Katy, don't cut off the leaf, the green part is needed to photosynthesize and make food. I would trim off the brown edge and see if it comes back. Probably will but keep trimming, it might stop at the green part.

The roots look fine, put it back in that medium in the first pic, which looks like long fiber sphagnum. It's an excellent rooting medium.

I don't like that the stem has no green, that could indicate the cutting leans too far to the albino side rather than balanced variegation. But all you can do is grow it out and see what happens.

If the browning continues and crosses into the green part, couple of things to try. If you have some rooting hormone you might try dipping the bad edge in it. It has a fungicide that might halt it. Something else you can try if all else fails is mouthwash mixed 50/50 with water. Spray it on the leaf top and bottom, and the stem. The alcohol should kill any bacteria or fungus. I've used this with mixed success on philodendrons with leaf rot, and with good success on sansevierias. I look for mouthwash with Thymol in ingredients, don't know the function of it but it was recommended when I read about it for Sansevierias.

Incidentally, the white tissue on variegated aroids in general is very susceptible to this browning problem. I often see it take the white part of the leaf but stop when it gets to green tissue. I've associated it with high humidity, water on leaves possibly spreads it, and I think it's a fungus. But these are just observations, my remedies are simply trial and error. Chemical fungicides like Daconil and others might be better, but stronger, and I prefer not to use them. There are also systemics. Depending on the type you buy, you mix liquid in water or sprinkle crystals on the medium and water in. The plant absorbs the chemical which hopefully the bug.

Does anyone have tips on how to propagate a monstera albo cutting with no roots in leca? I'm worried about propagating it in only water because of root rot. I also already have the materials necessary for hydroponics which is why I am considering leca. Thank you for your help, I am a new plant mom here.

Hi,

this is what is left of my Albo one leaf cutting. I m new to this plant and thought I could handle propagation, but I have failed to root rot. Please suggest if this is still viable or its a lost cause?😣

I had it in perlite the day I received it in a propagation box, but very next day found the Arial root was all rotten. Next I put it in Spagmoss under growlight, on a heat mat in a ziplock and it started to rot again. Hence that was the background to the present stick.

Is the stem itself rotting? I had a stick with a junk aerial root and it rooted and I now have 2 leaves and it sprouted roots after the node started pushing.

Before the leaves

Hi Sammy, how long did your stick take to push out new leaves? And how did you propagate it?

Chris, I got this in March. It was a tad longer, but started rotting on both ends. Thankfully I caught it fast and used some captan on the ends. It starting pushing the node after about 3 months, roots after 5 months and the leaf opened right after that in September. My second leaf opened this month!

Oh forgot propagation... I started in moss in a small center cloche, but that’s when I got rot... so I switched to Noot’s husky and rescue mix and also put it in the cloche. I just tried to be as patient as possible

Vented cloche* not center cloche

Thanks Sammy!, and well rescued! Looks like I’m just going to have to be more patient : )

Hi guys, please help!! I have a little bump coming in on the shorter side of my albo cutting which I think it’s a great sign but that shorter side of the cutting developed rot. I cut it off and it instantly turned the color you see in the first pic, is this normal? i feel like it’s developing rot again and I can’t afford to keep cutting it because it’s so short already. Anyone have advice of a fungicide they recommend ??

Hi everyone! I hope someone can help! I got this beauty on the weekend, in transit two of the ariel roots broke 😭 will it still be okay? I've put wax over the ends to stop it rotting. Is that the right thing to do? Any help would be so much appreciated! I don't want to kill this already neglected plant baby 🌱

Joely, your plant should be fine, just leave it in water. The aerial roots should produce white roots from the sides of the aerials. That said, if you're in the US, winter isn't a good time to be rooting a cutting. Keep it warm with decent light and you should be okay.

@Russ1023 (central Fla) Hi Russ, thank you so much! I live in Scotland (super cold!) so ill add in some warmer water to it. Thank you for the advice. I really appreciate it!

Hey yall I'm new !.

Just curious if you can tell me this is normal or not..

I have mine in a bag if spag tented and its on a heat mat 28 degrees

Before I used perlite but it dried out too quick...

Now spag moss

The ends look like they are drying out..

How is it doing now? Any signs of growth?

