off all dead leaves/sick parts and if I’m not too tired, spray their leaves with some kind of leaf shine product.
1 mi piace Thanks for responding! I’ve heard about the plant baths but I just have Dawn dish soap so I’ve never tried. I always rinse and check the roots with new plants, too! I go back and forth on letting the roots dry before placing in soil, what’s your take?
0 Mi piace 98% of my plants have been fine with immediate repotting and watering, but I think I killed a String of Pearls doing it this way. Also my polka dot begonia threw a major hissy fit, but I’m not sure if it would do that either way. So I think it’s fine for all plants but those 2 percent that absolutely HATE being overwatered. I have 2 new SOPs coming in, 1 cheap one and one expensive one and I plan on waiting for the repot until it indicates it wants water, then maybe not removing all of the old soil, and maybe even not watering right away.
0 Mi piace Oh, also, for the plant bath, I think most people use Castile soap, but I have just been using Ecos Plant Powered Dish Soap that I got at Walmart last year sometime.
1 mi piace I repotted and it’s now very sad. I rinsed and messaged the roots until no more dirt was coming off. I got the roots loosened as much as I could while being gentle. Also the roots looked good as far as I could tell. I dried off the roots before potting and didn’t water so I wouldn’t drown the already damp roots. I’ve used this method with my other plants and they never dropped like this one is. Im afraid to water since the stems feel a little squishy and soft….the stems were solid prior to repotting. I’m not sure how else to help it!
