Anonymous #1 10w

Are the roots rotting as well?

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Anonymous #1 10w

I haven’t checked on the roots yet cause I’m scared but from how the stem looks I think it’s a safe bet that they’re also rotting ☹️ I know it’s fine to chop at any node, but everything I find for chops and props seems to be about only 1-2 leaves, or if it’s a larger portion of the plant they always seem to chop it into small sections to make it 1 leaf. I’d just really hate to completely to completely start over and I’m hoping I can chop it so I still have like 5ish leaves left on each stem

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Anonymous OP 10w

Are the black spots soft or mushy? Do they stink? This looks a bit more like some sort of fungal issue. I’d pull it out of the soil and cut off any dead/dying roots and give it a hydrogen peroxide/water bath if there are any still living. Also, you don’t need to have a smaller cutting, and could potentially only cut off the rot, then allow it to calcify and wrap the node in damp moss/perlite. When monsteras get very large I’ve seen people simply cut the entire plant in half, though it may lose

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Anonymous #1 10w

A portion of its leaves due to shock.

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Anonymous OP 10w

If there are no living roots you will need to cut out any part affected by the fungus/rot. If this were my plant I’d likely cut it in two to reduce the risk of shock since new roots will struggle to supply nutrients to mature leaves. If you have any aerial roots you have a much higher chance of the plant being able to be kept fully intact, as they are mature and will aid in nutrient absorption

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Anonymous #1 10w

I would still also recommend giving it a hydrogen peroxide bath to prevent any further rot/contamination

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Anonymous #1 10w

They’re as hard as the rest of the stem, no mushiness. Still have yet to look at the roots (I plan to tomorrow when I have more time to tackle all of this), but if there are some living roots and it’s saveable, do I cut off the black parts of the stem or just leave them?

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Anonymous #1 10w

Also I could kiss you on the mouth rn you’re so right about fungal issues I looked it up and it does seem to be that! Tysm for all the insight

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Anonymous OP 10w

It depends on whether the black tissue is superficial or extends internally. you can scrape with a finger nail to check if the tissues beneath are also black, or if they are green. If the blackness has spread into the stem than it’s likely rot and will need to be removed. You’ll need to take a look at the crown and roots before deciding whether it needs to be cut back. If you have healthy roots then you should only need to remove dead/dying tissues and leave everything that’s firm

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Anonymous OP 10w

I had some fungal issues with some Hoyas that looked similar! But it’s often caused by excess moisture and accompanied by rot so you’ll def need to pay close attention to it. It’s encouraging that the black portions aren’t mushy, and could mean the current damage is superficial so long as the tissue beneath is healthy

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Anonymous #1 10w

I’ll update you tomorrow when I get to work on it 🙏

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Anonymous #1 10w

Ok I’m still working on digging the roots out the dirt but here’s for it’s looking, I think it might be time to size up the pot but I’m not sure. Also suspect the rot started from the soil being way too compact which I thought was fine in fall but now looking at the composition I’m like what was I thinking 😭 anyways what’s your analysis boss ?🙏

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Anonymous OP 10w

This doesn’t look like there’s any rot present that I could see. If it were my plant I’d cut out anything that was mushy or soft, and repot into a pot 1-2 inches larger with a chunky mix. If the black spots on the stems are firm, the tissue beneath is healthy, and there isn’t rot present in the roots I don’t think you’ll need to do much more unless the black tissue continues spreading. You may have caught the issue early enough to avoid needing a full chop, but I’d keep a very close eye on it

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Anonymous OP 10w

With the black portions it could be some sort of localized infection the plants fighting off, especially if it’s not soft like you would expect with rotting tissue. You’ll need to pay very close attention to the margins of the black tissue. If it spreads or softens I’d be much more worried, but if it stays firm and doesn’t seem to spread any further I’d leave it alone

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Anonymous #1 10w

Should I still give it a hydrogen peroxide bath for good measure or would that be overkill?

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Anonymous OP 10w

On a healthy root ball I would avoid it just because it could cause unnecessary stress since there’s not visible rot, but I would still spray down the stem and any portion touching the black parts for good measure since we aren’t sure what exactly is causing them. Again I would check with a finger nail to see if the blackness tissue extends into the deeper tissues or if it’s mostly superficial

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Anonymous #1 10w

Okay final picture updates here’s how the roots look with all the dirt gone, and here’s how the fingernail test looked at 2 different spots. It was pretty hard to press in with the fingernail from how firm the stem still feels Should I spray (hydrogen peroxide right?) before or after I repot it?

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Anonymous #1 10w

Still looks green underneath in both spots so I have my fingers crossed 🤞

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Anonymous OP 10w

The roots look good! I can also see the tissue beneath the black coloration appears healthy so I believe you caught the problem early. I would spray with diluted hydrogen peroxide (1 part peroxide to 2 parts water) over any area affected by the black tissue and give it a good wipe down along the length of the stem. I’d only spray roots that are in direct contact with any black spots. From this point I’d repot into chunky mix and increase the airflow around the stem of the plant, and wipe it down

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Anonymous #1 10w

At least once a week to keep the black tissue from spreading. Keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn’t worsen, but again I think you caught this early

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Anonymous #1 10w

Tysm I love you I don’t know what I would’ve done without your help 🫂

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Anonymous OP 10w

Np! Aroids are my personal interest so I enjoy helping people with any issues. Since we don’t know for certain what caused the black tissue I would consider a fungicide treatment to see if it helps. It likely won’t return to the original color due to cell damage but it should be alright as long as it doesn’t get mushy or spread further

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Anonymous OP 10w

Just to watch the edges of the black pigmentation. It could be caused by a handful of different things, but so long as the roots and body of the plant are healthy I wouldn’t worry to much. You can mark the edges with a dot or take weekly photos to track its progress and if it doesn’t spread you shouldn’t need to do any more treatments

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Anonymous #1 7w

Hey I’m back with more questions 🥲 so the black on the stem has been stable, still not mushy and not spreading thankfully, I think everything worked for that. Problem is that now the tips on my plant are starting to die/yellow. I gave fertilizer and everything, and I’m guessing it’s from the stress of everything earlier but now idk what to do to help it more and I’m once again questioning if I need to just restart with a top cutting again

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Anonymous OP 7w

Is there any possibility of overwatering or pests? How extensive is the yellowing?

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Anonymous #1 7w

It’s on some of the leaves but not all (top ones in particular seen to be doing better), definitely haven’t been overwatering cause I was worried about the black stem/fungus and I always do the soil finger check. Did a lot of inspecting for pests but don’t see any

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Anonymous OP 7w

It could be from the stress, especially if the watering frequency also changed. You could take a cutting and try again but it may put it into further shock and cause leaf loss. It looks like shock/watering inconsistency overall, or a mix of both. If it were my plant I’d likely leave it alone for a bit longer, and if it starts spreading much further then I’d consider rerooting a top cutting. They can get like this if they go from one extreme to another, wether it’s under or over watering

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Anonymous #1 7w

Noted thank you boss I’ll follow your instructions 🤝

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