Most of the problems people come to the forums seeking resolution for are either directly related to a poor soil (poor root health/function) or are a close by-produce of poor root health. A weak plant means a weak defense against insects and disease, so in most cases, those maladies and a o/a shabby appearance can be traced back to poor root health. There is no such thing as a healthy plant without it having a healthy root system, and the ability to keep roots happy is a critical hump most container gardeners never get past because all they know is 'grab a bag of soil off the store shelf and plant something'. I didn't provide the name for the 5:1:1 mix; someone else did back in 2004 and it stuck. It consists of 5 parts of pine bark of appropriate size, 1 part of sphagnum peat moss or an off-the-shelf potting soil, 1 part perlite, and a little garden lime to adjust pH. If you can get the bark, it's a snap to make and much more productive than media (soils) based on fine particulates like peat, coir, compost, sand ...... The reason is, water retention is driven by particle size, and the smaller particles cause the soil to hold too much water to provide a root-friendly environment. To a large degree, the soil you use can determine how much opportunity your plant can have to realize its genetic potential, so it's to the growing puzzle what the border is to a jigsaw puzzle. I noticed you ask questions freely. Keep asking questions and why the suggestions given are offered. That will help you a little to sort things out. I'll leave you a link that should help you avoid all the common pitfalls almost all growers encounter sooner or later. It's a BASIC OVERVIEW that covers all of the basics. If you want more info on soil (there is much more) after you read over the link - just ask & I'll keep you busy as long as you want to keep reading. ;-) Al

Hi, I have a monstera plant that I purchased in December, not sure how old it is but I've noticed as many as 4-7 leaves have turned yellow. I'm also having issues stabilizing the plant. I've since removed 4 of them but I see 3 more current & forming on the bigger leaves. I am concerned because I'm not sure if lighting is the issue or if it's how I water my plant. I typically place the plant near the window when I go to work then I move it near my closet at night to avoid damage from my central heating info. I've read to water it once a month in the winter but again my water may not be enough(?). I'm not sure. My pot does have a drainage hole or 2 and I spritz the leaves normally. I also changed the pot and noticed that the aerial roots just above the soil formed like a shell around the pot. Sort of like a hat above the roots below the soil. I did my best to loosen the roots below the soil but now it seems this has caused the plant to lean now because it is too heavy. I tried to get the roots flow down in the pot but I guess they've gotten use to that shell under the aerial roots and have grown to that shape very near the top of the pot. This made it hard to add soil below the aerial roots and now that the roots are loosed the top heavy plant raises pulling the "hat" and soil up out of the pot. What should I do once I purchase my moss pole or PVC pipe?

Yes, it has drainage holes- I left it in it's nursery pot. I put rocks/gravel at the bottom of the "decorative pot" that sits on the floor and the nursery pot sits on top of the gravel so it won't sit in water.

Hi, Trista. It's common among hobby growers to believe that because this plant is a denizen of the rain forest, it must follow that it likes or prefers a wet medium. It does not. Most plants of the rain forest grow in a thin layer of soil and duff that rests atop solid rock and drains quickly and thoroughly. Your images show classic symptoms of over-watering, or put another way, they show a large fraction of the grow medium it's currently in is chronically remaining saturated for extended periods. This robs the roots of their ability to function efficiently and prevents the plant from moving water to its most distal parts, leaf tips and margins. I can't tell how deep your pots are; but, if they're deeper than 5", it would be a good idea to abandon the second knuckle manner of testing for moisture in favor of using a wooden tell, stuck all the way to the bottom of the pot. See below for more info. Balanced fertilizers like 20-20-20 do not provide nutrients in the ratio that plants use them, so in order to provide enough N, you have no choice other than to provide more phosphorous and potassium than the plant needs or uses. This excess has only the potential to be LIMITING. The average plant uses 6X more N than P, and about 3/5 as much K as N. Fertilizers with a 3:1:2 RATIO (ratio is not the same as NPK %s) comes extremely close to providing nutrients at a much more favorable ratio. Examples of 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers are Miracle-Gro 24-8-16 and 12-4-8, as well as Dyna-Gro's Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 which I and many here on the forums favor highly. It has many other advantages as well - if you have interest, just ask. It's the only supplemental nutrition you'll need. The larger leaves nearest the window are deep green large and beautiful, but the leaves on the bottom and in the back are the parts I am having the issue with. It started with just the small leaves that have no splits, but now some of the larger leaves are beginning to yellow or brown or both. It sounds like the new growth is shading out the younger leaves, which are in the process of being shed. The first stage of this process is called 'resorption', during which the plant reclaims valuable nutrients and biocompounds and puts what is reclaimed to use in the rest of the plant, usually to help fuel new growth. Large leaves turning yellow might be caused by a wide array of cultural influences. Over-watering, compacted soil, poor nutrition (if you look at the NPK % of fish emulsion, and they differ, you'll see it lacks several essential nutrients and the ratio of nutrients is not in sync with the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrients. I don't know if you have gnats, but they do love fish emulsion ..... a couple of additional gold stars for the FP 9-3-6 fertilizer. I’ve been wondering if changing the potting soil would be the fix. I have organic cactus soil and organic standard potting soil. I was thinking of making it equal parts cactus soil, perlite, and for bark. I also have Pete Moss, but the Pete Moss seems to hold water in my other plants. If by using the tell (see below) you determine the medium is indeed holding excessive amounts of water, a change of soil to something more appropriate could represent the transition from a soil that fights you tooth and nail, working against you and at cross-purposes to your efforts, to a soil that works for you. "The right soil" also makes watering and fertilizing monkey easy. If you're serious about putting more tools in your bag, This Concept will help you understand how/why water behaves as it does in soils. It's probably the largest single step forward a container gardener can make. You'll learn why the size of the particles that make up the medium you use determines how much water it will/can hold. If I was to grow another monstera, this would be what I would use, made from 5 parts bark and one each of peat & perlite. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al