Hi! I was mailed a monstera albo cutting and when it arrived it seemed like it had gotten too cold. I initially put it in water for a couple hours but decided to transfer it to soil as it seemed to be getting mushy in the water. The cut end was black and squishy, which I removed and sprayed with fungicide before I put it into the soil but it still doesn’t look like it’s doing well! Attached are 3 photos of it the day it arrived and two of it today (the ones in the white pot), it really doesn’t look like it’s doing well and if anyone has thoughts on how to save it I’d love to!! thank you!!
Hi Emily, sorry about your plant! Yeah, it's in a tough spot right now. I'm curious why you have the pot in a bag? That is usually a bad idea. It reduces air exchange, keeps the soil too wet, and increases the chances of rot. What type of soil are you using? For rooting a rare cutting, you want something semi-sterile with no organic-type ingredients like dirt, compost, or castings. Also, besides being good at holding water, it needs to let a lot of air in the rooting area as well, so the roots don't rot. You can also reduce the chances of rotting by using a medium and pot combo that dry out quickly (for instance a much smaller unglazed clay pot with pure sphagnum). The frequent drying down before rewetting (actually not fully dry, just much drier) can keep the plant wet enough but also allow enough air to get to the roots in order to keep the rot at bay. For aroid cuttings I like straight perlite for average cuttings (makes it easier to transition someday to soil) or pure sphagnum moss (damp, not wet, packed loose) for rare, expensive, or difficult aroids. Wait to water the sphagnum until the top just barely is getting crispy. So I would toss the pot & bag. Rinse the cutting well and plant in a very tiny pot with pure sphagnum (damp not wet) packed loosely. Stake the plant for balance in a small pot. Raise the ambient humidity to (ideally) 50%+ if you can, try to keep the temps (ideally) from dipping below 20 C/68F at night (or a heat mat set to 23 C/73F). And at the very top of your list should be very, very bright light; where the sun doesn't actually touch the leaves except the early morning or late afternoon (approx. before 10 or after 3). You can get this kind of light by giving it the brightest indirect light available in your house, then adding a couple 100-watt equivalent LED (or greater) bulbs above it in a floor lamp or hanging fixture. That extra light really helps to perk up distressed cuttings. So warm, bright, humid, and soil that can get almost-dry frequently. :)
