How to care for a monstera and get the split leaves

A monstera is one of the few indoor plants that looks expensive and is genuinely hard to kill, which is a good combination for anybody starting out. The thing most people want from one is the split leaves, and those are worth understanding up front, because a young plant will not have them no matter how well you look after it.

Why the leaves have holes in them

Monstera deliciosa comes out of the rainforests of Central America, where it climbs up tree trunks towards the light. The splits and holes, which have the proper name of fenestrations, let light pass through the upper leaves down to the ones below, and they let wind and heavy rain through rather than tearing the leaf off.

Two things bring them on indoors. Age, because juvenile leaves come out whole and the splits start once the plant matures, and light, because a monstera in a dim corner stays juvenile a lot longer. If yours is all solid heart shaped leaves, give it more light and give it time.

Where to put it

Bright indirect light. A metre or so back from a window with good light, or right beside one with a sheer curtain across it. Brown scorched patches mean it is copping direct sun, and small pale leaves with long bare stem between them mean it wants more light than it is getting.

Give the pot a quarter turn every week or two, otherwise it will lean towards the window and stay that way.

Watering

Water it properly when the top 2 to 3 centimetres of the mix are dry, and let the excess run out the bottom before you put it back in its saucer. In the warmer months that usually works out around once a week, and through winter it can stretch to a fortnight, but the finger in the soil beats any schedule you write down.

Yellow leaves are the standard sign of overwatering. Back off and let the mix dry out further between drinks before you go looking for anything more complicated.

Warmth and humidity

Anywhere comfortable for you is comfortable for a monstera, and it does not want to be in the draught from an air conditioner or right beside a heater, because both dry the air out fast. Brown crispy edges are the tell that the air is too dry, and a pebble tray under the pot is the simple fix for that.

Feeding

A liquid feed at half the strength on the label, once a month through spring and summer while it is actively growing, is plenty. Stop over the cold months when the plant has slowed down, because fertiliser going into a mix that the plant is not drawing on builds up salts and does more harm than good.

Repotting

Every year or two, or whenever roots are pushing out the drainage holes and water runs straight through without wetting anything. Go one pot size up rather than three, use a premium mix with a couple of handfuls of perlite stirred through for extra air, and water it in with a seaweed tonic to help it settle.

A mature monstera gets heavy and top heavy with it, so give it something to climb. In the wild it is going up a tree trunk, and indoors a bamboo or timber garden stake pushed down the back of the pot does the same job and keeps the leaves facing the right way.

Pruning and free plants

Cut off dead or damaged leaves whenever you see them, and shorten a stem that is heading somewhere you do not want it. Every cutting with a node on it, which is the bump where a leaf and an aerial root come off the stem, will strike. Sit it in a jar of water on a bright windowsill, change the water weekly, and once the roots are a few centimetres long pot it up into fresh mix. That is how most people end up with three monsteras.

The four common problems

• Yellow leaves. Overwatering, nearly always. Let it dry out more between waterings.
• Brown crispy edges. Dry air. Move it out of the draught and give it a pebble tray.
• No new growth. More light through the growing season, then a feed.
• Sticky leaves or fine webbing. Scale or mites. Wipe the leaves down and treat it, and check the undersides where they hide.

Shop related products

• Brunnings Premium Potting Mix 36L. The right base mix for repotting a monstera.
• Brunnings Perlite 5L. Stir a couple of handfuls through the mix so the roots get air.
• Seasol Seaweed Concentrate 600ml. Water it in after repotting, which is when the plant is most stressed.
• Maxicrop Indoor Plant Food Concentrate 250ml. The monthly feed through spring and summer.

Did you know we also stock the bits that go with it in the shop, including bamboo stakes for a climbing stem, terracotta and plastic pots, saucers up to 500mm for a big pot, and bypass secateurs for clean cuts. They are not on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what is on the shelf.

The mixes and the plant food are in the garden centre, and if you bring a leaf in we will tell you whether the browning is light, water or a pest.

More from the garden

• How much light do indoor plants actually need
• How to use a pebble tray to lift humidity for indoor plants
• How to stop root rot in your indoor plants

A monstera makes you look like a much better gardener than you are, which is exactly the kind of plant I recommend. Ask me in the shop, I am usually there.

Cheers,
Candeece