Most “my monstera is dying” searches are Monstera deliciosa — the split-leaf plant. Yellowing, droop, and rot are usually water, pot, and light, not a mystery disease. The hero photo on this page is a yellowing Monstera adansonii leaf (holes in the blade, not splits from the edge). Same genus, same water mistakes.
Work the list in order. Then use the yellow-leaf tool, the watering calculator, and the root-rot triage instead of guessing a calendar.
1. The mix is wet and the pot cannot dry
The default kill is wet peat in a pot with no air. A monstera wants chunky mix and a pot that can dry in a week or two, not a reservoir. If the pot is heavy and the mix smells sour, stop watering. Check the repot size before you jump two pot sizes.
2. Root rot
Slide the plant out. Brown, sloppy roots that smear are rot. Cut to firm white or tan tissue, fresh mix, smaller pot if the root ball shrank. Do not “water it back to health.” Use the triage guide.
3. Underwatering after a scare
People rot a plant, then let the next one go bone-dry. Leaves crisp and droop. Water when the top 2 inches are dry, then enough that water leaves the drainage hole. The calculator sizes that pour to the pot you have.
4. Light too low
A dark corner makes small unsplit leaves and a plant that stays wet. Bright, indirect light. A bright south-facing window often needs a few feet of setback or a sheer to avoid harsh midday sun. Do not invent foot-candles. Use the light calculator if you are adding a lamp.
5. Old leaves vs new yellow
One lowest leaf going yellow on an otherwise firm plant is often age. A flush of yellow on new growth, plus a wet pot, is not age. The yellow-leaf tool splits those.
6. Cold air and a wet pot together
Draft, AC, or a ride in a cold box plus wet mix is how you get collapse after shipping. Warm room, dry-down, no fertilizer until you see a new leaf.
7. You have the wrong plant on the tag
Mini monstera is Rhaphidophora tetrasperma. Adansonii is the Swiss-cheese vine. Deliciosa is the split leaf. Care is close; identity is not. Start at the Monstera hub and the Houseplant Guide.
Palma live plants: Monstera deliciosa, Adansonii. Mini monstera is listed, sold out.
Nick Alan. Sources in house: watering and yellow-leaf tools on this site; Kew for names. Updated September 2026.