Why are my Monstera leaves turning yellow?
A yellow leaf isn’t a death sentence. It’s the plant telling you something — and, most of the time, it’s telling you its feet have been wet for too long.
Monstera leaves turn yellow, most of the time, from too much water: the soil never gets a chance to dry between waterings and the roots start to suffocate. But a lower leaf yellowing now and then, on a plant still putting out new leaves, is just the plant ageing — and that’s normal.
Where is the yellow, and what does it mean?
Where the yellow shows up, and what it looks like, tells you nearly everything. Have a calm look before you touch anything:
- One lower leaf, now and then, and the plant growing well. Natural ageing. The plant draws what it can from the old leaf and lets it go. Nothing to do.
- Several leaves yellowing together, with soil that has been damp for days. Too much water. By far the most common cause.
- Yellow with brown, crispy tips and edges, and dry soil. Too little water — or very dry air.
- A pale yellow across the whole plant, with small new leaves and no splits. Not enough light and, sometimes, not enough food.
- Tiny yellow dots, fine webbing or silvery patches, especially under the leaves. Pests, such as spider mites or thrips.
- A pot far bigger than the roots, or a cold spot. The soil stays wet for ages, cold roots drink little and the leaves yellow.
- Right after a change — a move, a new spot, a new pot — or a cold draught. Stress. Give it time, and leave everything else alone for now.
What if it’s too much water?
How to confirm it. A few days after the last watering, push a finger into the soil: if it’s still damp four or five centimetres down, the plant is drinking less than you’re giving it. Other clues: the pot still feels heavy, there’s a musty smell, fungus gnats hover around the soil, the stem is soft or dark, and sometimes droplets form on the leaf tips, a sign the soil is too wet.
What to do.
- Hold off watering until the top few centimetres of soil are dry.
- Tip out the saucer — or the decorative pot, if the plant sits inside one.
- Make sure the pot has a drainage hole. Without one, water collects at the bottom and the roots rot easily.
- If it hasn’t improved in two weeks, or it smells bad, slide the plant out of its pot. Healthy roots are firm and pale; rotting ones turn dark brown or black, mushy, and fall apart. Snip the rotten ones off with clean scissors and repot in fresh, open, airy soil (an orchid-style mix with bark, or ordinary potting soil with perlite) in a pot with a hole.
After that, leave longer gaps between waterings. In low light, soil takes much longer to dry — how long to wait depends on the spot and the pot.
And if it’s too little water?
Hard soil pulling away from the sides of the pot, leaves drooping and curling at the edges, dry tips. Water slowly and thoroughly, until it drains from the bottom. If the soil is so dry that water simply runs down the sides, stand the pot in a bowl of water for twenty minutes and let it drain.
Tips that have already dried won’t turn green again, but the new leaves will come through fine.
Can the light cause yellow leaves?
It can. A Monstera loves plenty of light, as long as it’s indirect. In a dark corner, the leaves turn a pale, yellowish green, the stems stretch and new leaves come in small and without the splits it’s famous for. Move it closer to a window. If no window gets enough light, there are plants that do well in low light.
Direct midday sun through glass is harmful too: it leaves dry yellow or brown patches on the side facing the window. A sheer curtain fixes it.
Could it need feeding?
In spring and summer the plant grows fast and uses up the nutrients in the soil. If it has been in the same pot for ages and never been fed, the oldest leaves pale first. A balanced liquid feed for green plants, diluted as the label says, in the growing season, sorts it out. Guides differ on how often (from monthly to fortnightly), so start gently. In winter, stop or nearly so, and never on dry soil: the salts burn the roots.
What if it’s pests?
Spider mites love warm, dry air: they leave tiny yellow dots on the leaves and, when there are lots of them, fine webs between leaf and stem. Thrips leave silvery patches. Wipe both sides of the leaves with a damp cloth, give the plant a lukewarm shower and, if they persist, use an insecticidal soap made for houseplants. Keep it apart from your other plants during treatment. If you spot little cottony blobs in the leaf joints (mealybugs), dab them off with a cotton bud dipped in alcohol; a heavily infested plant is hard to save. It also pays to inspect new plants before you stand them beside the others.
Should I cut the yellow leaves off?
A completely yellow leaf won’t turn green again. Cut it off near the stem with clean scissors: the plant stops spending energy on it. If it’s only partly yellow, leave it — the plant is still using what’s in there. If what you’re seeing is brown rather than yellow, read why Monstera leaves turn brown.
Quick questions
Will a yellow Monstera leaf turn green again? No. Once a leaf has gone fully yellow it won’t recover, but you can cut it off and the new leaves will come in healthy once the cause is fixed.
How many yellow leaves are normal? One lower leaf now and then, on a plant that keeps growing new ones, is simply ageing.
Should I feed a Monstera with yellow leaves? Only if lack of food is the likely cause. On soggy soil, more fertiliser makes things worse.
How long until it recovers? It depends on the cause and the season. Once the watering is corrected, expect a few weeks before new growth shows the improvement, and longer in winter, when the plant barely grows.
Same yellow, opposite causes
The hardest thing about a yellow leaf is that the same symptom can mean opposite things: too much water or too little. What settles it is your own routine — how you’ve been watering.
That’s why, in Verdejar, when you choose “It’s not looking well” and say what you see, the app also looks at the waterings you’ve logged. If you’ve been watering more often than the plant needs, the yellow points one way; if less, the other. For everything else, see how to care for a Monstera and the Monstera plant page, with watering for each spot at home.
Sources: Royal Horticultural Society · Missouri Botanical Garden · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension · Penn State Extension · University of Minnesota Extension · University of Illinois Extension · Oregon State University Extension. The days between waterings come from the Verdejar watering engine.