Hi robin98(NZ(9b)) thanks for your help! *I've had the plants for approximately 2 years. *I repotted them approximately 1-2 months ago. *Both were in terracotta pots, now just the larger one is. The smaller one is in a plastic pot now, there's been no change in either plant other than getting worse. *I water both when the top 2 inches are dry, I use my finger or a wood dowel to tell if the soil is damp, mainly my finger. If the top 2 inches are dry I water until soaked, with the water draining freely through the holes. I never let them sit in water for longer than maybe 30mins, after watering. *The build up was before I repotted, it looks like salt or water hardness. I removed them from those pots and placed them in fresh pots that had been disinfected prior to use. There's some build up since that time on the rim of the terracotta pot (can be seen slightly in photo below of the top of the pot) I'm still sad, but learning to cope with it! ;) Well, I'm trying to learn from this experience. Thank-you so much! I've included some newer photos, please feel free to ask more questions if necessary. I'm considering removing the large one from it's pot, to repot again, but into a smaller pot after I remove some roots. It smells from the top of the soil now, and although when I repotted previously there was no indication of rot I'm thinking this is either leaf disease of some type or root rot. I removed these leaves: Then this started: Here's a picture of the top of the pot: Thanks everyone in advance! Let's hope we can save these guys!

Yes green balls are fertilizer. you said no repots, so Im guessing plant is still in its original store soil. Those are usually way too water retentive. A lot of people on here either use Al’s 5-1-1 mix for tropical or soil mixed 50% w/ 50% sifted perlite or pumice. 5-1-1 has 5 parts pine or fir bark, 1 pt. Sifted, coarse-grade perlite & 1 part peat. The issue w/ your Monstera looks like bacterial leaf spot from too wet soil, but I could be mistaken.. others on here may be better at diagnosing. These grow under trees & climb their trunks like a vine in the wild, south of the equator. Your water & sun accommodations sound good, as long as you keep it where it’s at, that light would be similar to what it wants, which is part shade.

@Meyermike(Zone 6a Ma.) Hi Mike! Thank you :-) I will consider a bigger pot next season. ( I think it's in a 14" now) I will be root pruning next spring. We are expected to hit 100 degrees tomorrow!!!! Off to a crazy start this summer already!! Which we dont normally hit until mid June!!! Ugh!!! I don't want to repot it now. I suspected I wasn't watering enough but wanted to be sure. I will try harder to get to it everyday. I have been in a tug of war since Nov. between helping parents and work. The mix does have some cactus and succulent mix in it , so it does hold a little more moisture than a 5-1-1. So I will try watering daily. An emitter is not possible at this time. The tree is in an area with no water line. It's the best place for it as far as day light goes. It is getting some new growth at the bottom which I'm excited about! I want to keep it in a bush form. And yes , fruit.... :-) I can't wait!! I did not get any last year! Thanks again! Hugs! Jojo

Looks like over-watering. Try letting the soil dry down more before watering (use a tell?). Also, a high level of dissolved solids (as in fertilizer salts) in the soil solution can inhibit water uptake, so be sure to flush the soil when you water. I'm pretty sure you are wary of letting the pot sit in water that collects in the cache pot, but if not, that should be avoided as the salts will have a pathway back into the soil. Tip/Trick: After you water, tipping your pots at a steep angle until they stop draining removes an extra measure of excess water (compare B to A below), as does using a wick to help drain excess water (compare E to A above). Newton's First Law of Motion For conventional container culture, it's a given that saturated/partially saturated media rob roots of the oxygen they need to function normally and efficiently. At best, soil saturation robs your plants of immense measure of potential in areas like growth, appearance, yields, ….. At worst, plants unable to cope with the strain of drought stress caused by saturated media will succumb to it. This isn't a 'scare tactic, it's a very simple and straightforward observation that will be difficult to disagree with a straight face. Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object will remain either at rest, or in motion at a uniform rate and in a straight line unless acted upon by an external offsetting force. In this case, we will designate the 'object' as excess water in your potting medium. At risk of my being redundant, the 'law' can be seen as a simple statement about inertia, that objects will remain in motion and in a straight line unless a force acts to change the motion. To put the law to work for you/your plantings, you should water to beyond the point of total soil saturation - so the medium has been completely saturated and at least 15-20% of the water you have applied has exited the pot. Unless your soil is purposefully constructed to eliminate all/nearly all excess water, it's extremely probable, when the pot has stopped draining, there will be too much water in the potting medium for the plants' liking. To eliminate this excess water: immediately after a thorough watering, hold the pot in one hand over the sink, lawn, or over-sleeping significant other and move it downward, then sharply reverse the direction to upward. You'll immediately note that a good measure of 'excess' water will “continue downward in a straight line” and exit the drain hole. The sharper the reversal of direction, the more water exits the drain hole. When you have repeated the exercise until water no longer exits the drain hole on the reversal of direction, you will have eliminated all excess water and your plants will regard you with a newfound sense of awe. Al