Monkey mask plant yellowing

[SanMichel]

Our monkey mask plant is acting kind of weird. Some of the leaves have yellowing at the outer parts of the leave that later turn brown (especially at the top of the plant). It is growing a lot of new leaves, that don't seem to have the same problem. We took a lot of cuttings to make the top look a little fuller, but are still wondering if there is something wrong with the plant. We repotted the plant last year and after some inspection, does not seem rootbound... The plant is 4 meters away from a south facing window and gets water every week now because of the heat (if the pot feels light and dry). Every two weeks the plant receives some fertilizer.

Hope anyone knows what to do

 

[Pepperhead]

What kind of fertilizer and how much? Are you following the instructions on the bottle? I have a feeling every 2 weeks is too often.

I really like those leaves. What a cool plant!

 

[cpp gardener]

You might want to leach the soil to help remove salts from fertilizer and tap water. To do this, put the plant, pot and all, into the sink or bathtub and soak it real good. Basically you pour about half a gallon of water through 3 times, letting it drain until it stops dripping each time. When it’s all done dripping the third time, put it back in it’s basket. If you cut it back to the edge of the pot and stick cuttings into the pot, they will root and make the plant fuller. The cuttings should have 2 leaves per stem piece.
If the instructions on the fertilizer say to use it every 2 weeks then follow the directions.

Happy plant parenting!

 

[oneeye]

The tip burn is caused from excess fertilizer also the deep dark green indicates too much nitrogen. Flushing the soil will knock out all the nutrients. Plus flushing the soil will hold too much water and cause root rot. Flushing soil is only recommended if the plant is dying and I think if you stop adding fertilizer now the plant will be ok in a few weeks.

 

[cpp gardener]

It won’t rot if you don’t keep it wet. One time deep soak won’t do it. After it dries to the point that it needs to be watered again you could then give it a feeding.

If you trim off the brown parts carefully it will look better as well.

 

[oneeye]

Never feed a plant that is distressed "period". So many people use fertilizer when its not needed and do more harm than good. I measure the ppm of every plant I feed and you would be surprised how many plants don't need fertilizer. Philodendron's can live in the same pot for a few years without feeding! They only take in micro amounts of fertilizer and no need to feed.

 

[SanMichel]

We leached the soil and back down with the fertilizer. We have about 15 cuttings, so hopefully we can make the top look a lot fuller

 

[oneeye]

Good luck, fingers crossed here.