I remember it like it was just yesterday. My husband and I took a drive to our local Home Depot to kill some time. I never had intentions of snagging another plant to take home. I swear. I didn’t. But when I walked outside to the garden center and saw a tiny little Monstera cold and soaked from the pouring rain, I knew I had to rescue it and take it home.
It was a no brainer.
This was the beginning of my house plant obsession. I’ve seen Monstera’s all over the internet and longed to have one. It was fate.
Because this was when I just got started loving on plants, I wasn’t totally aware of the proper care a Monstera Deliciosa needed. After researching, Googling and Pinteresting, I felt confident that I could make this little guy happy.
Follow along to learn about Monstera Deliciosa Plant Care.
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Monstera Deliciosa Plant Care
Whether you are just starting out or an expert plant parent, it’s crucial to understand the essential needs house plants need to grow and thrive.
We want our plants to grow big and strong right? We want them to be healthy and remain pest free right?
So take the time to learn the lingo and basics to house plant care.
where to buy
Like I have mentioned, I bought our Monstera from our local Home Depot for only $6.00. I swear they priced it by mistake. It’s unheard of to find a Monstera Deliciosa for so cheap.
It came in a 8 inch pot and was already pushing out so many new leaves. Roots were popping out from the top and bottom. We immediately repotted. Only repot an inch or two inches beginner than the pot it is already in. We don’t want to put the plant into shock.
Aside from local home improvement stores, you can get your hands on a Monstera by checking out some local nurseries and garden centers that sell houseplants. You can definitely check Etsy.com as well. However, even though I am a huge fan of Etsy when it comes to getting house plants, I have been noticing several sellers are jacking up their prices for just a cutting of their mama plant.
If I were you, I’d first check out nurseries and garden centers. If you don’t have luck there and cannot get a good buy on Etsy, I would recommend going to Planterina.com, Bloomscape.com or other online plant sellers.
Monstera Deliciosa Plant Care
I mentioned I found our plant outside in the cold and rain. You will later find out the exact temperature and water requirements these plants need to survive but because I knew my basics, I already knew that I was going to need to give Monstera a little TLC.
For about 3 days after bringing him home, it kept, what I like to say, sweating.
This is what happens when plants get too much water. They sweat. It’s their own way of getting rid of excess water in their soil. You will start to notice little drops of water on its leaves.
Not only has my Monstera shed some water but my Golden Pothos also ‘sweats’ when I give it a little too much to drink.
It is totally fine to see this!
We displayed our Monstera on a side table in our living area. It was a little obnoxious I will admit. Having a 10 inch potted plant on a side table sort of kind of took over.
But we loved to admire it.
If you have pets that find joy in houseplants, please keep the Monstera out of reach as it can be very toxic to cats and dogs.
Related: Toxic Houseplants To Pets
For the first few weeks, we didn’t notice any new growth from our Monstera. It struggled to get healthy after being exposed to cold, wet weather.
I’d say it took about a whole month and a half to start seeing improvement.
Tiny baby leaves started to form and unfurl!
It’s always so exciting when our plants let us know we are doing a good job. Am I right?
Soil Requirements
As much as plants love water, sometimes too much water can be dangerous. I’ve already mentioned that houseplants can ‘sweat’ when over watered. This is it’s own way of coping and essentially, making themselves feel better when sick.
Monstera’s like to be moist but not drenched. They need to be potted in well draining soil!
Well Draining! Repeat after me.
To increase drainage, you can add some broken terra cotta pieces, gravel, rocks or sand to the bottom of the pot before replanting to avoid root rot.
Root rot can KILL your plants! We do not want that.
If you follow Planterina, like I do, then you would know that she recommends repotting Monstera’s in:
60% Peat Moss
20% Coarse Sand or Perlite
20% Organic Matter
If you are unable to make your own soil, then you can absolutely use Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix. I actually use this in almost all of my plants and it works just as good!
Transplant
The best time to repot your plant is in the early spring. Right before the growing season. If you are going to replant, I would also recommend fertilizing at the same time.
Don’t forget to only transplant to a pot size that is no bigger than 2 inches compared to the pot that it already is in.
