Monstera albo cuttings can be rooted in a manner similar to how standard monstera deliciosa cuttings are rooted. The medium you’ll use to root the cutting must be chosen after you have a nice cutting.
Many people choose to water-root their albo monstera cutting. If you decide to use this technique, wait until the main roots start to split into several-inch-long smaller roots. Your albo will be more likely to survive the transition to soil if the roots are strong.
I advise utilizing filtered water with either rooting hormone or something like a little SuperThrive to help foster faster and stronger root formation in order to help promote a successful water propagation. Keep in a warm, sunny location.
I personally do not advise water rooting for plants that I am extremely worried of losing, though. This is due to how dangerous the transition from water to soil may be.
Expect no new leaf growth.
Monstera plants cannot develop from a single leaf cutting, unlike certain other plants like Sansevieria (Snake plant) and cactus.
Monstera plants grown without nodes will, regrettably, be unable to produce new leaf growth.
It lacks the tissue needed for cell division and the development of new leaves.
The leaf can survive without a node.
To keep turgid and fresh, the leaf will continue to absorb water by osmosis.
However, it must be situated in the optimal climate to prevent overheating and excessive transpiration, which would cause the leaf to wither.
Can a variegated Monstera be propagated?
Most indoor gardeners use unrooted cuttings since an established variegated Monstera plant is still so expensive to purchase. These are significantly less expensive, but you must understand how to root them.
As was previously mentioned, there are many cuttings available for purchase. A stem-only cutting, commonly referred to as a “wet stick,” is the most affordable but also the hardest and slowest to root since it lacks leaves.
Cuttings that have one or two leaves and are joined to a portion of stem with at least one node grow more quickly and are less likely to decay. They are, however, also somewhat expensive.
So how can you prevent a variegated Monstera cutting from wilting and rotting? Everyone has their preferred means of propagation, but a few of the most popular (and effective) ones are as follows:
- Using a wet stick to propagate variegated Monstera in water is a little challenging, however leafed cuttings can be used. Wait until the roots are a few inches tall before transferring the cutting to regular aroid plant soil. Keep the cutting in a glass with filtered water in a bright (but not sunny) place. Not the most popular choice because a plant may struggle after switching to soil.
- It is possible to grow variegated Monstera in sphagnum moss using any kind of cutting. Perlite can also be added. Once a strong root system has been created, transplant the cutting to soil while keeping the moss moist but not wet.
- Use leafed cuttings when propagating variegated Monstera in perlite or LECA. Fill your favourite medium into a cup without a drainage hole. Place the cutting so that it doesn’t topple over but is also not too deep, then fill it with water until it is one-third full. The plant should receive the ideal amount of moisture from the perlite or LECA.
Use a humidity dome like this one (or even a plastic bag) to maintain a high level of humidity around your variegated Monstera cuttings whether growing them in moss, perlite, or LECA. Once the plant appears to be well-rooted, you can remove this help. Additionally, some rooting hormone is always beneficial! (I’ve had wonderful luck using this rooting hormone.)
Can variegated plants be propagated?
I definitely collect variegated plants and am infatuated with them. Because of the pearl string’s variety, it is currently my favorite. Given that some kinds, like Variegated Monstera, cost astronomical sums of money, I had a few queries concerning plants with variegation. Here’s where my investigation led me:
A. The green pigment chlorophyll is absent from some plant cells, which causes variation in leaf color. Typically, a cell mutation causes it.
A. Plants can have genetic (inherited) or random variegation (chimeric). If the color change is hereditary, it is stable, which means that it will return to the new plant if you produce a green stem from a plant with colored leaves or plant its seed.
A variety of factors might cause variegated plants to revert or turn green. It could be a response to temperature extremes—hot or cold—or to low light levels. Some claim that since the plant grows stronger when it has more chlorophyll, it might have done so as a means of survival. When this occurs, it is preferable to remove the afflicted leaves because, if you don’t, the plain green foliage, which has more chlorophyll and vigor than the variegated foliage, may really take over the plant.
A. Variegation cannot be artificially created or done at home. To spread the variegated plant love, it is best to borrow a cutting from a friend or give your own away.
What is the time required to root a Monstera Albo?
It is a little difficult to propagate Monstera Albo since it grows slowly and frequently lacks distinctive variegation.
Cut a healthy stem with at least one node, plant it in a potting media (water or soil), and place it in indirect light for two to three weeks to propagate Monstera albo.
Voila! Your plant will be ready to produce huge, cheese-like leaves in a few weeks. Be aware, though, that not all plants that are propagated yield vibrant variations.
How long does a cutting of an Albo plant take to root?
I just bought a piece of the well-known plant Monstera borsigiana albo variegata. While the rest of the plant’s coloration ranges from light lime to the rich, saturated green of the non-variegated monstera, this plant’s white variegation appears as sectoral and splashed pieces of white, interrupting layers of chlorophyll.
