Native to Central America, the commonly known Monstera belongs to the Family: Araceae. It originates from the tropics where it is relatively warm in the day & cool at night, preferring a warm & humid environment for it to thrive. The Monstera is well-loved for it’s fenestrations and is also know as the ‘Swiss Cheese Plant’.
There are a few varieties of Monsteras available out there. Some of the more common & easily found – and also
great starter plants;
Monstera deliciosa (not to be confused with Monstera borsigiana) and
Monstera adansonii. For hobbyists, some of the rarer/collector varieties include Monstera esqueleto, Monstera borsigiana Veriegata (Albo/Aurea), Monstera oblique and
Monstera Peru.
We’ve pulled together some basic care tips as a guideline on what a Monstera likes:
BUT please remember – plants are all living things, and have their own preferences and idiosyncrasies. What works for a plant in an apartment balcony, may not work for the same plant planted in an outdoor garden! All we can do is try to replicate it’s native environment and learn to understand what they like or not – ust like people ;)
We’ll be doing another blog on repotting & media type in a bit – but generally, we do recommend to repot your monstera once a year. Whether it’s to retain the same sized pot or to upsize and let your plant grow bigger – they’ll need a change of soil and also to split up if necessary. Everyone needs a little change now & again.
Watch our for our next instalment on this coming soon!
Oh, and one last thing... underwater NOT overwater ;) it’s easier to rehydrate your plant than to rescue it from root rot.
‘Til next time,
XOXO