Sometimes bigger is not always better…
Ceramic or terra cotta pots will do just fine but if you don’t want to spend the money on these hefty pots, just repot in a bigger plastic nursery pot and dress it up with a fun basket.
Related: 20 Affordable Plant Pots
As your Monstera grows, you’ll soon realize how big and wide it can get. A lot of plant enthusiasts recommend staking your Monstera.
This is not necessary but it is recommended. Staking will train the plant to grow up versus wide. If you are blessed with the space or prefer it to grow wide by all means do what you gotta do.
However, if you are like me, I want it to grow tall! We staked our plant right away when we started seeing a lot of new growth. This trains our plant to grow tall.
You can use these recommended stakes below:
If you’re not loving the look of these then you can easily use dowels like we did. This has worked just as well.
Fertilizer
Even though most potting soils have some sort of fertilizer, I would still recommend adding a bit of fertilizer to your Monstera.
We did right away when we repotted and I do think it made a difference. Like I said, it took about a month and a half to see some new growth.
Fertilizer is food for your plant. It is what makes it grow big, strong and healthy.
We’ve kept up with fertilizing about once every 2 months during it’s growing season and it easily has doubled its size since we first brought it home.
We like to use these Plant Food Spikes from Miracle Gro. They are super easy to use and so affordable!
Light Requirements
Like I have mentioned, we first had our Monstera on a side table in our living area. This is about 4 feet away from a West facing window and 6 feet away from a South facing window.
Based on how many new leaves it pushed out, I think it was happy.
But eventually it got so big and was overwhelming our side table and had to be moved. We ended up putting it in our loft in a corner facing West and South windows.
I’ll be honest, I missed it. We loved watching new leaves unfurl every week. We loved watching it grow and wrap around the dowel poles.
As a general rule of thumb Monstera’s will do best in indirect, bright light. The more light it gets, the faster it will grow. You will also notice that with more light, more fenestrations in its leaves.
After missing its company for a few weeks, we decided to bring it back down to join the fam. Our Monstera is now displayed beautifully next to a South facing window. Because it is so close to a window, we try to keep the blinds half closed to avoid any burning of the leaves.
It seems happy where it’s at which makes for one happy plant mama.
Related: Low Light Houseplants
Temperature and Humidity
Monstera’s are natural to a tropical environment. When caring for them indoors, our main goal is to recreate their natural environment as best as we can.
Monstera Deliciosa’s love the warmth and the humidity. If possible, mist the leaves once a week to increase humidity. If you have a humidifier, that’s even better. If you live somewhere that gets humid during the summer months, I would recommend putting it outside in indirect sun for a few hours as an extra bonus.
Monstera’s will thrive best when temperatures are between 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Watering
To reiterate, Monstera’s like to be moist but not drenched.
Too much water can cause root rot and ultimately kill your plant. It’s more important to increase the humidity rather than to water I would say.
Honestly, our Monstera does not get watered very often. Before watering, I like to check the soil to see if it is still wet. The best way to go about this is by putting your finger about an inch and a half into the soil. If it feels wet or moist, wait a day or two before the next drink. If it’s pretty dry then definitely give it some love.
The plant will tell you when it’s thirsty. The leave might seem wilted and not standing up strong. Just give it a quick drink of water and watch it stand confident again!
Be sure to use water that has sat out for at least 24 hours. This causes any minerals to demineralize. If you don’t have the patience for that, then filtered water will do. If you are able to collect rain water, that is the ultimate treat for our dear houseplants.
Make sure you water early in the morning to allow plenty of time for the plant to dry up before bedtime. Houseplants do not like to go to bed wet.
Propagation
Are you interested in making mini Monsteras? Then propagate silly!
It’s so easy and so much fun to watch grow week after week.
There are two common methods: water propagation and soil propagation.
Similar to propagating String of Hearts like in my String of Hearts Plant Care post, you can read step by step on how to water and soil propagate.
The same rules apply with Monstera.
If you have any questions or are confused about propagating Monstera Delicosa’s, please send me an email or comment below! I am so happy to help with any questions! Or check out Planterina’s Monstera Deliciosa Video Guide at 12:46 to see exact ways on propagation.
Happy Planting!
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