Hi There, I am hoping someone can help me. around 6 years ago I walked into a charity shop to see a very poorly cheese plant next to a radiator looking very sorry for it's self, I bought it on the spot and took my prize home for some TLC. I was advised to cut it back and so did (quite Brutally) Ever since I have had a juvenile plant that is straggly and rather pathetic looking! I have fed, watered, repotted cut off dead leaves but nothing seems to work! any advice on what i can do to strengthen it up. Every site I have been to mentions how large these plants grow but i do seem to have the exception to the rule. Please help!!!
A picture, in this case, will speak a thousand words. Monstera can be finicky, and seeing how yours looks will help us diagnose the problem so you can fix it and have a happier plant!
Monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant) Curiuos how it's being watered? What kind of light does it recieve? It looks over-potted (pot too large) The stones on top of the soil should really be removed, as it keeps the soil wet and can cause mold problems. The leaves on mine are still juvinille size and have not developed the splits yet, so they don't have a pole yet. I give mine bright filtered light, and only water when dry. I will be combining the two pots into one in the spring. Also have a variegated one that gets the same care, just a little more light.
what's the soil mix???? i've got mine in a mix of orchid bark, perlite and some regular soil. i water it every few days (mine is bigger than yours though) and i've found, when i slack off on watering, it doesn't do as well. so, i try to make a point of watering it at least every 3-4 days. when i got the cutting from a friend, he recommended to keep it moistish - the natural habitat IS a rainforest, so that makes sense. and i did see a difference when i went to weekly watering after the roots were firmly established. he also said to put it in a big pot because the roots would take off...so i've got the three pieces in a 10 inch pot. i don't think yours is in too big a container...the roots will fill in and the room will do them good. mine gets some direct light at dawn and for about an hour and a half and then it's very indirect until mid-day where it's getting some weak indirect lighting for another hour. temp is pretty warm - especially in summer as i don't put the a/c unit in the window of the room the plants are in. and i leave the windows open so they get the humidity too. in winter, humidity in the house isn't too much an issue - i have radiators, so it's always around 50%. these plants need more though, so a dish of water near the plant will help - either put the container on a dish filled with stones so the container isn't sitting right in the water or put a cup of water next to the plant. misting daily also will help. if you have forced air heat, then you definitely need to add something to increase humidity levels around the plant.
These are tropical plants and grow in the jungles of Central America, yet, if mine dries out, which it does for a couple of days, then gets well watered, it really doesn't seem to mind at all. I use the same kind of mix, mostly orchid bark chips, a little soil and some perlite mixed in which keeps it nice and airy.
Hi, Sorry for the time in reply - UK time zone! going to try to reply to all at once so here we go! My watering habits are far from perfect, i tend to let it dry out then soak it with tap water. I have wondered whether to use rain water from my water butt but have never gotten around to trying it! for the last couple of months I have kept the plant behind a chair in my front room in the hope of forcing it to grow up towards the light, however i moved it yesterday to a spot where it is lighter through the day but there is no direck sunlight (again I'm in the uk - we dont see the sun much!) I did put the stones on top as a precaution against my poor watering habits - they went on last summer but if the general concensus is to remove them then they will go. I have it tied to the moss pole because it is so straggly - if i undo the ties it flops everywhere! perhaps if i remove it and chop it back again? would there be a chance that it would grow back more compact? there is a lot of unfurled leaves on it at the moment so it seems to want to grow Soil mix, erm, regular garden compost purchased from the diy store! i wasnt aware that i should use anything special so.... what to do? I would be nervous about repotting it until it is a bit stronger! It is not potted directly into the large brown pot that you see on the photo - there is a slightly smaller, plastic pot inside that contains the plant, this pot does not touch the bottom so it drains through fairly well. Temperature in our house is generally 21 degrees celcious.
Hi Again, Just a status update! I have now removed the stones from the top and I think that may be a really good thing! Compost is very damp and a little smelly under them. I have also cut some of the more straggly bits back from the plant (leaving new growth at the bottom) I'll give it a while in it's new position and see how it goes! The compost is quite low now that the stones have gone so if there is anything special i should use to top it up.... i'm not sure what pearlite is? or is orchid bark ok to top up with? or should i leave well alone? one final query...(sorry!) to feed or not to feed? i've heard that you shouldn't feed a sick plant but does this class as sick? Thank you so much for your replies!
Glad you removed the stones.They look nice, but can keep the soil too wet and cause moldy smelly soil, not to mention a heaven for fungus gnats! If your seeing new growth, I would probably leave it alone in the brighter light until early spring. If things don't improve, you should do it now. Buy some orchid bark chips and perlite, both can be bought at places like Lowe's, Home Depot, I think even Walmart has them both, or a plant nursery where they sell the houseplant soil. Perlite is a porous light weight white in color material which is, "siliceous volcanic rock" Sometimes it can be found mixed in houseplant soil already, but you really should have a bag of it on hand for all your plants because it helps with drainage. When you do re-pot, I'd take off all the old soil first, then mix a little soil in with the other two things, Perlite and the bark (use mostly the orchid bark) I'll use a big bowl to mix it all together, like making a salad, lol. Monstera deliciosa's are tuff plants as long as they aren't too dry for too long,over-watered or given too much direct light. You might lose a leaf or two from the re-potting, maybe not, but you should see lots of new growth some time afterwords. Good luck with your plant!
Also notice that it looks like there are many new leaves developing on your Monstera. Sometimes it takes a while for a plant that has been removed from poor conditions to recover and start growing again. I found that with my monstera overwatering is the enemy. They seem to not mind a day or two of being dry, but constant dampness is a definite no-no. As to feeding, if it hasn't been repotted or fed in a long time, I think a little feeding will do it good. Just don't go overboard.
