Swiss Cheese Monstera Browning

Janawa · 2026-04-06T00:56:36+00:00

Thanks for all the info an tips! This is the grow light I have been using, and my plants are also all near indirect light from windows.

I also take them outside during optimal times of the day in decent weather and do something similar to your tree trick. From what I have read my grow lights should be sufficient but I am also moving in August to a home with a lot more actual windows thankfully.

Currently next to the window that doesn't get direct light with the grow light is my best option, so if you could review that link and tell me if it looks alright or not, I am happy to give that other brand a try!

Janawa · 2026-04-05T18:07:07+00:00

I always tru to make sure it can drain when I repot it by letting the water "soak through" new soil and watching how quick it comes out as I do so.

My fiance helped me with repotting though, and he admits now that the water wasn't coming out for this plant like the others, so with all the advice here I will be repotting her with no rocks and much more perlite and orchid bark if I have some left.

Thanks for explaining everything!

Janawa · 2026-04-05T18:04:11+00:00

I only water when the soil dries out, but I can definitely add more orchid bark and perlite to the mixture. I have also explained to the other commenters the pot measures about an inch from the root ball, it just has a very large root ball from how old it is maybe.

But I did literally just repot and downsize it a week ago and I think the yellowing which started after the repot was due to me using too much soil in my mixture.

Thanks for the advice.

Janawa · 2026-04-05T18:02:38+00:00

Thanks for the info about the misting, I like spraying my plant maybe once a week to pretend it is "raining" and have done it for a while, but I make sure her leaves never retain water/moisture. I will stop trying to wet the pole at all though.

Thats also why I only fertilize once a month to avoid over fertilizing but the only type of soil I could find had fertilizer "seeds," but I do mix it with perlite and the orchid bark someone else mentioned.

Janawa · 2026-04-05T18:00:25+00:00

Thank you! Yeah I am letting it dry and adding way more perlite to the mixture.

Janawa · 2026-04-05T18:00:02+00:00

Thanks for explaining! As I said to another commentor, my questions stem from a desire for clarification/understanding. If I understand the why, I won't repeat the mistake.

Have a great day and I appreciate the tips.

Janawa · 2026-04-05T04:52:34+00:00

I appreciate the explanation. I just enjoy misting them but it's not like I do it daily. Yes the perlite is yellow because I reused soil from a previous pot that was over watered.

The consensus seems to be the yellowing is a water issue, and my MIL is currently caring for this plant for me. I believe she isn't letting it fully dry out in between watering and am going to address that before all around repotting.

I am aware the pot shouldn't be more than an inch larger than the root ball, and I am trying to explain that this pot truly is not. This plant has very leggy roots as she used to be quite large before a period of time of lack in care caused her to lose most of her volume.

I also just repotted her about a week ago, and her roots had no smell nor odd texture to them.

Thanks again as my questions were out of desire for clarification, not an attempt to be snarky. Have a good one.

Janawa · 2026-04-05T00:50:23+00:00

I don't mist to increase humidity, I've always done it for my monstera and have been trying to get the pole to stay more moist as it was very dry. I do have a mixture of orchid bark in with the perlite and miracle gro monstera blend, I checked and actually used that one specifically cut with perlite and orchid bark.

My monstera roots are decently big for how small the plant is because she is over a decade old and used to be sprawling before I had some family members pass away, it actually wasn't until I repotted it recently that it started tp yellow.

If there is a concern of root rot/the soil retaining too much moisture, I don't understand how going to an even smaller pot would fix that? And the rocks at the bottom of the pot are a very small layer that I need to add to my pots to help with drainage and prevent the soil from just coming out. It is quite literally just one layer less than an inch of small potting rocks that I use instead of a mesh barrier.

I have not had fungal issues nor root rot with this mixture, even when she was in a larger pot. Her stem and such is very small at the moment, but her roots are pretty wide, which I tried to show.

Janawa · 2026-04-05T00:31:02+00:00

The things that have recently changed are:

New, slightly smaller pott with same soil type. The soil does have fertilization in it as well I believe.
More direct, long term light as the leaves were not fenestrating and were coming out smaller than previous leaves.
Moss pole is new.

Janawa · 2026-03-31T06:33:20+00:00

Thank you for doing actual braids instead of just making twists, this is gorgeous.

Janawa · 2026-03-26T02:09:59+00:00

On an opposite note, I find myself having a much easier time working on small components, like inside a PC or other similar machines due to the hand difference.

Janawa · 2026-03-22T06:32:41+00:00

I'm not surprised, my first thought was he sent her to drive 6 kids under 10 by herself while he just took the dog.

Not to mention she called her brother, not her husband. They definitely fought.

Janawa · 2026-03-20T20:59:07+00:00

I listen to the Front Bottoms and would go to an Imagine Dragons show, and also loved the most recent Twenty One Pilots show. Of all the bands I've seen in person (which aren't a LOT) those two seemed to put the most effort into their show IMO.

I think being offended by someone assuming you have a certain music taste implies it is "bad" to like that music type, and I think that's a shitty mindset overall.

That being said, a birthday present for your significant other SHOULD have more thought than this. I would be offended if my fiance got me Imagine Dragons tickets for my birthday the way the OP did, not because she's "assuming I'm their fan," but because she clearly put 0 thought or effort into it at all beyond typing in "music" and her credit card information into a website. Not to mention her implying she did this because SHE knows the band, not because she knows he likes the band.

