Q. I need your advice for my monstera plant. The leaves are getting a little pale yellow in colour and the centre vein has tiny yellow dots. This has happened to all of the leaves. This plant was picture perfect but now, since the weather has changed, it’s not looking healthy at all. I live in Islamabad and have also covered it with a net on top. Can you please tell me how to make the plant healthy again? Thank you.

A. Other than the transplantation and growing age of the plant, there are a few reasons which may turn the monstera plant leaves yellow. From what I am able to gather from your photographs, the probable reasons can be nutrient deficiency or insufficient sunlight, along with watering the plant less or more than required. Sometimes during the winters, the water also takes longer to dry up, which results in water retention. If the soil is overly damp and retaining too much water, you may need to add in organic matter. My suggestion would be that you need to evaluate the likely reason behind the condition of the plant by closely monitoring it for some time and then rectifying the problem. However, if these yellow spots are turning black then I would suggest shifting the plant to a new, bigger container or space, since then the likely reason for these spots would be root rot.

Q. I have recently retired and want to spend some time gardening and I especially want to develop a kitchen garden. I live in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in Karachi and am getting help growing kitchen plants on my rooftop. I have ample space for that. Can you suggest some plants which I can start with?

All your gardening queries answered here

A. It is so nice to read that many more are adopting gardening as a hobby, which is beneficial for the environment as a whole. For beginners adopting rooftop gardening, I always suggest spending a couple of years to understand your rooftop. In this time, grow seasonal herbs and vegetables in both the summer and winter. Learn how different plants and vines are behaving at certain locations on the same rooftop. Different dimensions of the house, the length of walls with shades, sunlight exposure from different directions at various times or lack of it during a crucial duration, the air flow and even the direction of the house relative to the sun are crucial factors to consider when practising rooftop gardening. Once you fully understand your own rooftop, you’ll know exactly which vegetable, flower, fruit or herb to grow in what place.

My suggestion would be to always grow and eat organic foods. To achieve this, replace using a chemical fertiliser and pesticides with organic alternatives. Organic variants are beneficial for our own consumption, the pollinators and for the growing environment. Another suggestion would be to use much lighter grow bags instead of the heavy clay pots since they will help you carry your gardening material from the ground to the rooftop.

For now, you may prepare your soil for summer plants. The ideal sowing phase for summer vegetables is about to start i.e. from mid-January onwards. All the vegetables from the gourd family including cucumber, apple gourd, ridged gourd, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, sponge gourd etc., squash family including summer squash, round squash, zucchini, alongside egg-plants, green peppers, ginger, rhizomes, beans, spinach, lemons and many other can be grown in the upcoming few weeks.

Q. I just read your article in the paper and I wanted to ask you a question that has been troubling me. A few days ago, our housemaid mistakenly watered the plants with the waste water emitted by air-conditioners. Please tell me if this can be harmful for my plants. What should I do now to keep them safe?

A. As per my personal experience, during a recent water shortage, I used the condensation water produced by air-conditioners to water ornamental and flowering plants. There was no damage done to any plant. On the contrary, new flowers and foliage started growing. Interestingly, we found the leaves to be much greener than before. So don’t worry about it and happy gardening!

Please send your queries and emails to doctree101@hotmail.com. The writer is a physician and a host for the YouTube channel ‘DocTree Gardening’ promoting organic kitchen gardening

Published in Dawn, EOS, January 8th, 2023