Why does my Monkey Mask Monstera have brown leaves?

A few years ago, the Monkey Mask Monstera was quite an unknown houseplant and was very much eclipsed by its relative the Monstera deliciosa. However, over the past few years, these incredible plants have been popping up in plant shops around the world. One of the issues you may find with Monkey Mask Monstera’s is that their leaves start to turn a little brown. There are two reasons why this might be happening and we have gone through them in detail below.

Not enough light

Although Monkey Mask Monsteras can grow in a variety of light conditions, not enough sunlight can cause brown leaves. You want to find a spot in your home that gets ample indirect sunlight. The number 1 thing you must not do if your Monkey Mask Monstera is suffering due to a lack of light is put it somewhere that gets direct sunlight. The leaves are too delicate and will scorch and burn during summer as the sunlight becomes very intense.

Low humidity

Humidity is often forgotten when it comes to caring for your plants. However, it is one of the main reasons why Monkey Mask Monsteras develop brown leaves. Native to the tropics of Central America, they will struggle in homes with dry air. This is especially bad during winter as the heating and lack of ventilation really dries out the air. However, there are some really easy ways you can up the humidity in your home:

Mist the leaves

One of the easiest methods for increasing humidity is misting with a spray bottle. We recommend you do this a couple of times a week. Misting also gets rid of dust on the leaves which is an added bonus.

Our top tip when it comes to misting is to never do it in the evenings. This doesn’t leave enough time for the water to evaporate before it gets dark. The cooler temperatures at night leave wet leaves susceptible to rotting.

Use a pebble tray

This one requires a little bit more set up work. Fill a tray with small stones and fill it two thirds of the way up with water. Make sure the top of the stones are dry. Then place your Monkey Mask Monstera on top and the water will evaporate around it over the course of the day.

One thing you must be careful of is that the roots and the pot are not touching the water in the tray as this will cause waterlogged soil and probably root rot.

Give your plant a wash down

Another way to instantly raise the humidity for your Monkey Mask Monstera is to give it a wash down. Just pop your plant in the shower or sink and give the leaves a good soaking. You want to keep the water lukewarm so you don’t shock or damage the leaves. We also recommend keeping the water pressure fairly low so you don’t accidentally damage the plant.

Showering your plant is also a great way to get rid of any pests that might be secretly living on your Monkey Mask Monstera. So it’s a great thing to do every once in a while, brown leaves or not.

Move to another room

If you have good lighting in your bathroom or kitchen then your Monkey Mask Monstera will definitely love it in there! Both of these rooms tend to have higher natural humidity due to steam from showering and cooking.

Buy a humidifier

These are a real game-changer when it comes to increasing the humidity for your plants. They are portable and affordable devices that keep a consistent humidity level in your home. You can sometimes set them to go on and off at a fixed time which means you don’t even need to remember to turn them on!

We recommend this humidifier from Amazon. We’ve been using it for several years and our plants love it!

Want to know more about how to raise the humidity for your Monkey Mask Monstera and other humidity-loving houseplants? Check out our comprehensive guide here.

Those are the two main reasons why your Monkey Mask Monstera may have developed brown leaves. You can find out more about how to care for your plant in our Monkey Mask Monstera care guide.