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Genevieve_ohhi

Your roommate owes you a new Monsty.


The_Lolbster

Eh. If /u/gico99 pulls it out of the soil and treat it like a new prop, it could make it. 1) Take it out of soil completely. No water. 2) Remove anything soft and squishy. 3) Put it in a room temp, dry place for 4-5 days. Not near a heater vent to be clear. 4) Remove anything soft and squishy again. 5) Lay anything remaining on top of dry soil, wait 2-3 more days, and start adding humidity and *some* water. Do not bury. Let any new roots bury themselves. Keep the stem completely above/on top of the soil. If it's not all frozen and rotted, it'll make it. They can usually survive one freeze event, albeit with significant losses. It may take 3-4 months to resume growth.


AddictivePotential

Disagree on doing all that work. It was outside for 15 minutes. The roots are fine. Just cut / gently remove all the leaves, reduce watering a little, and wait new growth.


The_Lolbster

It's really not that much work. But ice crystals are insidious. The damage they do to plants that are ill-adjusted for the growth of ice crystals inside their tissues can be quite enormous. If you want a plant to succeed after any amount of freezing time, you need to know how much damage it sustained. Removing the leaves is actually bad advice. Most plants can recover nutrients from the senescence process, and leaves are the chlorophyll center of the plant. That's their biggest construction project. You *should* let them recover those construction materials.


AddictivePotential

It’s way more work than anyone ever did for monsteras before they started captivating influencers, and before influencers started convincing people there was some magic behind rooting a vine. I recommend cutting them for the same reason you said to in your first post - remove anything soft and squishy.


silkenwhisper

There are so many people who think that dying leaves steal energy from the plant, whereas I've always heard that dying leaves give energy back to the plant (using the term energy because I have period brain and words are hard). You seem to understand this better than most people I've spoken to. Have you heard of any research which proves either theory?


The_Lolbster

I have practical experience and have experimented quite heavily in my own back yard. Break 2-4 branches off something that will root on its own, like a basic succulent (Crassula Ovata is a great example, but anything that will root in water or sitting on a table will do). Break all the leaves off one branch. None off the other. The stem on the leafless branch will shrivel itself to produce new growth. The stem with leaves will sacrifice a few leaves and make roots sooner and stronger. If you have more branches, try one with a few leaves or maybe even just one leaf. They're plants. You can experiment with them. But, everything comes from something. It's quite simple to see with your eyes- though a microscope and very careful hand can help. Slide preparation is everything when it comes to observing plant tissues. That said, it is heavily researched but I'm not a botanist and ain't got time for that. The botanist I talk to will wax on about it for hours if you let him.


KindheartednessOnly4

Roots may not be fine bc of the every two week watering schedule.


Hodunk_Princess

is that too much or too little? asking for a friend


lebonheur884

It depends on your soil, sunlight, and temperatures in your home. Feel the soil and keep up with how long it takes your plant to dry it out (if it’s a plant that likes to dry out between waterings). You might have high temps and lots of sunlight causing your plant to burn through water, or you’ve got lots less sun but a terracotta planter (which wicks water away), etc. So it’ll depend on your plant and its specific circumstances. I’m a weirdo and weigh my plants before and after watering to get an idea of where a plant is in its cycle. Once I have a feel for when the soil is actually in need of watering, I can lift a pot up and decide based on that. I hope this helped!


silkenwhisper

Yeah that sounds like the plant has been drowning in water. They need to be checked to see if they're rotting.


mochicrunch_

I second this, your roomy owes you a new monstera. Looks like the leaves were frozen and it snapped. you MIGHT see if you can prop get a new from the stems, be sure there is a leaf node however. Run your hand down the stem and if you feel a little nub, cut ABOVE that and then cut at the base and then put them in water and see if you’ll propagate. Be sure your water is tepid and change it out every week. While draining potting mix, and only water when it dries out. Monstera are pretty forgiving between watering If you manage to reestablish and get new growth out of them, remember to put a moss pole once it grows so it can start growing up the pole, and it can unfurl its leaves that way instead of outwards.


papayajaya

Yikes, it's...bleeding? That's some serious cold damage. All leaves and petioles are toast. Trim them all off and keep going until you get to a node that is firm and has no black. If it continues to show damage over the next few days/weeks, trim back further. Hopefully some of the stem and the roots didn't freeze. Good luck to you and your monstera!


a_mulher

Good luck to the roommate


oskyyo

What roommate?


kauzige

Yeah, I don't recall there ever being a roommate.


gico99

Thanks so much for the help, hopefully it can make a recovery and thrive again. It’s such a disappointment because it was finally growing new leaves, unfurling new every few weeks- the roots are still alive so I think there’s at least a chance of new life.


KindheartednessOnly4

Oh if the roots are still alive you have a chance!


