Right now, Monstera Deliciosa is a stylish and well-liked houseplant, and it’s simple to understand why. The room’s broad, glossy, dark-green leaves have a tropical feel to it, and under the correct circumstances, they develop swiftly. In fact, this plant’s potential for growing too large for some homes is one of its only drawbacks. When a Monstera grows large, it often tips over or leans to one side.
How can a Monstera Deliciosa be kept from leaning over? Staking a Monstera Deliciosa with a support like a moss pole, trellis, or garden stakes is the best way to keep it growing upright. These natural climbers can be trained to climb these poles by being connected to them, and they will be supported as they do so.
Although a Monstera won’t be harmed by not growing upright, most people like them to be as straight and tall as possible for aesthetic and spatial reasons. To help you keep your Monstera looking the way you want it to, I’ll go into further depth below why why this occurs in the first place.
How can I let my Monstera to grow?
Over the past few years, monstera plants have gained popularity as house plants, in part due to their capacity to create a huge, jungle-like interior in your own home. However, this could quickly become an issue because Monsteras could fast outgrow your available space.
Monsteras grow outward, not upward like other huge houseplants that have a tree-like growth pattern. The good news is that because Monsteras are climbers by nature, encouraging it to grow upwards can actually result in a healthier plant.
But how can you get Monsteras to start climbing? Although Monsteras may naturally climb, using a support is one of the greatest ways to encourage your Monstera to do so. Typically, moss poles, coco coir poles, trellises, and stakes make the ideal support systems.
However, as Monsteras may adapt to a variety of supports, you are not required to use any of these entirely.
How can a Monstera be taught to scale a wall?
Your Monstera should be allowed to climb since it is not only natural for them but also looks fantastic! The majority of Monstera enthusiasts prefer to offer some sort of support for the plants, like a totem pole or pole covered in moss.
Monstera plants develop tendrils covered in aerial roots to aid in climbing. Monsteras’ aerial roots provide a variety of functions in addition to absorbing moisture and nutrients from the atmosphere. In the rainforest, they also cling to the rough surfaces of big trees to aid the Monstera vine’s ascent to the canopy—exactly what a moss pole may accomplish for your indoor plant.
Not all Monstera climb, though. In hanging pots or baskets, some kinds, such as Monstera adansonii, produce a stunning display. Additionally, they can be stacked on top of bookcases, filing cabinets, or even the refrigerator’s top and left to hang over the sides.
It is ultimately a matter of personal opinion whether you let your Monstera climb or decide to let the cascading vines fall freely.
To add some variation, teach some of your Monstera plants to climb while allowing others to trail from pots or baskets to display their eye-catching foliage. Or, to create a Monstera climbing wall, group many Monstera plants together and build a trellis (or latticework) against the wall.
Why won’t my Monstera get up?
The Monstera prefers persistently moist soil. Make sure your plant is not being overwatered or overgrown. Water according to a regular schedule when the top 2-3 inches of soil are dry.
You can see weak, drooping, and perhaps even turning dark leaves if you unintentionally let the soil on your Monstera plant dry out completely. A thorough soak is necessary if the soil is very dry over the entire container.
How to soak-water your Monstera is as follows:
- Without the saucer, put your plant in the sink or bathtub. Pour roughly 3 to 4 cups of water into your basin. Check to see if the water is warm.
- Give your plant at least 45 minutes to absorb water through the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot.
- After giving your plant a soak, feel the soil’s top to see if the water has gotten to the top 2-3 inches.
- If the soil on your Monstera doesn’t feel completely saturated, water it a little from the top to hasten soaking.
- Drain the sink or tub once the soil of your plant is evenly moist, and then leave it to rest while it completely drains. Put the plant back in its proper place on the saucer.
As a tropical plant, your Monstera will flourish in more humid conditions. By regularly spraying the leaves of your plant, using a pebble tray, or placing a humidifier close by, you can raise the humidity level in the area around it.
What causes my monstera plant to sag?
