Monsters deliciosa leaves yellowing and eventually dying

3 months ago

About 40- 50% of my monsters leaves (lower ones) invariably start progressively yellowing and then browning at the tips/edges. This has been ongoing for more than a year I think. I have tried decreasing watering, decreasing fertilizing. It is in the same brightly lit location with a little morning sun before (when it was healthy). I had potted it up from 3 the 5 gallon pot 1/2 years back. The pot is plastic, 11" wide and abit deeper than 11" I think. There are two stems/vines that are tied to a bamboo stick with a nylon rope that is periodically tightened/moved up so that the stems remain more or less erect. One solution is to unpot to check how the roots are doing but given the size of the plant, I am procrastinating on that. I would appreciate any and all thoughts, especially from Monsters growers.

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Comments (3)

41 North (Zone 7a/b, NE, coastal)
3 months ago
Well, I'm confused. The last picture you posted shows a gorgeous plant. If only the very lowest leaves are dying off, I would not worry. This species wants to grow HUGE eventually, reaching through a tropical tree canopy. Lower leaves are going to naturally die off. If anything try increasing humidity, or lowering the thermostat a tad if you keep it really warm in the winter. These things grow like beasts in NJ when placed outside for the growing season. I would also not be feeding quite this early in the season.
getgoing100_7b_nj
Original Author
3 months ago
The last picture shows mostly the good leaves and the ones yellowing have been trimmed to remove the yellow/brown parts. The numbers of leaves affected is what makes me believe that something is wrong the plant. It currently has 13 leaves total on the two stems/vines combined, of which six leaves are yellowing/browning. I don't think that is a natural progression. The temperatures are maintained at 65-70 F and the humidity is 45-65.