It looks too dry. I don't know why sellers are selling these teeny tiny cuttings to people.

I usually take my Variegated Monstera cuttings, then dip the cut end into powdered rooting hormone that has a fungicide, like Rootone etc then mix Miracle Grow potting soil with perlite about 50/50. Then I plant it and put under lights, if its winter. Otherwise, its outdoors in filtered sun/shade.

In your case, lay the cutting down on top ofvthe mix and push it down horizontally halfway. Keep damp but not soggy. Make sure your pot has good drainage holes.

If your house is dry (like you have a heater on) keep it away from the heater. You can tent your pot with plastic if its still too dry, just make sure you don't let the plastic lay on the cutting. Put your cutting under grow lights or even under a shop light. If you see any signs of rot, get the plastic off and just mist it a few times a day instead.

Make sure your room is warm. These are generally slower growing plants and when its cold, they are even slower. They like warm and humid.

In nature they like a lot of water just kinda running by on the roots. They stick their long aerial roots onto other plants and suck up the water and humidity that way. So thats why your medium should be moist but very well drained. Peat based medium like MG potting soil or other potting soils, hold moisture and the perlite drains. Thats why I use them together.

Always look up the plant you want to grow and see what their natural habitat is like, then try to duplicate it the best you can.

Hey everyone! I’ve had this Variegated Monstera Albo stem for four weeks. Within about two weeks, a node pushed through and has been doing quite well, as you can see from the pictures. However, I’ve had to cut the ends of the stem back on both sides, as they’ve continued to rot. Ive read cutting back, dipping in cinnamon powder, then sealing with wax is helpful - which is what I recently did. Currently, I keep the stem in a grow dome, under a growth light (12-16 hrs a day), on top of perlite (on the dry side). I’m curious if the cinnamon and wax is enough or if you all would recommend I put the aerial root in water, instead? Any and all help is appreciated, thanks!

Best,

Scott

Hey y'all! New plant mom here, Canada,

made the rookie mistake of buying my Monstera before researching and I repotted 4 days after bring her home. She was filthy and in rough shape but so cheap I couldn't pass her up..anyways, I noticed a small leaf (see pic) that a friend said could be an albo. I unfortunately overwatered and gave her root rot so that leaf died..my question is, does that one small leaf mean my plant is an albo? Will more grow like that? She was in a 10" pot so fairly established but all the other leaves are green.

Just received a Variegated Monstera cutting from Etsy. It took a few days in the post due to high volume of packages over Christmas. The bottom of the cutting was wrapped in a damp paper towel and a sandwich bag to keep it moist during transit. I'm concerned about the dark spot on one of the leaf stems, is this rot? Should I remove this stem and leaf or should it be fine to propogate as is? Thanks for any help!

Reese, this doesn't look serious since it looks like the rotted tissue is on a leaf petiole, not the main stem. How many more leaves are on this cutting?

Some growers might choose to see if the rot enlarges. If it doesn't then you could leave it alone. The main reason to leave it is that the green part of the leaf does provide energy to the cutting. But if there are other leaves with some green (not highly variegated) to provide energy, cutting this one is fine since it lessens the moisture load the roots have to supply to leaves.

This doesn't apply to cuttings rooting in water, an extra leaf or two can be supported with that method. How are you planning to root it?

Thank you for your response! The cutting has two leaves, the one with the rotted tissue is the smaller of the two. I was planning on rooting the cutting in Sphagnum moss.

Sphagnum moss is a good choice. If it seems to stay too wet too long, scrub in a handful of perlite as best you can. If you're not going to root it in a plastic bag or terrarium atmosphere, you might need to cut off one leaf anyway, so it's not a drag on the cutting for moisture. It won't hurt to leave both on and see if leaves wilt, if they do, cut a leaf off, rehydrate in water, then put back in moss. Normally I'd say keep the smaller leaf, but if the rot on that petiole gets any bigger, cut it off.

As a side note, cuttings will root and grow with no leaves. The stem easily has enough stored energy, especially if it has some green and isn't totally white.

Thanks for the advice russ, I feel more confident on what to do now! I really appreciate it.

UPDATE

The small black spot on the secondary leaf stem began to spread slightly even though I kept it above the sphagnum moss and kept it as dry as possible. As it was already very close to the node I decided to cut it below the area of rot to prevent it further spreading into the node. I decided it was best to lose on leaf rather the whole cutting.

