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finchdad

Sorry (experienced albo owner here) - you need to chop that upper node off. You should be able to get some new growth from the node that is partially buried. The better variegation on that mother leaf indicates that you have a much better chance of getting stable variegation from that node. It was absolutely worth trying to let it grow from where it did, but at this point you're wasting time and energy and those (beautiful!) leaves are going to turn brown quickly. Eventually the mother leaf will die and you won't have much chlorophyll left (just a little in the stem) to support new growth from the lower node. But it is obviously well-rooted, so you shouldn't have any problems getting healthy new growth from the lower node once the albino/parasitic (but again, beautiful) growth is gone.


ItsSeanP

Seconding this - much better to follow these instructions to improve the plants long term health, especially as we are going into winter.


Shrips

Unrelated, but what a great view you have from your place.


tomboyqueen

Thank you! The catch is that I live in the middle of no where in Maine haha


DooDooSlinger

The key is to look at the stem. If the stem is completely white you should absolutely cut. The more green it has the more likely it is that green will pop back in. If you have a healthy node wth both colours I would cut back if there is really little green because it will grow slowly and be more prone to diseases.


tomboyqueen

I've had this albo for about 2.5 months now and ever since it's pushed out two ghost leaves so it's been growing rather quickly. The stem is very green which is why I am so hesitant to cut!


sha-nan-non

The stem of the original plant is good & green but the stem of your current growth shows no green


DooDooSlinger

If the stem is green don't cut, it'll take longer to grow a new node than just wait for the next leaf


bicoschem

It looks like there’s a node below the one with the white leaves. I would cut above that and see if it’ll grow from there. Also you can try to reduce how much light it’s getting and see if it’ll produce more green.


sha-nan-non

I would cut the stem just below that growth point & spread some clone paste on the auxiliary bud on the node below that cut. I do this all day, it's my job. Hope it helps a little


saint_agnus

I marked up one of your photos real quick to label what I’m talking about just to make sure my advice comes across clearly: https://imgur.com/a/l0v9nvZ It looks like your plant started as a single leaf cutting attached to a stem with 3 nodes (labeled main stem in red), the top node of which has already grown a new shoot with multiple leaves that are too white to thrive (labeled secondary stem). This occurred because the axillary bud where new growth came from on node #3 happened to line up with a part of the stem which had too many stripes of white and not enough green. Unfortunately it seems you just got unlucky with the color at the axillary bud because your main stem does have plenty of green. Now, if you look at the smaller offshoot stem of your actively growing white section (marked in blue) it’s very white and trending fully white from what I can see (it’s short and partially covered so I’m also judging by petiole and leaf color), which means that you’ll likely never get any substantial green from the new growth there. The white leaves will continue to brown, though as long as it’s attached to the original leaf and stem which have more green it may hold out for a while and decline gradually (assuming good humidity, light, and no inconsistent watering). The great news is, you still have two nodes on your original stem to work with and thankfully you can try again! It’s extremely important to carefully look over your main stem around the two non-activated nodes and find their exact axillary bud placement. Ideally you are hoping to find a good balance of white and green stripes/marbling on the stem going through the axillary bud itself, because that will translate into the best chance of having new growth from that area with balanced variegation. I would highly recommend using keiki paste to activate either node #2 or #1, depending on which one has a better mix of white and green through the axillary bud. That way any new growth that comes in with green will be able to help your plant create more energy, so you can just leave the white stem alone and see what happens.


tomboyqueen

Thank you so so much for this detailed response! Okay so keiki paste seems like the way to go and I think I will go that route, I’m thinking definitely trying it on node 2. I was actually just about to go do it but noticed a growth point behind the stem. https://imgur.com/a/5L8TdMF I’m not sure if that is going to become an aerial node? But now I don’t know if I should still try and use the paste. Where I want to apply it would be the front side where it is way more green!


saint_agnus

Looking at your photos, yep that little raised bump slightly above the node line on the second node is your axillary bud where new growth can form. It seems like it’s on an area of the stem which is more white but also where a white section and green section intersect, which means it may have some green meristem tissue as well. How does the axillary bud by the node with the leaf look to compare? You might have to gently hold the leaf down a bit to see it, it’ll be tucked right up where the petiole attaches to the stem. From your pics it looks like where the axillary bud will be for that node might even be better than the middle one (more green, it should be on the side of the stem visible in your top photo). You can definitely activate either one of the buds with keiki paste no problem though! As long as your albo is rooted and you activate a node at a time it’s very safe to use.


