Why are my monstera leaves turning yellow?

The most common cause is overwatering, especially soil that stays wet in a pot without good drainage. Other causes are underwatering, too little or too much light, recent repotting, cold, pests, nutrient shortage and the natural loss of old lower leaves.

Should I cut yellow leaves off my monstera?

Yes, once a leaf is mostly yellow it won't turn green again. Cut it off at the base of the stalk with clean scissors. If it's only partly yellow, you can leave it until it's fully yellow, as the plant reabsorbs some nutrients.

Can a yellow monstera leaf turn green again?

No. A leaf that has turned yellow has lost its chlorophyll permanently. Fix the cause so new leaves stay green.

Is it normal for a monstera to get yellow leaves after repotting?

One or two yellow leaves in the weeks after repotting is common, from root disturbance. Keep it out of strong sun, don't overwater the fresh mix, and don't fertilize for a few weeks.

What do yellow leaves with brown spots mean on a monstera?

Yellowing with dark brown or black soft patches, often with soil that stays wet, usually points to overwatering and possibly root rot. Yellowing with dry, crispy brown edges points more to underwatering, low humidity or too much sun.

Monstera Yellow Leaves: Causes and How to Fix Them

Monstera yellow leaves usually mean overwatering. If the soil stays wet for more than a week, the lower leaves are yellowing first, and the pot has poor drainage, water is almost certainly the cause. But the pattern matters: where the yellow appears, how it looks and what else is happening tells you which of eight common causes you're dealing with. This guide helps you diagnose it quickly, fix it, and decide whether to cut the leaf.

Quick diagnosis: read the yellow

What you see	Most likely cause	First thing to do
Lower leaves yellow, soil damp, maybe a sour smell	Overwatering / root rot	Stop watering, check roots
Yellow with dark brown or black soft patches	Overwatering, possible fungal or bacterial spot	Check roots, remove damaged leaves
Yellow with dry, crispy brown edges, soil bone dry	Underwatering	Water thoroughly
One oldest leaf yellowing slowly, plant otherwise healthy	Natural ageing	Remove when fully yellow
Yellow after repotting	Transplant stress	Patience, don't overwater
Pale yellow-green new growth, plant hasn't been fed in a year	Nutrient shortage	Start feeding at half strength
Bleached, yellow-white patches on the side facing the window	Too much direct sun	Move back from the glass
Overall pale, small leaves, leaning	Too little light	Move closer to the window or add a grow light
Yellow speckling, fine webbing under leaves	Spider mites	Isolate, wipe and treat
Yellowing after a cold night by a window	Cold damage	Move away from cold glass

1. Overwatering (the usual suspect)

When soil stays saturated, roots can't get oxygen. They start to rot, so they can't take up water or nutrients, and the leaves yellow, ironically, from lack of water. Signs:

Soil still damp several days after watering
Lower leaves going yellow, sometimes several at once
Dark, soft patches or a mushy stem near the soil
Fungus gnats around the pot

How to fix it:

Stop watering and let the top 5 cm of soil dry out.
Check the pot has a drainage hole and isn't standing in water.
If it doesn't improve within a week or two, or the soil smells sour, slide the plant out and look at the roots. Healthy roots are firm and pale. Rotten ones are brown or black, mushy and may slip their outer skin.
Cut rotten roots off with clean scissors and repot into fresh, chunky, free-draining mix, in a pot only as big as the remaining root ball needs.

Then change how you water. Our watering schedule builder suggests checking a monstera in medium light in a 20 cm plastic pot about every 7 days in summer. In winter, a 25 cm pot stretches to about 13 days. Those are check intervals, not watering days.

2. Underwatering

Less common, but it happens, especially in summer, in terracotta pots, or when the mix has become hydrophobic and water runs straight down the sides. Leaves droop and curl, then yellow with crispy brown edges. The soil is dry all the way down and may have shrunk from the pot wall.

Fix: water slowly and thoroughly until it drains, or soak the pot in a bowl of water for 20–30 minutes so the root ball rehydrates. Then check more often.

