Product Description:
Monstera is a tropical plant from the Araceae family. Its name, as one might guess, comes from the Latin meaning “abnormal” because of its odd-looking, perforated leaves that are often punched through with holes. These climbing, evergreen perennials can reach up to 60 feet or more in height in their natural habitat. In your home, they can reach about eight feet in height. Their leaves alone can measure up to 2 feet long. Due to the impressive height of the monstera deliciosa. Native to the rainforests of Central America, the big, bold Monstera deliciosa plant is also known as the “split-leaf philodendron.” This easy-to-grow climbing evergreen can be found in many designer spaces for its “wow” factor.
Light:
This evergreen prefers bright, indirect sunlight in temperatures that remain consistently between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Too much direct light in warmer months may burn the foliage.
When established in a container, it requires peat-based potting media. Outdoors, it is suitable for light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with acid or neutral PH.
Water:
Give the plant regular water during the growing season every one to two weeks. Water until excess drains through drainage holes. The soil will need to dry out slightly in between waterings. Water only occasionally in fall and winter.
Fertilizer:
Choose a balanced liquid 20-20-20 fertilizer to feed the plant every few weeks during the growing season. Dilute 1/2 teaspoon of the fertilizer in a gallon of water. Use the diluted fertilizer in place of a regular watering.
Pruning:
Trim aerial roots if they get too unruly for the space, though tucking them back into the pot is preferred. Unlike some other houseplants, their roots do not damage surfaces. Stems and leaves respond well to trimming, and they can be used for propagation.
Propagating Monstera Deliciosa:
Monstera deliciosa can be easily propagated by stem cuttings from pruning. However, the most popular method of propagating Monstera deliciosa is air layering.
- Using a clean, sharp pruning shear, cut off a stem that includes a node (a little bump, which is where the roots will emerge), an aerial root, and at least two leaves.
- Put a dash of ground cinnamon (the usual spice you can get at the grocery store) on the mother plant where you made the cut. This will prevent any disease from entering the cut and will help the wound heal.
- Put the cutting in a glass of water. Change the water every three to five days, and if possible, use filtered water or rainwater over tap water.
- You will see a clump of roots growing in a couple of months. At that point, you can put your new plant in a pot with fresh soil and keep it moist as it establishes itself in its new home.
Potting and Repotting:
Every two years or so, the Swiss cheese plant will likely outgrow its pot. Transplant into a few inches wider and deeper to accommodate growth. This plant prefers well-draining porous pots, such as terracotta or clay, because they like airflow and drainage, however, any material pot with drainage holes will do.
- Fill the bottom third of a pot with peaty potting soil.
- Establish a stake gently for the stem to climb on.
- Set the roots into the container. Fill with soil around the roots.
- Firmly surround the stake with soil and use plant ties to attach the stem to the stake.
