Sometimes you can see bright spots on the dark green leaves of the Monstera. These often appear overnight and worry many plant lovers. Read here what can cause the light spots and how you can avoid them.
What causes and how to treat light spots on the Monstera?
Light spots on the Monstera can be caused by incorrect location, nutrient deficiency, eyespot disease, toxins in the air or spider mite infestation. To limit the formation of spots, a brighter location, fertilization, removing affected leaves, ventilation or pest control can help.
What do light spots on the Monstera mean?
If you notice light spots on your Monstera, there isno need to worry for now Nevertheless, it is helpful to know the cause of the spotting. You should take urgent action at the latest when the spots spread further, turn yellow or brown or the plant looks sicker overall.
What can cause light spots on the Monstera?
The easiest cause of light spots to fix is awrong location If the Monstera is too dark, it cannot produce enough chlorophyll and loses its green color in some places. By moving the plant to a brighter location, you cannot reverse the spotting, but you can at least stop it from spreading further.
Could the light spots indicate a nutrient deficiency?
Even with anutrient deficiency the leaves can get light spots. You can correct the deficiency by fertilizing more frequently. But be careful: Fertilizing too frequently also damages the plant.
Can the light spots also indicate an illness?
Light spots can also indicateeye spot disease, which is caused by fungal infection. However, the spots are rather dark and have a light border. In this case, you should remove all affected leaves. New leaves usually grow at the interfaces.
What other causes are possible?
The light spots can also be caused byToxins in the air. If the room is smoked, recently painted, or has new furniture, these toxins can also harm the houseplant. Therefore, ensure there is sufficient ventilation and consider changing location. An infestation with spider mites also causes light spots. If you also discover spider threads on your Monstera, you should wipe the leaves regularly with a damp cloth. If you can't get rid of the pests this way, you can spray the leaves with a mixture of water and cooking oil.
Tip
White spots are desired in some species
The Monstera Variegata is a subspecies of the Monstera deliciosa. More specifically, it is a gene mutation that causes chlorophyll not to be formed in some places. This creates an interesting marbling on the Monstera leaves, a so-called variegation. If you have this type of Monstera, the light spots, which can be white or yellow, are desirable and do not indicate any defect in the Monstera.