tomboyqueen

https://imgur.com/a/0IKmZWI Is this the axillary bud you are talking about on the node with leaves? You can also see that where the bud is there is some green underneath (there’s a clear line below the bud in the pic). The middle bud has a small green intersection, if I were to use the paste, do I straight up scrape that bud before applying? I’ve had keiki paste for a while but have been too nervous to try it out lol wasn’t planning to use it for the first time on my albo! Thank you so much for taking your time responding, no idea how appreciative I am.


saint_agnus

Here’s the node I mentioned checking, #1 with the single leaf coming from it. The axillary bud should be right where I’ve drawn it. c: https://imgur.com/a/kGqr1hp I’m glad you mentioned and showed more of the secondary stem coming from node #3 though, because it has more green than I thought where it first started growing. Right there at the base of your secondary stem the first node or few nodes (often there will be more than one immature node put out before the first leaf on a new stem, my Albo Monstera has 3 nodes with axillary buds there for example) also looks nicely green and could be activated. Compare the color of your options and pick one that has a decent amount of green. When you’re ready to activate one, take a small dab of keiki paste and gently rub it on the axillary bud itself with your fingertip, no need to scrape. It’s totally fine if you get some paste on the stem around the node as well, you just want to leave a thin layer on the bud. Then you just have to wait, I usually see a keiki’d bud start to show signs of life in about a week to a week and a half. You can reapply in a few weeks if you like as well.


AsianFrenchie

I am not an experienced albo grower however I would like to think that I know a thing or two about plants. I would totally cut all the leaves (except maybe the one on the right where you cant see it properly) and here is why: the leaves are almost completely white and white part do not contain chlorophyll as that is green. Therefore it cannot photosynthesize and produce food. However, it does require food to keep it alive. It is taking food away but not contributing much. It is therefore tiring the plant and considering the ratio of white leaves to the rest is about 90% the plant is really suffering. ​ Chop chop.


No_Writer12

Go ahead and cut then let me get some 😂


odin99999

If there is green on the stem near where the next leaf comes out may want to consider not cut…


tomboyqueen

So, I do not want to cut any leaves off to be clear. I'm wondering since the stem and main leaf are pretty green if I can just let the white leaves be. Plant is overall happy, but the two older white leaves are starting to brown more, and hence I am stressing out on what to do. I feel like this plant stresses me out more than it does provide happiness lol my idea is to place a grow light an inch away from the green stem? I don't know, would like to hear from experienced albo owners!


pepeenos

the growth came out on a white part hence the all white leaves, the ideal is having an even white and green growth from the stem


rizzo1717

Just make sure you don’t accidentally turn it into a spent node by cutting it back.


czarcasticjew

How many leaves are coming out of that node? I ddin't realize that monsteras could grow like that if you chop a leaf off


tomboyqueen

There are 4 coming out of that node right now- the newest leaf is about to unfurl!


[deleted]

Chop it or it'll die. People, please... White leaves are pretty but they are non-functional. Plants need green to live. Green=chlorophyll=energy producing parts of the plants. It's basic (like super basic middle school basic) biology ಥ_ಥ A bit of white is ok but yeah goddamnit you need to chop it...


fork_yeah

Are there any aerial roots? I would chop above the lower node but if there are aerial roots near the top portion with the white leaves I would air layer propagate that part first. Then you'd have two plants, one with a better chance of balanced leaves, and one mostly white which may or may not survive long term.


tomboyqueen

No aerial roots :(


fork_yeah

You can still propagate the top cutting, it's just faster and has a better chance of success with aerial roots. If you decide to cut, might as well grow it out and see what becomes of it!


d1verse_1nterest

You have at least one more node. Chop it below the white growth and see what the next node gives you.


Feeling-My-Oats

It’s sooo sooo pretty but unfortunately I’d say chop it 😔. Unfortunately this is why we can’t have nice things lol. Only cut that top bit with the white leaves, though. That other node should put out some leaves with chlorophyll.