Can you help me with my Monstera Mint?
Unfortunately Sol isn’t feeling too hot :( I noticed these intense markings on the undersides only of her leaves. I’m guessing rust fungus. The thing is, I came home today and she’s pushing out a new leaf. Almost like she’s apologizing😂 anyways, does anybody know how I can handle this? Or is she a goner? #HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #NewGrowth #PropagationStation #PlantTherapy #GrowLights
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Best Answer
@Drebsky Then you will need to treat her with a copper fungicide once a week for 3 weeks.
Captain Jacks Copper Fungicide is easy to find and will do the job.
To prevent in the future
1. No misting
2. Increase airflow with a fan
Wiping won't treat it. It removes only the outside layer it is inside the leaves.
I would trim off the heaviest infected leaves, or at least these two I circled. Keep a close eye on them and be prepared to trim the other ones should you notice it spreading. it can spread when the spores drop.
I would also remove the sphagnum moss from the top of the soil. Damp and still conditions is what causes it to spread easily.
You can also flush the soil with a hydrogen peroxide solution. 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide to 3 parts water.
Captain Jacks Copper Fungicide is easy to find and will do the job.
To prevent in the future
1. No misting
2. Increase airflow with a fan
Wiping won't treat it. It removes only the outside layer it is inside the leaves.
I would trim off the heaviest infected leaves, or at least these two I circled. Keep a close eye on them and be prepared to trim the other ones should you notice it spreading. it can spread when the spores drop.
I would also remove the sphagnum moss from the top of the soil. Damp and still conditions is what causes it to spread easily.
You can also flush the soil with a hydrogen peroxide solution. 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide to 3 parts water.
If you’re sure this is rust fungus then I would go ahead and cut off any leaves with the markings(hopefully it’s not too many!) and apply a fungicide to ideally stop the spread. This is from a quick google so I’m not 100% sure this is correct but that’s what I found! (Edit: I just realized you can’t really ‘cut’ leaves off of a plant like this can you?)
@Slyvie Hi Sylvie, I appreciate you doing the quick research! Unfortunately like shown in the photo, it’s on every single leaf of the plant. I got this plant shipped to me from a shop on Palmstreet- was not informed about the disease that it most certainly had prior to being in my hands. The shop owner told me it’s shipping damage- which obviously even a non plant owner would know this isn’t shipping damage. When I recieved the plant it was even close to as bad as this. I figured I’d see if a new leaf came to see if it would be affected.
@Drebsky ohhhh that’s unfortunate :( yeah that’s definitely not shipping damage! At this point I would try to get your money back if you could because he definitely gave you a diseased plant. Since it’s over the entire plant it’s probably not salvageable unless it grows a new leaf and that leaf is unaffected. If you haven’t done this already quarantine that plant because rust fungus is airborne and spreads easily! Best of luck with what you decide to do next :)
@Slyvie you can! As long as you leave a node it’ll grow back. (If there were just roots and a little stem it would still grow back even) however it looks like you only have a few leaves that may need chopped so just leave some node. I’m not to educated on identifying rust fungus but if that is what it is, Sylvie’s advice is spot on! It’s a beautiful plant and I wish you so much luck and good vibes😪
@br3nna just read your comment and see now that all leaves are affected, you can if you want quarantine the plant and see if a new leaf comes out with the same spots. If you don’t want to do that, you can cut it all the way back and see if it grows back with it. If I were you, I’d raise hell on Palmstreet to be honest cause that’s honestly bad business. Really unfortunate I’m sorry🥲
@Drebsky biggest leaf = newest leaf usually so definitely hold out hope! If the one popping out now ends up without spots just cut your losses on the ones that do and give it some fungicide! If you can I’d maybe think about reporting the seller🥲 idk what palmstreets policy is on things like that but I’d hope they’d find it unacceptable to sell defected product without disclosure🤨
Hi all, so sorry to hear about receiving bad plant mail. That’s so annoying when you’re so excited to get that box open. I’m sorry if this is a silly suggestion, but any reason why a fungicide application wouldn’t work here (provided you wanted to put in the work)? If you wanted to keep the plant as is, I would chop any badly affected leaves (not sure you have any that bad?), quarantine, and then apply a fungicide every 2 weeks or so until I got a “clean leaf.” Make sure there’s good air flow. Alternatively, you could probably chop and prop the good leaf as long as there’s a node and start over. 🤷♂️
@Jho hi, I’ve only been taking care of plants a couple months. Hence why I’m here! I don’t know what is on my plant, I’m guessing. I’ve never even heard of copper fungicide. The plant has 6 leaves- 5 of them including their stems are infected. So I would say it’s pretty bad.