Hi everyone.. What do you think about this cutting? I am planning to buy it tomorrow. It’s not cheap, so I want to make sure that I am making the right decision. Thanks in advance for your responses. (pictures are not mine)

It looks like a nice clone with reasonable variegation and has an aerial root. My only issue is it's a one-node cutting which are very risky to buy, especially for a lot of money. If you're not a very experienced grower and well versed in propagating difficulties, I would advise to pass on this cutting.

Hello all! You guys all seem super knowledgeable so I thought I’d drop a quick question! I just purchased this albo cutting.... it has two nodes and a decent root system. I am wondering if it will produce me new leaves? I am reading online and am thinking they only produce from the top? Although it looks like the top leaf has been cut off.

does anyone have any tips of the best way for me to get a new leaf? Thank you all ☺️

Amy, you have a 2-node stem cutting, a tip cutting would have a leaf the top. So your new leaves will have to come from new plants that will develop from one or both nodes. Are you familiar with where the nodes are, and their function? How do you plan to propagate this cutting, what medium? Unless you're in Hawaii or similar place this is a terrible time to attempt rooting any tropical plant. Warmth will be critical. A heat mat would help a lot, sold for rooting plants and also for seeds in less than ideal conditions.

Amy, I didn't see the pics in your follow-up post. I don't think I've seen anyone sell a cutting like this but there's a first time for everything. Based on your pics I believe you have a 1 node cutting.

The node on the base stem was used up by producing the slender vine with what looks like a small leaf and a good aerial root. Unless the pic isn't clear, that small vine seems to only have 1 node, the one at the base of the leaf at the top. For some strange reason, the seller has cut the top off that vine. So any new growth must come from that single node.

I see you're propagating in long fiber sphagnum moss, a very good medium. Looks like you have things in control, just keep it warm and look for growth from the base of the top leaf.

More questions, no problem.

Thank you Russ so much for your input and advice!! I Figured as Much with the first node (already used for the leaf) and I am sad I don’t have the second leaf that popped. Do you suggest I leave the nodes as is together or should I trim that top one so it is a cutting in itself? ☺️

Amy, absolutely don't cut it, that bottom stem with root system and leaf is providing major energy to the skinny top stem.

You said you lost a leaf that popped, which would have been on the narrow stem. I see what looks like a white petiole in one of your pics, is there a leaf at the top of it or is that the one you lost?

If there is a leaf on that petiole and you lost a different one below it on the skinny vine, then there a node where the old petiole was attached. So... a 2 node cutting!

Yes that is correct, the most recent leaf that popped was not on the cutting when I purchased it. So it has the one node with the leaf on the bottom part, then it looks like a smaller/slender vine with an aerial root (?) which has a leaf that was cut off. I would agree with tour earlier comment that it is a 1 leaf two node cutting, but would the second node have been used up by the missing leaf? I wasn’t sure if cutting the vine would possibly push out the Node a bit quicker? maybe my patience is the only thing that needs attending too? 😛 thanks for your help!

Hi Russ. sorry to bother you again!. I am concerned about this node as it looks darker/not as green compared to the rest of it. Do you have any advice?

Hello I bought Alvo a few weeks ago.

But the leaves are changing like this.

When I first bought it, only the roots came and I put them in the water, but is my albo dying?

What should I do.

Could you take a pic of the stem? It seems like the plant has too much white in it, so it is very hard for it to survive, since it doesn't produce enough food for itself. I don't know if it will survive, you need to take extra good care of it and still there's no guaranty it will live.

Amy, sorry for the delay. I wrote a response before but Houzz failed to post it. I can't tell what's going on with your cutting, what are you calling a node? The node is the tiny bump that is a latent plant, always located just above every petiole attachment on the stem. Some folks new to horticulture are calling the whole cutting a node, which is confusing.

I don't see what is darker and lighter, so need a better description as to your question. Let me know.

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On the light colored cutting with white leaves, with pics above, this is a very poor cutting and I hope you didn't pay a lot for it. The seller should have never sold this cutting, it should have been thrown away. New growers should always research and ask experienced growers lots of questions before spending their hard earned money.

