When you water it, do you flush out the entire pot? Take it to a sink or tub, somewhere where the excess water can drain away, and thoroughly flush out the whole pot with plenty of water. When you don't give a plant enough water, only giving it measured out little "sips," then the dissolved minerals within the water have nowhere to go and end up accumulating in the soil every single time you water it.

Take your Monstera to somewhere with a drain and flush it out. Let it sit there and drain, and then flush it out again about an hour or so later. I know that it may not be convenient, having to move pots around whenever we go to water our plants, but if you want them to remain healthy, then that's what needs to be done. These are rainforest plants that need plenty of water, but they also need a fast draining soil that doesn't remain soggy. Their roots need to stay damp, but they also need to breathe in fresh air, too. When you only give them tiny measured amounts of water, then those dissolved minerals quickly build up in the soil, preventing its roots from being able to absorb the water it needs.

Also, move it closer to that natural light source. These plants love bright, indirect sunlight. It doesn't appear to be suffering from not enough light just yet, but my first instinct when seeing your photos, was that I would move it closer to that brighter sunlight. Just because plants can tolerate lower light levels, it doesn't mean that they prefer lower light levels. That being said, just make sure to flush out its whole pot with plenty of fresh water every time you water it. Let the excess drain away, and then move it back into that bright, sunny spot, and it will quickly recover from this whole ordeal.

Thank you! That makes sense. Maybe a silly question, but is there a certain kind of soil it should be in to ensure that it's draining properly when I give it that much water?

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, I'll do my best to answer them. For mine, I prefer using a 50/50 mix of both Miracle Gro Cactus, Palm, & Citrus and the Miracle Gro Orchid Potting Mix "Coarse Blend." This works great for my Monstera, and it loves it.

and I'll add my 2 cents, I use equal amounts of perlite, that also helps with drainage and aeration for the root system.

Perhaps one reason why it's going downhill since you moved it is it possibly closer or further away from a heating vent than it was before? If it was close to a heating vent before that would have made it dry out more quickly. And if it's staying too wet I would remove the rocks from the top of the soil so it can dry out quicker.

I wondered if the rocks were possibly causing issues. They're to keep my cats out, otherwise they don't leave the dirt alone. :)

I've had rocks as a decorative layer in my plant's pot before, but now I don't. It didn't seem to care, one way or the other. I only removed them so that I could repot it last year. I may add them back again this spring. I originally added them to keep my cats out of it, but now they really don't care to mess with them anymore. Another reason being that during "tornado season," we get some pretty nasty weather, and having some decorative stones covering the soil helps to keep it from being washed away during the heavy rains. But once my plant has reestablished itself, and its roots have filled in the entire pot again, it doesn't really matter it there's anything covering its soil.

The above soil recommendation are very good for this plant. Your plant is not getting water to its leaves......which could either be over or underwatering. If underwatered there is not water available. If overwatered the soil can become aneaerobic (lacking oxygen) and/or the roots can rot off. No roots and it can't get water to its stems and leaves......same effect. Most commercial potting mixes are too dense. The above recommended soil give youa mix with more large "chunks" of bark and things. This will give the soil a lot of aeration. You can water this soil frequently and keep it lightly moist......but it will drain very well and still provide a lot of air around the roots. These plants grow naturally in rain forests up barky trees etc. One other though is your cats have not urinated in this soil a few times have they? This would cause problems too. I would suggest removing the old soil, and repotting it in fresh soil as recommended. You will probably find the plant has little or no root. If you can find a large clear garbage bag you can put the entire newly repotted plant into it....just leaving the top open a little bit, which will keep the humidity up while it roots. Once it is well rooted gradually open the bag more and more than remove it.

Thanks! The cats haven't urinated in it, they have ruined a few plants over the years probably by doing just that, but they have not bothered with it since I put the rocks on top.

It's definitely underwatered if anything. I tend to overwater so I have been erring on the side of caution with this one. I will get some better soil but won't be able to do so until next weekend. In the meantime, I'm going to try what Photo Synthesis suggested. Just to be clear...I'm bringing the entire plant to my sink and watering it very generously, letting it drain and then placing it in a sunny spot? Is it okay to just water with regular old tap water? Does it matter that the sunniest spot in my house is maybe also the coldest spot in my house? (It's winter in Ontario, Canada right now.)

Coldest spot in the house is relative. If the coldest spot is 65F that is probably ok, if it is 40fFthat is very bad. Likewise for sun. Moving a plant that isn't acclimated to the sun to a very sunny spot can sunburn it unless it is moved there gradually, over a period of time. However I doubt the indoor sun in Ontario at this time of year is too strong, and may be very beneficial. Tap should be fine, water it with warm water and do so in the morning so it has a chance to dry off and drain before the cooler and darker night period.

Thank you, I appreciate it! In the future, how do I know when it's time to water it again?

Staci, fwiw, if you think the plant won't make it but you have some stems with good roots left, or even some pieces with broken roots, you can put them in water. They will grow back in water very easily.

I messed up a repot of a big monstera like yours a while back. The roots were too damaged too damaged to try to repot them. I put the pieces in water vases and now they are huge with lots of roots.

These plants prefer bright, indirect sunlight. As long as it's shaded from any direct sunlight, you can give it as much sunlight as you can. Just as long as it's not directly shining on its leaves, it will be fine. Although, any direct morning or evening sunlight is okay, too.

The leaves are still a healthy green color, aside from the minor damage, so it should quickly recover. These plants are quite resilient. They don't call them "monsters" for no reason, HaHa...

They don't mind being repotted either. Tap water is perfectly fine, just make sure that it's not ice cold. These are tropical plants, they're not used to frigid water. Just make sure that it's room temperature water, and it'll do just fine. As for when to water it, once a week is a pretty safe bet. During the hot summer months, mine soaks up water like a sponge, so it gets hosed down almost daily during that time. During the winter, when I keep it indoors, it gets watered roughly once a week, maybe less.

I have one on my piano that is so big, I can barely move it. I have lately started drawing up graphs and mission statements for how to repot it. They have all been unsuccessful.

Looks much much better.....got some water moved into those leaves!! It will adjust from repotting easily and well. You can wait a few weeks if you want, until we are more into Spring. At that time of year it is actively growing and should recover quickly. It seems you have its location and watering better now, so if you want to wait a bit that will be ok too but don't be afraid to repot it.

Wow, that looks great! Please keep an eye on those rocks on top of the soil. They can cause the soil to stay wet for too long. Lift them up everyone and then and make sure there are no saturated spots.

I am assuming you put them there to plant? If not, I'd remove them. If you want a mulch for the plant, and you don't need the rocks for support, perhaps try bark. It's more breathable.

i wouldn't repot it now. It looks to be recovering nicely. Maybe just let it get healthy and recover for now....

The rocks are only there because I have cats who will dig in the dirt and get it everywhere. I've tried everything and nothing keeps them out except for the rocks. I will keep an eye on that though!

Yeah, it looks much happier. I would also hold off on repotting if you want. But it won't mind being repotted again either. Monsteras aren't picky.

That's good because clearly I don't know what I'm doing. :) Glad I found this forum!

Staci, you could try smaller rocks, like aquarium pebbles or chicken grit. Sometimes, I put a layer of bark or pumice or even perlite on top. As long as it's not too heavy,

it looks really good, though!