@DreamMachine hello Nadia! Yes, the reason I believe it’s rust fungus is because of the residue it leaves on the towel. I compared it to my research online. The plant is obviously still healthy as a new leaf is coming,stems are firm, and roots are perfect color. I just don’t know what to do to move forward since I’ve never encountered this issue. Are the spots it already created permanent?
@DreamMachine also, I think I read a plant can grow out of it🤷♂️ meaning its new leaves can be completely fungus free… is that true?
@DreamMachine Thank you so much! I’m so upset that a seller would send a plant in this condition 😭 And it’s extra upsetting for a new plant person. I just ordered Captain Jacks, I will have it in the morning !
@Drebsky the current spots will not get better, so yes those spots are permanent, but what the fungicide will do is to stop it from getting worse.
@Drebsky @Slyvie @br3nna being free of fungal and bacterial pathogens is not something that you can guarantee for every plant, unfortunately. Most nurseries and growers can and do treat their plants (and often!) with pest treatments and fungicides, but spores are EVERYWHERE. So what happens when the plant gets shipped or brought to a retail location? Those treatments have stopped. What are on those leaves now? You guessed it, tons of spores. What happens when a plant gets put into a dark box with no airflow? The spores now have the opportunity to take hold. 🤷♀️ It is not necessarily the fault of the grower.
@DreamMachine understandable, however when you show a plant on a live stream to be bought- you must disclose everything about that plant. She only ever showed the top of the leaves- hence why I didn’t see the spores. This was an expensive plant, especially for a new plant person. There was 100% a lack of transparency. I noticed the damage in the plant the day that I got it and messaged them right away. They did not say anything about fungus, nor did they offer me any kind of treatment for the plant. The only thing they offered me was a nonsense excuse that this was damage caused by shipping. Which is obviously not the case as I watch the leaves on the plant die. (I already ripped a leaf off). I was then told I can not recieve a refund for the plant. Which I then explained was not fair because since she did not show the bottom of the leaves in the live- I can not just take her word for it. Does that make sense?
@Drebsky if i sold phones for example- i can send a photo of the back of the phone only. The person receives the phone and the front screen is cracked. Did they crack the screen? Did I crack the screen? Did the shipping crack the screen? That woukd scream an automatic refund to me 🤷♂️
@MamaLinne @DreamMachine Thanks for the tag Deb. Nadia @DreamMachine gave you everything you need to know and it is indeed rust fungus.
You gave me flashbacks when you mentioned Palmstreet!!!
I placed an order with them one time and they said they were not going to ship it for 3 months.
I sent an email and said then I want to cancel my order! They said nope we can't do that.
I told them they need to cancel even though they don't want to. Like you, I guess they have fine print. Like anybody reads it when buying a plant, really, come on!
But, I called and told them I will be reporting them to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) if they don't give me a refund.
This seriously PISSED them off and they said. Fine we will refund. But, you are banned for life from making any purchases with Palmstreet for life. I laughed (because I thought it was funny 😂, because why would I want to ever make another purchase with them!). This really fired them up!!! I did indeed get my refund though. They are on my never buy from list. 🩷
You do indeed have a right to be angry about getting a plant in that condition. Any good plant seller would apologize and refund you, I'm sorry that happened.
I would insist on a refund.
You gave me flashbacks when you mentioned Palmstreet!!!
I placed an order with them one time and they said they were not going to ship it for 3 months.
I sent an email and said then I want to cancel my order! They said nope we can't do that.
I told them they need to cancel even though they don't want to. Like you, I guess they have fine print. Like anybody reads it when buying a plant, really, come on!
But, I called and told them I will be reporting them to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) if they don't give me a refund.
This seriously PISSED them off and they said. Fine we will refund. But, you are banned for life from making any purchases with Palmstreet for life. I laughed (because I thought it was funny 😂, because why would I want to ever make another purchase with them!). This really fired them up!!! I did indeed get my refund though. They are on my never buy from list. 🩷
You do indeed have a right to be angry about getting a plant in that condition. Any good plant seller would apologize and refund you, I'm sorry that happened.
I would insist on a refund.