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They get very large leaves measured over 2 feet wide on plants. So they are definitely not always going to be the little tiny plants you find in their grocery store. They get massive! They also get fenestrations and they do not stay these simple little heart-shaped leaves. Today we are going to help you grow your Monstera that large.
Watering
Depending on where they are in their journey and how mature they are they will need less or more water. When they are younger(less mature) they want a lot more water. More often they do not like to dry out too much. However, as they mature and grow bigger (especially after they start putting off aerial roots) they will need less water and you want to let them dry out.
It is the in-between here that a lot of people have trouble with. They go from these beautiful little heart-shaped plants and then switch over to this more mature plant. A plant that starts to fenestrate and wants to dry out more often. That is where people end up having a lot of trouble.
After the plant starts developing aerial roots it needs more aeration. It wants to be able to breathe and it no longer needs that dense humid soil mix around the root base. At this point in growth, you want to make sure that you are watering it often but not too much and you want it to dry out in between waterings.
Lighting
As far as lighting goes for Monstera Deliciosa, they want as much light as possible. They are from the tropical rainforest. Because of this, they get a lot more light than we could ever provide in our homes.
Unless you have big 9-foot high windows and you are shoving that plant in the high southern window right up against the glass that would be too much intense light for too long on a Monstera. They like bright, direct, light. They need that light if they are going to grow to be big monster plants.
If you are giving them too much light you will notice the edges starting to curl a little bit and you might see little burned brown spots on the foliage. That is when you know you need to pull it back a little bit. If you notice any burning then you can just move your plant. A little burn on a leaf is not going to be detrimental to the plant. It is not really going to slow down its growth that much either.
Humidity
Monstera Deliciosa comes from tropical rainforests in Central America. This means that they are used to higher humidity.
If you want them to get bigger more quickly then give them a higher humidity. Ideally, they like to be anywhere between 40% and 75% humidity. Higher than that can make Monstera have a few issues.
Depending on the maturity of the plant (especially in a house plant setting where there is not as much airflow going on) airflow is a very big thing with Monstera. They can rot if they don’t have enough airflow so that is another reason why you want to let them dry out in between waterings.
If you give them a higher humidity make sure that there is a fan in there as well. With their big leaves, they are more likely to catch some type of bacterial or fungal spores and if there isn’t aeration then it can stay on the foliage.
If you are giving them a high humidity anything over 75% you definitely should have good airflow. They can handle as low as 20% though so if you are in a more dry environment looking for a houseplant, this is going to still grow and be happy in that environment. This plant will be able to do that for you.
However, it is not going to grow as quickly because humidity always speeds up growth with plants but it is still going to survive and grow. These are very voracious plants. They get very large for you and they do not stop growing. Very little stands in their way honestly.
Fertilizer
Speaking of their tremendous growth! Because they grow so much so quickly, they are heavy feeders. They need a lot of fertilization.
You just get a standard NPK fertilizer like a 1:1:1 or a 10:10:10. They just need an even amount and they need it quite frequently. Follow the directions on your fertilizer and make sure that you stay on top of it. Do not miss a feed.
Every fertilizer will have different requirements. Depending on whether it’s a chemical fertilizer, one that’s distributed in your water, or if it is the little slow release over 3 months fertilizer. How much and how often just depends on what type of fertilizer you are using.
Make sure that you are fertilizing these plants regularly. That way they are getting as many nutrients as possible. Especially when they are younger.
If you want them to grow and put up their big fenestrated leaves. Part of doing that is the plant having the vitamins and nutrients. Light is what actually feeds the plant and gives energy. Photosynthesis enabled them to do all of these processes but the fertilizer is basically the vitamins that are going to help them to grow better.
Climbing
This plant is a climbing plant. It is a hemiepiphytic plant so it wants to climb all over the place. Majority of the time when we get a house plant we set it on a shelf or on a bookshelf or something and then we just let it sit there.
However, with Monstera they will not just sit there. If you do not give them something to climb they are going to go searching for it. They will go and try to clean your walls. They will try to climb your bookshelves. They will sprawl across everything on the floor if they don’t get something to climb because they are searching for that thing to climb.
They are used to having trees all around them and they are just going to sprawl until they find a “tree” essentially. If you want to keep them in check; definitely start pinning them up on a pole or you can do some type of plank or board. Lots of people like to put them up against the wall.
If you have them up against the walls, they are more likely to do a little bit of damage to your plaster or whatever because they have very strong aerial roots. Aerial roots were used as ropes at one point historically so that is how strong they are. Definitely keep that in mind if you decide to use a wall for support. they will be damaging your walls.
Fenestrations
A Lot of houseplant owners want these leaves to fenestrate and the way to do that is to give them something to climb. Basically, if they are spending all of their energy just trying to search out for their basic needs then they are not going to be spending their energy on actually maturing. So that is the big secret thing.
Fenestrations are the little splits or holes in the leaves that naturally happen. They are supposed to happen as the plant matures. The theory behind this is that, as they mature, they grow up into the higher tree tops and they have to be able to withstand higher wind forces. It makes them less resistant to the wind if they have slits and the wind can just go through them.
Another theory is that Monstera has the fenestrations in their foliage because it allows water to get through down to their aerial roots and down to their base.
So there are a lot of different working theories. Regardless houseplant lovers love to see the fenestrations. In order to get these, you just need to be able to let your plant mature and help them mature faster by meeting their basic needs.
Potting Mix
What do these plants want to grow in? They are hemiepiphytic plants. This means that they do not need a lot of soil as they mature. When they are younger they like to have something that is very moisture retentive. Something like a peat-based potting mix with some pearl light.
However, as they get more mature, they need less and less from those actual roots. They instead need more from their aerial roots. At this stage, they prefer a more airy mix. Something along the lines of sphagnum moss, bark, and perlite, all mix together into one.
You could also do a 50% pearl light and 50% potting mix that’ll work as well for you. Monstera does prefer something with the bark and the sphagnum just because the ph balances a little different in there.
They can still do really well regardless. These plants are definitely survivors. They are now invasive in certain locations so they are going to thrive no matter what you put them in.
They will just thrive a little bit better and mature a little bit faster if they are in a more airy potting mix. You would also have fewer rotting concerns.
Propagation
The one question that everybody wants to know when they find a plant they love! How do I make more of it? How do I propagate this plant?!
Monstera Deliciosa is a very easy plant to propagate. They basically just need some sort of node to grow. So as long as you have a node on your plant, you can chop it a little bit under that node. Then put it in water, sphagnum, perlite, or even soil to propagate. It just depends on what your preference is.
Another way that you can propagate this plant, is if you get it to produce any kind of fruit. You can then have that fruit dry out and then take those seeds inside. You just soak them and then you plant them in your media of choice and it will grow whole new Monstera plants as well.
Monstera Deliciosa is a very prolific grower. They are very easy to care for, useful for a lot of different things historically, and now they are useful as beautiful amazing house plants as well. We hope you enjoy them and this helps you take care of them while growing your plant more efficiently.