Due mostly to its spectacular leaves, the Monstera deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant) is a common houseplant. Although they are simple to care for, these fellas do have one drawback: if they feel neglected, they have a tendency to pout, which may cause your Monstera leaves to droop. Don’t panic too much. They can quickly be persuaded to recover with a little loving attention.
The most frequent cause of drooping monstera leaves is dehydration. They prefer their soil to always be just moist enough. Other contributing factors include overwatering, poor lighting, issues with fertilizer, pests, or transplant stress. The most crucial step in restoring your plant to health is figuring out what the issue is.
Do I need to support my Monstera?
Cheese plants are epiphytes, which means they are vertically growing plants that use the support of other plants in their environment. Therefore, growing cheese plants on a moss pole is a perfect imitation of how they naturally grow. For cheese plants, moss poles provide both the environment it requires to lift its heavy stem upright and an attractive aesthetic.
A sturdy stake that is a little bit taller than the plant is required. Cut a piece of fine mesh wire just big enough to wrap around the stake using wire snips. The wire mesh hoop around the wooden post is securely fastened with wood staples. Use sopped sphagnum moss to complete this cheese plant support. The moss should be pushed into the mesh to fill in the area around the stake.
Without the stake, you may easily create a Monstera moss pole by just filling a mesh tube with the moss and securing the edges, although I believe the stake increases the solidity. Philodendron stems can grow to be quite big and hefty.
How is a Monstera trellis trained?
Trellises come in a wide range of sizes, forms, and materials and are popular choices for both indoor and outdoor climbing plants. There are trellises made of metal, wood, and even plastic. They come in various designs, including the conventional fan shape and even triangles that resemble a three-legged stool without the seat. You can create your own as well!
However, you can train an older plant and teach an old monstera new tricks! It’s ideal to put these when the plant is young and then train your monstera to climb it! Just a bit more effort is required.
Simply connect the vines and stems to the poles with soft string or even twist ties to train your monstera to climb the trellis. You should employ enough bonds to prevent your monstera from relying too heavily on any one point. This will stop the ties from slicing into the stems and vines of your plant.
Repotting with supports
Use of indoor plant supports with monstera plants has one major drawback: they might be a little tricky to repot, especially if your plant and supports are substantial.
Option 1 is not recommended if your plant is climbing the support on its own and is not fastened to the trellis or moss pole using ties. While the plant is still tied to the trellis, you’ll need to repot it, but fortunately, this isn’t too difficult if you have someone to assist you.
We wrote a piece with advice on how to repot a plant that is climbing a moss pole. Click here to see that!
You may easily untie the ties, remove the support, and repot the plant without it if your plant isn’t climbing the trellis or pole on its own and you can do so without damaging any aerial roots. To attach your monstera to your pole or trellis, you will need to replant the support and do so after that.
Although we don’t like this approach, it is a possibility if you don’t have access to assistance or if your plant isn’t yet capable of climbing on its own.
Nourish Your Monstera
Repotting your monstera every year or two and providing it with supports can help it develop tall, voluminous leaves. But no amount of supports or repotting will help if you aren’t feeding your plant properly!
Because it’s difficult to locate specialized monstera fertilizer that’s simple to apply, I designed Monstera Plant Food to assist my monsteras grow those enormous, gorgeous, fenestrated leaves we all love. You don’t need to keep track of a fertilizing schedule because Monstera Plant Food is specifically created for all varieties of monstera plants and is gentle enough to use with each watering. (This indicates that your plant will receive fertilizer!)
Do I need a moss pole for my Monstera?
Although Monsteras can flourish without a moss pole, including one more closely resembles their natural habitat. As epiphytes, monsteras rely on the support of tree trunks to flourish. They cling by inserting their aerial roots into the structure’s framework. You may create a more natural growing environment for your Monstera indoors with the aid of a moss pole. By clicking the image or link, you can check the price on Amazon.
How are Monstera aerial roots trained?
You must fasten the Monstera to the moss pole once it is in the pot with the plant!