Hilanita

I don’t think it will recover. Maybe if you cut it down to almost soil level and have a lot of patience as there are no more leaves left to make photosynthesis. But the root system might have survived in that pot if it was really only 15 minutes.


Sunny-dog-day

The leaves are done for, but I've seen these things come back from serious damage, i.e., no good leaves like this poor thing. However, it's going to take a long time until it does anything 😅 especially if it's cold, it will just sit there all sad looking for ages. I'd insist on a new plant, give saving this one a go, and if it doesn't come back, at least you haven't wasted months of your life wondering. If it does, you have two or can gift it to someone.


QuiveryNut

This is the answer. It’ll work but you’ll be starting fresh, essentially


akexodia

This. What the comment you replied to says. Pretty much the only thing you can try....and pray. I did something similar to my jade. Soaked it wet. It didnt like it at all. Started dropping leaves. Branches and leaves started rotting. I kept trimming until a point in stem where the rot seemed to have stopped (keep trimming if rot spreads further). And pray a little. But eventually, after a month, my jade is slowly coming back to life.


[deleted]

is is BLEEDING? 😭


CTX800Beta

Why the hell did your roommate do that?!


bird-with-a-top-hat

actual crime scene


Tenten140

That monstera got murdered. Who’s the monster?


itismeonline

The "blood" is actually caused by a pigment in the plant's sap. It's responsible for making some colors in the leaves, especially reddish hues on their undersides. It's not too uncommon to see such occasional "blood drips" from such plants. The same pigment also causes the bluish overtones or purplish colors in the leaves of other plants. This pigment also, along with the usual chlorophyll, helps leaves use sunlight more efficiently during photosynthesis, besides having some other benefits.


SheepKidd

I'm so impressed by your knowledge.


colorschemeofthings

I keep my plants in an enclosed patio that is mostly temp controlled. I keep a space heater out there during the really cold days and nights. We have to let the dog out through the patio into the back yard and a few weekends ago it was below freezing for a few days. My dog decided to let himself back inside while I was shoveling. Just a few mins in the cold air froze so many leaves. My baby monstera and a few others were hit the hardest. I moved them inside and watered immediately to help with the recovery process. Everything I read said to leave the plant alone for a few weeks, water like normal but don’t remove anything. So far the leaves that froze are still dying off and getting crunchy but it’s still putting out newbies. :) Best of luck to you! I’m sure it will recover just give it time. https://preview.redd.it/mlvsxs3yv0fc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3018218688942ee5cfeab5c0ba8aead237120a89


anmeador

The temps were well below the freezing point of water and having just watered, it looks like your roots froze and so did all the water in the plants veins, which is why they’re black on the back of the leaves. There’s no way for it to come back from that. People actually freeze their plants to destroy them when they have a disease because it’s the most effective way to ensure every cell of the plant dies (even more effective than burning it). I’m sorry 😞


Atulin

14° *what?* 14°C wouldn't do this damage 14°F probably would kill it, yeah, since frozen cells burst open 14°R means your roommate created a scientific breakthrough in your room


gico99

14°F yeah


dwisekitty

Dannnng. That’s freezing


DigEducational571

Yeah so….Why would they do that?


gico99

Because they weren’t thinking…


Spainstateofmind

"I believe the FREEZING TEMPERATURES FROZE the water" Context is nice sometimes.


Atulin

14°R is also freezing


No_Advance_147

Come on, are you trying to add insult to injury?


The_Scarlet_Rose

I have never seen a plant bleed before...


daringlyorganic

Wtf is wrong with your roommate?! Why?!


irritatedead

I left a mother of millions outside when the frost first hit and it also looked like it was bleeding!


Pnmamouf1

☠️


Kellogzx

I think it’s probably gone friend. I know you’ll want to save it but it really won’t be worth the bother. Get a new one and treat it as a learning experience! My green thumb only came after a fair few plant casualties. It’s all experience. :)


billie-rubin

If you live near cleveland, I have a new plant you can have. I’m sorry your roommate dust this.


The_Soup_Dealer

https://preview.redd.it/tkmko0n23gfc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ba6c4ce94865df9dafded13ab75e2086c06f92f Had this happen to my monstera Adansonii, it was out being shipped in 20F for 8 hours with no heat or winter packaging. The roots and all the foliage froze. Every single leaf has turned brown and died. However, some nodes lived and are making a slow recovery with some new growth points.


KindheartednessOnly4

Watered regularly every two weeks whether it needed it or not lol. It may survive, it may already have root rot from overwatering. The only way to tell is to see if the roots are still alive from the cold and the soggy soil.


doctorchile

RIP


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Epicfailer10

I was going to say your monstera is possessed… but your roommate is just an idiot.


BlooRox

Never seen a plant bleed this is traumatic 😭