Why Is My Manjula Pothos Getting Brown Spots?

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Is your Manjula Pothos getting brown spots on its leaves? If so you need to determine the exact cause so you can stop any further damage to your Pothos plant. Find out what can be causing brown spots on your Manjula and what you can do to fix it.

Why is My Manjula Pothos Getting Brown Spots

Why A Manjula Pothos Could Have Brown Spots On Its Leaves

  • Being overwatered.
  • Being underwatered.
  • Change in its environment.
  • Burns from being in direct sunlight
  • Low humidity levels.
  • Pests.

Brown spots on the leaves of a Manjula Pothos plant are usually the first sign that something is happening that the plant doesn’t like. But what exactly is causing the brown spots can be due to a number of issues that require a bit of investigation on your part to figure out. If your plant is new, the spots could just be from stress. Direct sunlight could be causing burns on its leaves. Your Manjula could be getting too much water or not enough water. The humidity levels could be too low. Or it could be annoying bugs causing issues.

Overwatering Your Manjula

Overwatering is usually the number one reason that Manjula Pothos get brown spots on their leaves. This type of Pothos is very sensitive to having too much water.

When any plant is left sitting in soggy soil the roots become starved of oxygen. This will lead to root rot. But one of the early signs of issues due to overwatering, before root rot sets in, is brown spots.

To see if overwatering is the cause of the spots you want to check your soil moisture levels. If the soil is not drying out and keeps staying moist or soggy then overwatering could be the issue.

You need to allow your Pothos to dry out between watering. This is especially true for Manjulas. Many Manjula owners will let their plant start to droop a bit and make sure the soil is completely dry before watering it again.

You also want to make sure that your plant is able to dry out by having well-draining soil and a pot that allows for drainage.

Brown Spots Due to Underwatering Your Manjula

Most often, when you get brown spots due to underwatering the spots will be accompanied by brown edges appearing on the leaves too. This is an indication that the plant is going too long of a period between watering.

While you want to water your Manjula once the soil is dry and it just begins to droop a bit, you do not want to wait longer and let it start to wilt.

To fix brown spots due to not enough water for your Manjula decrease the amount of time between waterings and pay close attention to the cues your plant is giving you. Once you see dry soil and a slight droop to the leaves water the plant at that time. Your Manjula might have one leaf, in particular, that is an early indicator like mine does. Once you see this one particular leaf droop it is time to water, don’t wait for the rest of the plant to follow suit with drooping.

Brown Spots on a Manjula Pothos Due to a Change in Environment

Whenever you change the area a plant is in it can cause issues to arise with the plant. These changes that cause the plant to have issues could be anything from turning on the AC or heat, getting too much sun, to getting a new draft due to a window being open. Or it could be you just brought the plant home and everything that it was used to has suddenly changed.

All of these issues can cause stress on your Manjula Pothos and result in brown spots starting to show up on older leaves.

If you start to notice brown spots appearing and you have changed the location of the plant or something in the room that it is in then this could be what caused the spots.

The way to remedy this is time. Your plant needs time to adjust to new surroundings. However, if the issue is due to a constant draft, from a window being open or an AC vent that blows directly on your Manjula, then you need to move the plant.

Give your Manjula Pothos the proper care and you should start to see healthy new growth on the plant.

Brown Spots on a Manjula Pothos Due to Direct Sunlight

Pothos plants do not like being in direct sunlight. This is especially true for a Manjula due to the increased variegation on its leaves. When the plant is in a window and the sun shines directly on it for extended periods of time this will cause burn spots on the leaves. Most likely when the sun is the cause the white spots will be on the light areas of the leaf.

To fix this issue you want to move your plant away from the area where the sunlight will be directly on the plant. If this is not feasible then you want to find a way to filter the sunlight coming through the window. Often people will use sheer curtains to do this.

Humidity Levels Too Low

Pothos are tropical plants and therefore prefer humidity levels over 40%. But sometimes this isn’t always achievable, especially in winter when the heat has to run. While they can adjust to lower humidity sometimes certain plants just like higher levels.

If the room is dry and you are sure your watering is on point, there are no drafts that the plant is sitting in and it is not getting direct sun then the brown spots could be due to low humidity levels.

The best way to raise the humidity for the area your plant is in is to get a humidifier. Pebble trays are also an option but these don’t boost humidity as much as a humidifier.

Pests

Pests can be the other reason that your Manjula Pothos has brown spots on the leaves.

Look closely at your Manjula. Pay close attention to the undersides of the leaves and on the stems of the vine to see if you find any bugs or webs. Pests that most often cause brown spots on Pothos are thrips or spider mites. Use an insecticidal soap or neem oil to help get rid of these.

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