3. Natural ageing (yellow leaves at the bottom)

A healthy monstera sheds its oldest, lowest leaf from time to time. If it's one leaf at a time, new leaves are coming in green and healthy, and the soil isn't staying wet, it's normal. Remove it when it's fully yellow.

4. Repotting stress

Monstera yellow leaves after repotting are common. Roots get damaged, and the plant drops a leaf to balance its water use. The bigger risk is overwatering the fresh, larger volume of soil.

Fix: keep it in bright, indirect light (not direct sun), water only when the top few cm are dry, and wait 4–6 weeks before fertilizing. Next time, go up only 2–5 cm. From a 20 cm pot, our repotting pot size calculator suggests 24 cm. Our guide on how to repot a houseplant explains how to reduce transplant shock.

5. Light problems

Too little light: pale, smaller leaves, long gaps between leaves, solid leaves on a mature plant, and slow yellowing of older leaves because the plant can't support them. Move it closer to the window or add a grow light. Use our light meter converter to check: monsteras do best from medium to bright indirect light, roughly 250 to 1,000+ foot-candles.

Too much direct sun: bleached, pale yellow or white patches, sometimes with crispy brown scorched areas, on the leaves nearest the glass. Move it back a metre or use a sheer curtain.

6. Nutrient deficiency

A monstera that hasn't been repotted or fed for a year or more can run short of nitrogen and other nutrients. Older leaves turn evenly pale yellow-green and new growth is small. Start feeding in spring with a balanced liquid feed at half strength every 2–4 weeks. If the label dose is 5 ml per litre, the fertilizer dilution calculator works out 5 ml for a 2 litre can. Don't fix a yellowing plant by doubling the dose. Overfeeding causes salt build-up and brown leaf edges.

7. Pests

Spider mites cause fine yellow speckling on leaves and, in heavy infestations, fine webbing. Thrips cause silvery or yellow streaks. Mealybugs and scale show up as white fluffy clumps or brown bumps on stems. Isolate the plant, wipe leaves top and bottom with a damp cloth, and treat with an insecticidal soap or another product labelled for houseplants, repeating as the label directs.

8. Cold and drafts

Monsteras dislike temperatures below about 12 °C and cold drafts. Leaves touching a cold window in winter, or a plant near an outside door, can yellow and develop dark patches. Move it to a stable, warm spot.

Should you cut yellow monstera leaves?

Leaf state	What to do
Fully yellow	Cut it off at the base of the stalk
Half yellow, cause fixed	Leave it, or cut it if it bothers you
Yellow with soft black patches	Cut it off promptly and bin it
Small yellow patch on an otherwise green leaf	Leave it, the rest of the leaf still works

Use clean, sharp scissors and cut close to the main stem, without cutting into it. A yellow leaf never turns green again, so removing it doesn't hurt the plant.

Yellow leaves with brown spots or edges

This combination confuses many people, because it can mean opposite things:

Brown spots that are soft, dark and spreading, sometimes with a yellow halo: overwatering or a leaf spot infection. Let the soil dry more and remove affected leaves.
Brown, dry, crispy edges with yellow behind them: underwatering, low humidity or fertilizer salts. Water more consistently and flush the soil by running water through it for a minute every few months.
Black spots on yellowing leaves: usually overwatering with rot. Check the roots.

How to prevent yellow leaves

Water by feel, not by calendar. Check that the top 3–5 cm are dry.
Always use drainage. Empty saucers and decorative outer pots after watering.
Use a chunky mix. The soil mix calculator scales a chunky aroid recipe to your pot. Our houseplant soil mix guide explains why it works.
Give it bright, indirect light.
Feed lightly in spring and summer, not at all in winter.
Check under leaves monthly for pests.

For the full care routine, see our monstera care guide and the beginner's monstera deliciosa care first-year plan. Pothos owners will find a similar troubleshooter in pothos yellow leaves.

Sources and further reading

Royal Horticultural Society, on houseplant watering, pests and root rot.
University of Minnesota Extension, for houseplant care and pest management guidance.
ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants list, which lists monstera as toxic to cats and dogs.