Help! I was looking at my monstera propagation and I noticed a cloudy like substance near the end. I change the water weekly. But I don’t want it to be mold or something that will harm it. What is it? And should I remove it? Any other tips appreciated! Thank you!! 😊
Roots don’t grow from the bottom of the stem like we’d visually appreciate but rather like yours is. The part you want to cut off is just fine, keep an eye on the water & replace when it starts to get cloudy. I think that’s a sign that there isn’t much oxygen in there but I could be wrong.
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Roots look good!
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I think it’s called biofilm. At least, that’s what people call it in the fishkeeping hobby, it’s basically a colony of bacteria that has grown big enough to see. I know it sounds gross!! But if it’s clear and odorless, it’s not an issue. I swear! lol In the aquarium hobby, we talk a lot about beneficial bacteria because it is essential for maintaining safe water quality. The beneficial bacteria consume ammonium and nitrite in the water that would otherwise kill fish. We don’t often talk about beneficial bacteria in the plant hobby because, well, we don’t have to keep fish alive 😂 And our plants can consume nitrites and nitrates. So we don’t often have to think about the roles bacteria play in an ecosystem But TedTalk aside lol, the colony you’re seeing is likely breaking down excess nutrients that the cutting either can’t use or isn’t taking up fast enough. This is good, because if excess nutrients get too high, the cutting might get “burned” and start to die (if you’ve heard people talk about excess fertilizer burning a plant’s roots, this is the same thing). And the rot will add even more ammonia and nitrites into the water. At that point, it would definitely be murky and smelly! The smell would be cause by other types of bacteria, which convert nutrients into smelly compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, aka swamp stank lol. Unlike what we consider beneficial bacteria, sulfur bacteria are the ones you don’t want. To be honest, I’m not sure if these “bad” bacteria actively harm the plants or if they’re just go hand-in-hand with conditions that cause the plant to die. But either way, the presence of smelly bacteria is a sign that your propagation needs emergency care Probably wayyyy more of an essay than you wanted 😅 TL;DR the cloud on the ends of cuttings and on roots is usually safe. Keep an eye out for changes in color of the water or the plant. And trust your nose! A stink is always bad when it comes to propagation water
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it’s super cool to read your perspective on this! your background with aquariums seems really useful for certain aspects of plant care, namely water propagation. it’s certainly not my area of expertise, i like semi-hydro for propagating since it reduces the risk of rot for me significantly.
1 me gusta Thanks!! I really love the ecosystem of it all. I may have struggled in high school chemistry class lol, but environmental science was my jam 👌 I don’t have any aquariums at the moment sadly, but I still talk about them like I do 😂 I ultimately replaced them with terrestrial plants lol. I have to say, I LOVE that land plants don’t have to worry about algae lol. And I find them generally less delicate than aquatic plants. Plus, fish can be so delicate too 😢 I’m sad if a plant dies, but making a mistake that causes fish to die breaks my heart and makes me feel so guilty. So over all, I’d say I’m happier with the house plant hobby. I do still hear the call of aquariums sometimes though. And I’m glad for the knowledge I gained. Maybe someday I’ll strike a happy medium and build something like this amazing paludarium! (Idk why the cat looks photoshopped in, that’s hilarious 😂)
i’ve found that while rooting certain plants, like monstera and pothos, in water they will sometimes develop a cloud of beneficial bacteria around the cut end. it appears gelatinous and mostly clear, sometimes foggy in the middle. it deflates and sags when the cutting is lifted out of water. it appears that you might have something similar growing on your monstera. i used to rinse them off and they would always regrow— so i eventually left them alone, and i’m thinking that the cloudy stuff is really helpful. a cursory online search has yielded similar results.
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