The second summer hit my monstera started growing like crazy! I got my first leaf with both splits AND holes, and i was really excited! But lately it seems to have regressed: trunks (stems?) that were putting out split leaves are now putting out large but unsplit leaves, and the trunk that put out the leaf with splits and holes has gone back to just splits. What am i doing wrong?! I water once a week, or sooner if the soil is dry. I recently got millipedes, so i scaled back a bit on how much water i gave at feeding time, they seem to have gone away or just deeper. I add liquid food to the water every other watering.
Aroids with split leaves like this one typically only have them on mature plants that are climbing something. Your plant is old enough, but doesn't have a rough bark to climb on. In addition, remember this is a rainforest plant and would need increased humidity and better lighting to do really well. The occasional split leaf is normal enough with small specimens that have a year or so of growth, but this one is crying out for a length of bark to cling to. Looks like you are doing pretty well by it, but give it some bark and see what happens. (I've actually grabbed a split of aged firewood and used that.)
Ya i figured as much - i just put a garden stake in there recently, but i feel like, were the plant to grab a hold, it would just tear out. Ive heard stake 'pyramids' work well. I have trouble wrapping my head around how some bark would hold it up - does anyone have any clear pictures so i can get an idea of how i would go about it, what size the branch should be, etc? Also, is it too late to repot this guy? i think it may be time for him to go up in size but is it too late for him to get his roots settled?
