Monstera Yellowing

Question

Had this monstera for a year now and was my first, it hasn’t grown much at all in that year but now has two of its first fenestrated leaves and another leaf coming. I noticed two older leaves yellowing, I cut them off and figured it was normal because of the new growth. Now two other older leaves are yellowing and I have no idea why. They all look the same they yellow around the edges and move in, I have never fertilized it in the time I’ve had it but I have repotted twice, once out of the nursery pot and another into the big ceramic pot it’s in now. There is a big drainage hole in it but no pebbles at the bottom, I don’t think it’s overwatering but not sure because when I first noticed the yellowing the soil was really dry and I figured it might’ve also been because I hadn’t watered it, It only continued after I watered it and there aren’t any other symptoms of overwatering other then the yellowing, I can’t check roots in my house because there’s lots of soil and my mom wouldn’t let me. I’m thinking it might be under-fertilizing but I’m not sure how to proceed as it’s winter right now and snowing where I live. My mom only wants me to dilute or use fertilizer outside because of chemicals and I don’t have any other fertilizers than some plant food but the soil is wet I don’t want to water in the fertilizer while the soil is wet and I also don’t want to wait for it to dry out at the same time because I don’t want other leaves to yellow or get worse. I have two other much bigger fenestrated monsteras growing well right next to it. Any ideas what I should do or the cause??

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Answer 1

Generally, they will yellow from lack of light before they will from fertilizer deficiencies. They are, actually, quite tolerant of lack of food for extended periods.

Another thing that will cause issues will be soil that remains too moist for too long. This can happen if there is a lot of soil that has not been colonized by roots. For this reason, it is best to move up to only a slightly larger container from the original, each time you pot up.

From here, try giving it more light, and making sure that the soil dries out several inches between waterings.

Here is an article that will help with their care:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/swiss-cheese-plant/proper-care-of-a-swiss-cheese-plant-swiss-cheese-plant-propagation.htm