Those light green stripes on the stem might provide some energy. The black areas on the white leaves are not a concern as far as hurting the stem, it's a common disease that attacks all-white tissue on any variegated aroid if conditions are right. I would cut those leaves off, they're not doing the stem any good. If it produces another all-white leaf, cut it off. If it makes a leaf with a lot of green on it, of course leave it.

If it continues to produce all-white leaves, try cutting off the tip of the stem to make the last node break and produce a new plant. If that new plant stays white, keep cutting off the growing tips until you run out of nodes. If the last node stays all-white, you've done all you can do, you're out of options. Hopefully one of the nodes will produce a plant with green on leaves plus some variegation.

I would leave it in water since that's how you started out 2 weeks ago. You might put a few drops of water soluble fertilizer in the water, preferably a high nitrogen type. This will be a fertilizer with the first of 3 numbers higher than the other 2. Such as 18-6-8. Otherwise, use any water soluble type.

If there's some part of this that you don't understand, let me know and I'll elaborate.

Hi guys,

Looking for any advice on my new cutting which I bought for a decent price.

It came established with a great deal of Leca roots and an old green leaf. It also seemed to have put out a few white leaves from one of the nodes. (not pictured)

After reading online, I decided to cut the stem back to a greener section to encourage greener nodes to shoot. Now I'm worried I've destroyed the only viable nodes in the first place.

Pictures are what it looks like now. Lots of roots below the surface (hopefully not rotting) and a large green leaf not in frame.

A friend also suggested I "notch" one of the cuttings nodes. Which I stupidly did and I'm sure I've ruined a good node in the picture now.

Anxious and waiting patiently. I've trying not to touch it at all. It's been potted for two days now.

In Australia, with warm weather and good light, humidity around 65%.

Does this cutting have a chance?

ad pine, the question is, are there any nodes on the cutting? You said you think you destroyed one by cutting into it. Looking at your 2nd pic, there might be one at the top of the stub in the center. There should be one in the section of stem just behind the stub. If that's a small branch at the very top of the cutting, there should also be one there too.

If these nodes are there, or if I'm wrong but you do see other nodes, then you should be able to get a plant or two with good care, proper watering and a lot of patience. Your weather there is like our July climate, so conditions are good.

Let me know about the nodes. If there aren't any that you can see, don't give up on it because nodes are often not very visible. There will be one between every stem section, whether you see it or not.

Thanks Russ1023,

Update: It's been 10 days. Nothing has grown. Nothing seems to have changed. The leaf is still a healthy green so I'm assuming there is no root rot. My mixture is very light, probably 60% perlite or more. I am worried I might be letting it get too dry but I can't really tell. It feels slightly damp when I stick my finger deep, but maybe not "moist". Anyway I guess under watering is always better than overwatering.

I think I was mistaken about what a node was. What I thought was a node is what I'm learning now is apparently a 'bud'.

I've marked up the nodes that I can identify in picture 2. Do you know if a node can produce a leaf after it has already produced a leaf/stem offshoot? If not, then I guess nodes 1 and 2 won't yield anything new.

I damaged a bud on node 3. Might this still yield something?

Nodes 4 and 5 are 80% white. I am hoping it won't sprout here.

Idea: If I make a fresh cut after/above node 3 would that prompt new growth at node 3?

Thank again.

Yes, a node is the bud, the bump which is usually just above the line which divides sections of the stem. In your marked picture, you've indicated the brown section division line as a node rather than the bud, which isn't correct. You did identify a bud, which IS a node.

Once a node breaks and produces a new growth, it can't regenerate again if the growth dies. If that growth dies but not all the way back to the parent stem, there could be a node that could grow. This is what has happened on your stem sections 4 and 5.

So look for the nodes, the bumps on the stem, rather than stem sections. The node you cut into is high and obvious, sometimes they're flat with only an encircling indentation to show you where they are.

I'm not of the opinion that cutting a stem with a node away from the parent plant will encourage it to grow. By doing that you cut off energy the main stem is providing to that stem sections with the node, making it weaker. You also introduce an open wound where rot could start. So there's no benefit by cutting in my opinion and I would leave everything alone, just be patient. It will grow whenever it's ready, it might even wait until spring.

