The Houseplant Helpline – July 2025 Edition

by Evin Morrison, Extension Master Gardener

Help! My Swiss cheese plant is growing tentacles. What are they and is it bad for the plant?

Congratulations! You have a very healthy plant. The “tentacles” are known as aerial roots, and they are harmless to the health of your plant. In fact, they can be a sign that your plant is growing well and needs a little extra support.

Swiss cheese plant is one of the common names for Monstera deliciosa, a tropical plant that can get really, really large. In the wild, monsteras use aerial roots to anchor themselves to trees or other surfaces, helping them climb toward sunlight in dense jungles. In our homes, we usually don’t want them to climb and try to encourage a bushy growth pattern. As monsteras grow larger and get taller, aerial roots help stabilize the plant. If you do want a tall climbing plant the aerial roots will help attach and secure your plant when it’s climbing a moss pole or trellis.

Sometimes, aerial roots can become a little unsightly and messy looking so if you don’t want them on your plant, you can trim them. Again, it is not necessary to prune them, the only reasons to cut them is if they’ve become too unruly and aren’t aesthetically making you happy. If you choose to cut them, use clean sharp scissors so you don’t introduce disease into all the new open wounds.

Alternatively, you can tuck them back into the pot or guide them onto a support (like a moss pole) to help the plant climb. Aerial roots tucked into the soil will continue to grow and branch out and start to resemble the underground root system. To encourage aerial roots to attach to the moss pole you can use plant Velcro to secure them. Higher humidity will also encourage them to attach to the surface of the pole or trellis.

Be very careful with aerial roots reaching down to the floor; it’s best to tuck them into soil before they grow too far outside of the pot. While they aren’t harmful to your plant, they can attach themselves to your walls, creep under baseboards, and grow down under carpet. Many a plant lover has had to do a little home repair when an aerial root gets a little out of control. Aerial roots won’t damage your home like ivy or tree roots might, but they can be a bit messy or clingy if not maintained. With a little routine care (pruning, redirecting, or providing a support), they’re easy to manage.

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Help! My plant has brown spots on the leaves. One friend said it’s a bacterial infection, one friend said it’s sunburn and the Internet said it’s from being too dry. How do I figure out what’s wrong with my plant?

You’re not alone — brown spots on leaves can mean a few different things, and it’s often confusing because the symptoms can look similar. But don’t worry, here’s how to diagnose it step by step so you can treat the right problem.

As a first step, take a closer look at the spots. Bacterial infection is usually indicated by a yellow halo around the brown spot. If the humidity is too low for your plants, the browning will be crispy and mostly on the edges. Large irregular shaped papery areas that look almost bleached are a sign of sunburn. Dark brown spots that are mushy or “melting” is a sign of overwatering. Lastly, brown tips are a sign of low humidity or salt/fertilizer build up in the soil.

Next, observe which leaves have the spots. Lower leaves on the plants are the older ones, therefore if your plant has brown spots on those leaves, it could be a sign of natural aging. If the brown spots are on the new growth and appearing as soon as they emerge it’s more likely to be bacterial, fungal, or sun-related.

A lot of your plant questions can be answered by going back through your plant care regimen. Simply checking the plant’s environment can help answer a lot of your questions. Have you moved the plant into brighter direct sun? Maybe the sun rays have been hitting the leaves in the same spots as those new brown patches. Has the soil been staying soggy? If so, you might have root rot issues that are affecting the leaf growth. Did you recently mist it heavily or get leaves wet in low light? These factors can directly lead to bacterial infections on plants. Have you missed watering for a while? Your plant might be getting crispy simply because it’s thirsty.

So, what can you do now? Remove the affected leaves. Use clean scissors and disinfect them using a rubbing alcohol pad after each cut. If the plant has a bacterial or fungal infection cutting into the plant with dirty scissors can spread the infection. Next check your soil moisture and make sure it’s not too wet or too dry. Once the affected areas are removed, adjust your watering to better fit the needs of the plant. Additionally, improve air circulation and avoid getting leaves wet (water the soil, not the plant). Lastly, keep your plants in bright, indirect light. Most of the tropical plants we bring home can’t handle the harsh, direct summer rays. Pull them back from the windows a little bit, so the glass can’t magnify the rays and scorch your leaves.

Good luck, plant detective!