This will be a little simpler if your plant is still a young one. Tie the Monstera’s stem to the pole without pulling or bending excessively, making sure the nodes touch the wet moss. As a result, the aerial roots will be encouraged to encircle and grow into the moss pole.
This technique might need to be repeated whenever there is fresh growth. You can cut or loosen the ties once the aerial roots of the Monstera are securely fastened to the moss pole.
Your Monstera might not want to bend as much to attach to the moss pole if it is already pretty mature. This will require that you go extremely gently. Once the stem is up against the moss pole, tighten the ties every week to continue dragging it in that direction.
If the aerial roots of the Monstera are particularly lengthy, it can be beneficial for you to prune portions of them back. It will be more difficult to train them onto a support the longer they are. The aerial roots will generate more roots if you cut them close to the node; these roots will then develop into the moss pole.
Mist the Moss regularly.
The moss pole will draw the air roots of Monstera naturally, but only if it is moist. Regular misting of your moss pole will help your Monstera absorb extra moisture for its large, attractive leaves.
Use VELCRO garden tie.
VELCRO garden ties are a fantastic solution for securing your Monstera to the moss pole. There is no need to be concerned about tying a knot that will be strong enough because these plant ties attach to themselves. They are simple to put on and take off, and they won’t harm your Monstera’s stem.
The stems can also be attached to the moss pole using cable tie (zip tie). At least until the support begins to get hugged by the aerial roots. I performed this procedure on my Monstera Adansonii.
Too little light
Plants affected by it will have lanky, slow-growing leaves. However, because these plants don’t receive enough light to produce food or engage in photosynthesis, the leaves may droop or wilt. Put your Monstera in indirect, bright light or purchase grow lights to solve the problem.
Damage
Drooping leaves may be a result of injury to the stem, roots, or petioles. It happens because the normal flow of nutrients and water is interrupted. Its leaves will become dry and droop as a result of this injury. There are further warning indicators that are comparable to a Monstera that is thirsty.
Dusty leaves
The drooping of your Monstera leaves may be caused by your failure to wipe them when they become dusty. Too much dust will interfere with your plant’s ability to produce food by changing the normal regulation of transpiration (increasing or decreasing).
For instance, if it increases transpiration, plants will lose more water as a result. If they are able to absorb as much, their leaves will droop and show symptoms of being submerged in water.
On the other hand, if transpiration is slowed or stopped, plants won’t extract water from their roots. Why? Because during transpiration, the cells that lose water will draw from the cells around them, and this will continue all the way to the roots. The xylem transports water in this manner.
Diseases
It’s doubtful that the majority of Monstera infections will result in drooping leaves. Some, including stem and root rot, will, nevertheless, obstruct the regular movement of water and nutrients from the soil. During this interruption, the leaves could wilt or droop. Root rot was previously discussed while we were discussing overwatering.
Why is my Monstera growing more and more?
You’ve probably seen the phrase “leggy” in houseplant forums or when trying to diagnose a problem with your Monstera. Despite how frequently the phrase is used, its definition is rarely given.
A Monstera that is spread out, with scant leaves and long stems, due to inadequate availability to light, is said to be leggy. A leggy Monstera tends to reach towards any available source of light. You may have noticed this in other houseplants as many different plants have the potential to become lanky.
How long does Monstera take to perk up?
1) Remove the yellowed/blackened leaf; the damage has been done and it is now an eyesore.
2) Place the plant where you can thoroughly moisten the ground.
Pour an amount of water into the soil that is equal to its full volume, very gently.
It goes without saying that water will exit the drainage holes. You must equally moisten the entire amount of soil.
3) Position the plant directly in the center of the window, and I’m hoping you’ll leave the blinds open entirely throughout the day. The plant’s perspective of the sky is significantly limited when it is off to the side. Every plant must have the broadest vista of the sky possible (and only some plants ALSO need hours of direct sun).
After completing the aforementioned methods, your monstera plant should start to grow again if its roots are healthy. Please do that, and let me know how it goes!