It's possible node 3 could grow, it hasn't turned black so that's a good sign. I suppose it depends on where the cut is on the node, hopefully it's on one side or the other of the microscopic tissue where growth comes from.

There's a node between where you indicated Node 1 and Node 2. The node, the bump, should be just above the lower brown ring.

I can't tell which way the short stem with Node 4 and 5 is growing, but there is a node in the section that comes off the main stem. The next section attached to it that terminates with a cut may or may not have a node. Looking carefully with a magnifying glass for the bumps might tell you.

On watering, if you can't tell for sure if the medium is damp then it's pretty dry and I'd go ahead and water. These are tropical plants and don't like being completely dry at the roots.

I’ve been scouring this for help with my albo cutting. I bought it for myself for Christmas, and since, it has been in moss. The seller said 24/7 light on the greenest side, and lay it on top of moist moss. Cover with plastic. I have since added a seedling warmer. It’s been exactly a month since I got it, and it’s doing nothing. I keep telling myself it’s okay, but I just don’t know. Does anyone have any insight?

Hello! I bought this monstera aurea with 3 leaves and 2 nodes/buds, and with activated aerial root which i can separate it as 2 plants as what I was told. This was in a water propagation for 3 weeks before my purchase. At home, I cut off the stem to 2 separate plant. I noticed a black end on the lower node (1st and 2nd picture) involving the roots. I had to chop it off until it's clean (3rd picture), but have to limit the portions since it is near the node already. i had the edges covered with fungicide dithane and air dried for 24hrs while covering the roots with moistened sphagnum moss. The following day I decided to scrape the black part below the roots of the lower stem and thank goodness it was just superficial, so I just had it covered with a fungicide dithane (4th picture), and put the stem in a container of slightly moist perlite with sphagnum moss at the bottom then covered the container with plastic (5th picture). They are in the perlite medium for few hours already.

By the way, the top cut stem I guess is doing okay and is on the same medium.

Am I doing it right? I live in the Philippines and these plants stay indoors.

(I made sure to have washed the sphagnum moss and perlite and soaked it it water with few hydrogen peroxide for an hour, then i rinsed it off and made sure it's slightly moist before putting the stems in.)

Hello! I bought this monstera aurea with 3 leaves and 2 nodes/buds, and with activated aerial root which i can separate it as 2 plants. This was in a water propagation for 3 weeks before my purchase. At home I cut off the stem to 2 separate plant. I noticed a black end on the lower node (1st and 2nd picture) involving the roots. I had to chop it off until it's clean (3rd picture), but have to limit the portions since it is near the node already. i had the edges covered with fungicide dithane and air dried for 24hrs while covering the roots with damp sphagnum moss. The follo

wing day I decided to scrape the black part below the roots and thank goodness it was just superficial, so I just had it covered with a fungicide dithane (4th picture), and put the stem in a container of slightly moist perlite with sphagnum moss at the bottom then covered the container with plastic (5th picture). They are in the perlite medium for few hours already.

By the way, the top cut stem I guess is doing okay and is on the same medium.

Am I doing it right? I live in the Philippines and these plants stay indoors.

(I made sure to have washed the sphagnum moss and perlite and soaked it it water with few hydrogen peroxide for an hour, then i rinsed it off and made sure it's slightly moist before putting the stems in.)

Hello! I bought this monstera aurea with 3 leaves and 2 nodes/buds, and with activated aerial root which i can separate it as 2 plants. This was in a water propagation for 3 weeks before my purchase. At home I cut off the stem to 2 separate plant. I noticed a black end on the lower node involving the roots. I had to chop it off until it's clean, but have to limit the portions since it is near the node already. i had the edges covered with fungicide dithane and air dried for 24hrs while covering the roots with damp sphagnum moss. The following day I decided to scrape the black part below the roots and thank goodness it was just superficial, so I just had it covered with a fungicide dithane, and put the stem in a container of slightly moist perlite with sphagnum moss at the bottom then covered the container with plastic. They are in the perlite medium for few hours already.

By the way, the top cut stem I guess is doing okay and is on the same medium.

Am I doing it right? I live in the Philippines and these plants stay indoors.

(I made sure to have washed the sphagnum moss and perlite and soaked it it water with few hydrogen peroxide for an hour, then i rinsed it off and made sure it's slightly moist before putting the stems in.)