Why are my monstera leaves curling?

The 4 most likely causes

The cause of monstera curling leaves usually narrows to one of the items below, ranked by how often we see each in Growli's diagnostic chats. Work down the list — most readers find their answer in the top two.

1. Low humidity (Likely)
   Monstera is native to humid environments and struggles when household humidity drops below 40%. The first sign is crispy brown leaf tips, followed by pale, curling foliage. A humidifier, a pebble tray, or grouping plants together raises local humidity meaningfully.
2. Underwatering or letting it dry too long (Likely)
   Underwatering looks similar to overwatering at first — both produce limp, dull leaves — but the soil tells the truth. If the soil is dust-dry several centimetres down, water deeply. Monstera prefers when the top 2-3cm of soil is dry, roughly weekly.
3. Wrong light level (Possible)
   Monstera is a high-light plant and quickly turns leggy, pale, or stalled in low light. Move it within a metre of a south or east-facing window, or supplement with a grow light. It wants bright indirect light.
4. Spider mites (in dry indoor air) (Possible)
   Monstera is a spider-mite favourite in dry indoor air. Hold a leaf up to a strong light and check the underside for fine webbing or tiny moving specks. A weekly shower in the sink and raising humidity above 50% breaks the cycle.

Why monstera in particular

Monstera leaves curl inward along the midrib when the plant is losing water faster than its roots can replace it — a tropical hemiepiphyte's reflex to shrink the surface it transpires from. Check the aerial roots: when they shrivel and go crisp alongside curled, limp leaves, the whole plant is thirsty rather than diseased. Tightly curled new leaves that never flatten out as they harden off, though, usually mean the air around them is simply too dry.

Normal turnover, or real trouble?

A brand-new Monstera leaf arrives as a tightly rolled spear and stays curled for days before it unrolls — that is exactly how this plant grows, so don't read it as distress. It may even look crumpled and soft at first, then flatten and firm over a week or two. The curl that matters is on an older, already-hardened blade folding under after it had been sitting flat.

How to diagnose in 60 seconds

Run these quick checks before you change anything — the right fix depends on what you find.

• Is the curl upward (cupping) or downward (rolling)? Upward usually = heat or light stress; downward usually = water or pest issue.
• Check the newest leaves first — pests and herbicide damage hit new growth fastest.
• Monstera wants water when the top 2-3cm of soil is dry, roughly weekly. Push a finger into the mix and hold it against that: still damp well before it is due, alongside the symptom, is the overwatering signature.
• Check the underside of curled leaves for spider mites, aphids, or thrips with a phone-camera macro.

The fix — step by step

Lift the pot first: if it is light, the curl is thirst, so soak the rootball until water runs from the base and hardened leaves usually flatten within a day. Never respond by moving a curled Monstera into direct sun or dosing feed — both worsen it. If a new furled leaf is slow to open, raise the humidity around it; do not peel or force the spear apart, which tears the blade.

This is the recovery sequence Growli walks users through for monstera with curling leaves. Work through the steps in order; skipping ahead is the most common reason a plant fails to bounce back.

1. Identify the curl direction. Upward cupping points to heat or light stress; downward rolling points to water stress, pests, or cold shock. The fix depends on which one you see.
2. Inspect leaf undersides for pests. Hold a phone torch behind a curled leaf — spider mites show as fine webbing, aphids as clusters of green or black dots at the growth tips, thrips as silvery scrapes.
3. Adjust water or microclimate. If the soil is bone dry, soak monstera thoroughly. If the room is below 40% humidity and the species is humidity-loving, add a humidifier. If heat is the issue, move out of direct midday sun.
4. Treat any pests at the source. Rinse pests off in the sink, then spray leaf undersides with insecticidal soap or a neem-oil mix every 5-7 days for three weeks to break the egg cycle.
5. Wait for new growth. Curled leaves rarely uncurl. New growth will tell you if the cause is fixed — if the next set of leaves comes in flat, you have solved it.

When this can't be saved

Most cases of monstera curling leaves are recoverable, but a few red flags point to a plant that has gone past the point of return. If you spot any of these, consider propagating a clean cutting and starting over.

• New growth is thin, twisted, and fern-like (a classic herbicide-damage signature on monstera).
• Curl is paired with mosaic-pattern discolouration — that points to a viral infection with no cure.
• Every leaf curls within 24-48 hours of a single event — usually permanent shock damage.

Prevention

For monstera, the single biggest preventative is matching its native rhythm: when the top 2-3cm of soil is dry, roughly weekly, bright indirect light, and a free-draining pot with a working drainage hole. Outdoor edibles benefit from a thick mulch layer that stabilises soil temperature and moisture, both of which reduce curl. For indoor plants, keep a digital hygrometer in the room and aim for 50% humidity — humidifiers or pebble trays close the gap cheaply.

Common questions

Related guides

• What's wrong with my plant? — the diagnosis apps compared
• Monstera care guide — full watering, light, and feeding routine
• Is monstera toxic to cats and dogs? — toxic to pets, per the ASPCA
• How often to water monstera — the watering brief
• When to repot monstera — pot size and timing
• Curling leaves on plants — the full diagnostic guide across species
• What's wrong with my plant? — Growli's flagship diagnosis index
• Monstera — yellow leaves
• Monstera — drooping
• Monstera — brown spots
• Snake plant — curling leaves