Hi all! I'm newly into plants but trying super hard. Found this monstera for 12 bucks, but it needs some sweet lovin'.

I'm seeing some spots on 2 of the lower leaves, are they fungus? Should I do the baking soda thing and is dish soap a good detergent?

One of the leaves is quite pale green and has some spots that look like burn spots caused by water splatters on a sunny day (I'm in Texas and this plant was outdoors at the grocery store- we're still having some pretty hot days). Should I cut it off?

Another leaf looks scruffy but feels robust to the touch. Any action there?

There are a lot of leaves that have been cut off- I noticed that the plant next to it had a shoot growing out of a cut stem, but it looked like a cleaner cut. Would it behoove me to use a sharp knife to trim those to see whether I can achieve a similar result?

I would like to use better soil once it's acclimated to the environment, and I will put it close to a window- just want to make sure I'm not infecting my other plants first.

I will take any advice y'all have, I'm so happy to have found this plant and really wanna make it happy.

Y'all are the best! Thank you!

The many brown edged cuts are old and are mechanical damage, won't affect the plant any further.

The yellow-edged brown spots are likely a sign of root rot due to overwatering or underwatering, I don't know if you should remove them but I don't think they can infect other plants unless via cutting tools. It may or may not be a good idea to repot now instead of later, I hope someone with more experience can advice.

The cut 'stems' are actually petioles (leaf stalks), they won't grow new shoots however you cut them. New growth comes out of nodes on the actual stem.

I would just leave it alone and let it acclimate to your house. If its been sitting at the grocery store no doubt its suffered some neglect

Hi HerNibs,

Does the pot that your Split-Leaf Philodendron (Monstera deliciosa) is planted in have drainage holes in the bottom? It's extremely important for potted plants to have excellent drainage to prevent oxygen depletion at root level and eventual rot.

Plants are transported in the back of enclosed trucks from nurseries to garden centers, grocery stores, etc. and can suffer mechanical damage during transit, as well as during the loading and unloading process. Plants can also be damaged when customers move them around, during the process of picking them up and putting them back, while trying to decide whether or not they want to purchase them.

The leaves on your plant that are showing the small brown spots with yellow halo's may be a fungal issue that occurs from high humidity and lack of air circulation. The breaks and slits on the leaves in photo #4 and #6 looks like normal mechanical damage that can occur when plants are moved, bumped, etc.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "Should I do the baking soda thing and is dish soap a good detergent?" Dish soap is a good detergent for washing dishes but I don't know what use detergent or baking soda has for on plants and I wouldn't advise using it on already stressed plants.

The damaged leaves of your plant won't heal or revert to a pristine state but I wouldn't prune any of them just yet, give the plant a few weeks to adjust to it's new home. New leaves that emerge should be fine.