Ladies and Gentleman: Introducing, Her:
When I think back to when my husband and I first started collecting plants, we didn’t really know what we were doing. There was a whole lot of trial and error. Growing up in Florida, I never took notice of houseplants until recently. I can't tell if that's because I was too young to recognize them or if there really were not many to be seen. Now, everywhere I look, greenery abounds. From cartoons and movies, to cafes and doctors offices.
My plant collecting journey began like many others’ - with succulents. All right, now I don’t want this to turn into a succulent hate page but I have to speak my truth: Succulents are hard. After months of trying to convince my cacti to stay alive I began to branch out towards Bromeliads (still in the succulent family). I enjoyed my Bromeliads but there was something about them that just didn’t entertain me for long.
The day my life changed for the better was when my husband brought me home my first philodendron. A monstera Deliciosa cutting from a clients yard (given to him of course). The day I received my big girl was the day my love for indoor plants began to grow. She was a three leaf cutting not yet rooted of a mature mother plant. She now stands 5 Ft. tall and takes my breath away every day. Ladies and Gentleman, Her:
MONSTERA DELICIOSA TIPS & TRICKS:
Monstera Deliciosa, or split leaf philodendron is a species of flowering plant native to the tropical region of Southern Mexico. It is A fast grower and is even considered invasive in many equatorial areas. The leaves of a young Monstera start out growing as small and heart shaped, as the plant matures the leaves rapidly grow in size and begin to split and develop fenestrations.
Fenestrations or holes in monstera Deliciosa leaves are the product of the plant evolving to maximize sunlight captured by increasing the leaf in size but decreasing the energy of leaf cells to support. You can encourage your plant to split or produce these fenestrations by providing the base and stem of the plant with more support. Shop my moss poles here. Moss poles offer the plant support by holding or assisting the weight of the base and leaves of the plants. Allowing the plant to put more energy into creating new growth and root systems. for my large plant I have one basic pole in the center of the plant and most of the stems are supported by it.
Care Tips: I spray the pole ROUGHLY once a week to keep it moist and water the soil thoroughly when it is dry to the touch about two inches down. The more light this plant receives, the happier it will be. My big girl is getting indirect light all day with windows on all sides of her. I gently wipe the leaves down with a cleaning solution when I notice they are lacking luster (look out for my next blog post on products I swear by).
PESTS: I have dealt with all kinds of pests with all of my plants. My Monstera is definitely a more hardy plant and has not gotten infested or damaged from pests. I have however struggled with a fungal disease a few times with my own plant and my moms monstera cutting that i gave her off of the mother plant. In my experience fungal infections are best treated with neem oil. You can buy neem in a pre-made solution or a concentrate. I prefer making the concentrate myself for treatment of infections and infestations. If you notice signs of a fungal disease (yellowing leaves, change of leaf shape, spots, soggy leaves, the list goes on) first check if your plant is dry. If your soil is dry you can thoroughly water with the neem solution, if your soil is still moist or not ready for a full watering you can spray the top of the soil and the plant with the solution as well. Be sure to get all of the cracks, crevices, and the underside of leaves. For a fungal disease you may have to treat the plant a few times for complete recovery. It is good measure to treat your plants with neem often to prevent and protect them from pests and fungal infections.
Repotting: Monsteras are native to dense forests and like being squeezed in tight pots, i have witnessed giant mother plants double the size of my girl in the exact same pot size. How often you repot your plant is truly up to you but I recommend avoiding repotting this plant during Fall and winter months. When you are ready to repot your monstera, be sure not to plant it in a pot that is far too big for the root system. When the plant has too much room to grow it will focus energy on creating root systems as opposed to new growth/leaves. Definitely invest in a moss pole if you are wanting your monstera to be the happiest and reach its full size potential.