brown/black spots and discoloration - over/underwatering or something more nefarious?
 

Hello, thanks for reading. My ventricosum maurelii has been thriving for weeks, popping out a new leaf every 20 days or so. now that winter is here, it's almost come to a halt in the 65° living room (heating is expensive!)—not worried about this.

More concerning are several discolorations i've noticed.

1 - one of the spots
2 - current soil condition
3 - is that an aphid?

marcellus - Album on Imgur

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions

Re: brown/black spots and discoloration - over/underwatering or something more nefari
 

All looks normal.....to me.
Yes that is an aphid..........no worries......they suck:)
Your plant will show more signs of distress as winter prolongs.....do not worry,they do that. Mine are pretty sad at the moment.
Keep your container on the dry side while the plant is not actively growing.
This plant can be choked back pretty hard while it is not growing and still give you great growth results in the spring.

Re: brown/black spots and discoloration - over/underwatering or something more nefari
 

My Ensete sleep with no roots and no leaves under my house at about 45F degrees for 6 months each winter, they are quite tough.

Re: brown/black spots and discoloration - over/underwatering or something more nefari
 

I used to grow bananas in Illinois, and put them in buckets in a dark corner of the basement in winter. I tested having a couple upstairs getting light and water, and once returned outside it made no difference, and actually seemed like the basement ones did slightly better. Maybe their dormancy saved them energy the others spent attempting to grow.