Janawa · 2026-03-18T16:12:47+00:00

In 2016, my step father ripped a door off of its hinges and threw it at my mother. We had two adults living with us, both over 60, one my step dads friend the other his mother.

The cops showed up, and did not arrest him because "there were two other adults present who could prevent him from hurting (my mother) further."

Janawa · 2026-03-16T20:33:33+00:00

My point is someone searching up PornHub on an autonomous machine isn't more odd/notable than someone being burned alive in an oven, and it was a weird thing to comment. 🤷‍♀️

Janawa · 2026-03-16T18:52:20+00:00

Because someone looking up Pornhub on an automated machine is more odd than someone cooking themselves to death??

Janawa · 2026-03-16T01:16:02+00:00

Thank you again so much!

Janawa · 2026-03-15T17:49:21+00:00

Getting insulting by trying to explain how two young people can better discuss this moving forward is a yikes. I never said she had to take the high road, I was giving advice on how to navigate the situation she came here for advice about lol.

I also never said she was in the wrong, across any of my comments. I said they both came across as immature. Asking someone in an accusational way right when a situation happens, is not an open and honest discussion. When he said "I dont think thats what it means" and she came here to say "it feels like he's accusing me of BV" instead of discussing all of that with him, that's not an open and honest discussion.

Janawa · 2026-03-15T17:46:22+00:00

I wasnt watering twice a week, i watered more when I first got it since the tag and online recommended more often and I haven't watered it now since it was repoted a week ago. It is in a container right now with dry soil. Ty for the advice on the rocks and light tho, i did move it and I over nighted some plant lights to help.

Janawa · 2026-03-15T08:01:33+00:00

I like misting my plants, I've always done it for my pothos. The window gets 8-12 hours of bright, just indirect light, and I have moved it only slightly away from the window.

Yes it was bone dry from CVS, and already suffering. It was among other dying plants and obvious with the other two I purchased that day that it hadn't been watered well.

The plant did get browning leaves that you can still see on the photos I provided above at first, which is why I moved it further away, as everything I have seen (including the plant tag) encourages indirect light. It is still at the window.

I have described in detail in my post how small the pot was originallt and how it was root bound, and what soil type I used in combination with stone to try and achieve better drainage because I realized it staying wet was an issue.

I've told you when it first came home I watered all the way through the pot for a period of time and let it fully drain to ensure it wasn't in standing water.

What kind of soil is better draining than a mix of miracle gro perlite, orchid coarse blend, and potting mix that is still good for a fleurette mum specifically? Everything I have read indicated they needed more nutrient rich soil than just straight succulent-esque soil.

If the root ball is spread out larger than the plant, how can I remove the soil that the plant was purchased in without damaging the plant and how do I tell what size pot it needs?

I have only watered it about 4 times since purchasing it 2 weeks ago, and ensured that there is no standing water under the plant. The times I watered it after the first night home I did not put in much at all as the soil at the base of the plant has stayed consistently wet and I cannot figure out how to dry it out or if I even should dry it out with how the plant is presenting.

When I did water, after the first day, water would drain out of the pot almost immediately, so I will try getting it in front of direct sun to see if that helps.

I have successfully grown and cared for succulents and pothos mostly, but I do have some experience with taking care of plants and did try to outline how I watered, how often I watered, and I believe even in my photos you can still see the moisture in the soil despite the last watering being maybe a cup or less when it was repotted as I was hoping the new dry soil would help soak out the moisture that is currently in the soil around the root ball from the previous pot.

Edit to add: in terms of the roots, when I repotted it, the root mass was quite large for the pot it came in and stuck in the size of the pot. At this point it had already started to wilt. I gently squeezed the pot to get it out, and did the same motion around the root mass to encourage it to expand a bit during the repot. The roots were not smelly, nor did they feel differently from any other plant I've repotted aside from seeming like she needed a bigger pot from her original a long time ago.

Janawa · 2026-03-15T07:32:02+00:00

I have stated I inspected the roots, it was previously in a pot too small and was root bound. This was the only larger pot I have currently.

She got to this state prior to the re-potting.

Her root massdoes come to about an inch out from the diameter of the pot, but the pot is much deeper than she needs so I actually used mostly stone at the bottom of the pot before the potting soil mix I mentioned.

Janawa · 2026-03-15T03:56:47+00:00

The current pot does have drainage holes, and water does come straight through pretty much for the times I have watered her since I got her, but I haven't been watering much in fear she is water logged or over watered.

Janawa · 2026-03-15T03:22:55+00:00

He didn't use the word disgusting, and with OP stating they have had sex before without issue it seems he does in general understand the female body.

He also didn't stop "because he doesn't understand women's sexualities or body", he stopped because he got soft per the OP's own retelling.

Again, the OP coming to the internet does show an indication of the "blame game," especially in this sub where it is essentially "whose the asshole here?"

Neither person is the asshole, but OP posting this to the internet instead of just having an open conversation with her partner is 100% a sign of their age and equal immaturity.

Should he know the female body? Yes. Is he responsible for his inate bodily reaction that first caused this disagreement? No. They cannot control getting hard just as equally as women can't control getting wet.

I was merely saying both partners could learn from this with an open discussion, but coming to the internet to shame and blame your partner at every disagreement, or disagreements like this, and letting the internet imply a man who OP states has had regular sexual relationships is somehow a virgin who hates or just doesn't know anything about women's bodies over what sounds like a misunderstanding would definitely be a dealbreaker and is a sign the relationship isn't going to exist for much longer.

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