I won’t lie; this isn’t my first time tangoing with a cutting of variegated monstera. It’s the second, and fortunately, I discovered the magic without needing a third! My initial cutting, which I got from an Etsy seller, was a single node cutting without a proper root. The cutting lacked the vitality to produce new roots when the aerial root’s lone nub either dried out before it reached me or perished after being submerged in water. Or perhaps it did, but I hesitated and kept trying to pot it in moss, soil, moss, and water. Up until, of course, it gave up, and a thin coating of dead cells transformed into rot that spread swiftly.
This second one was a three node cutting with two root segments emerging from the stem that I bought from the same etsy vendor (it wasn’t their fault I couldn’t get the thing to root!). It was a cutting that had been considerably more prepared, and by that I mean that the plant was able to withstand any newbie errors I put at it, just like the previous time. This cutting had an easy time thanks to the numerous nodes, the pre-existing root nubs, and the two leaves available for photosynthesis. Here is how the leaves and stem appeared on the first day:
As you can see, on the journey to me, root tips had already begun to sprout. Although those little nubs couldn’t yet absorb water, the growth they produced did!
A week later, these were the roots’ appearance. Since they hadn’t gotten any bigger, I realized that two of the three root tips at the bottom were injured at this point. The third did increase, but barely. The top nub, which can absorb water, expanded in size and had a “fibrous” appearance in the meantime.
Most likely, you may notice that the roots are brown in hue.
It was far too early, and I had added plant food (I use “Grow With Noot” because it has never let me down!). The actual plant food was being left behind as the roots sucked up as much water as they could to rehydrate the stem and leaves. More improvement was observed after I gently scrubbed the roots clean and placed them back in fresh water without food:
On the 25th, twelve days later, the plant had the strength to produce a TON of new roots! It greatly branched out where the damaged root tips were. At this moment, I understood that, at least for me and this particular plant, a second try would be lucky! All I had to do was maintain my composure, be patient, and let it continue to root. I could now add a small amount of my preferred plant food with confidence so that the two fuzzy-looking roots might begin to nourish the plant. It paid off!
On May 14, nearly six weeks into the procedure, this is where I was. When I looked closely, I could see little root tips beginning to branch out in various locations. The roots were easily 1-2 inches long. The thing with roots is that they grow and mature according to the environment in which they are grown. These roots were raised in water and trained to anticipate constant hydration. They often led carefree lives and were frail and skinny. On the other hand, the new nubs were a white space. As carefully as I could, I judged that it was the correct moment to repot the monsteras because they are aroids and require a lot of oxygen exchange at the roots. But I also had to supply the water that the roots already there had become accustomed to.
I settled on a self-watering pot that was cute, white to match the rest of my room design, functional, and informative, with adequate wicking power and a gauge to show me how much water was in the reservoir. This pot has two parts: an inner pot with “feet” that fill with a wicking material and bring water up to my soil mix when the mix becomes dry, and an exterior container that is both attractive and functions as a water reservoir. Although the wicking medium is provided by this specific pot, you may get the same effect using a real wick! Just make sure the wick is in contact with the soil and the water reservoir in the decorative container (loop it through the inner pot).
All I had to do was determine the right soil composition because I had the pot and the assurance that I could get to water. Any suitable aroid mix for a monstera may be found online, but these are the ones I used:
Equal amounts Perlite with Peat Moss (or Pumice). To create the foundation for a well-draining soilless mix, combine these ingredients.
Bark Chips make up 5% of the finished mixture. Your epiphytic plant will be forced to establish stronger roots and will be able to easily exchange air thanks to the disruption of the fine soil with larger chunks and sufficient air spaces. You can use pine bark, which is also used for reptiles, or orchid bark. I always have both on hand, but I’ve found that certain reptile bark is less expensive. Opt for orchid bark if you plan to keep your plant in its pot for at least a year or two. It can resist damp conditions for a lot longer before deteriorating!
Charcoal in the amount of a few teaspoons. Since I maintain aquariums, I always have this material on hand, but you may get horticultural charcoal at a garden center or an internet merchant like Amazon.
Worm Castings in the amount of two tablespoons. I’m talking about worm poop. Pre-digested organic matter progressively fertilizes your soil, ensuring that your plant has access to nutrients for months to come. To reactivate the nutrients in the pot, you can afterwards sprinkle a bit of this item into your soil and possibly delicately mix it into the top.
I need a few more handfuls of bark chips! This was set aside for later layering on top of the pot. It prevents algae growth and keeps bothersome gnats out of the soil.
The cutting was positioned in the pot at the proper height (low enough to keep the root-generating nodes below the soil surface), and the soil mixture was filled in around the roots. I then removed the remaining of the bark pieces from the mix. You can tap the pot a few times to make sure you’re filling it all the way, and you can leave about a half-inch of space at the top to add extra bark chips or to make watering easier. Make sure the pot won’t overflow before you begin pouring because sometimes it takes a moment for the water to seep into the soil.
I gave the plant a preliminary watering over the soil after everything had been set up to make sure it was adequately hydrated. To make sure the roots were initially exposed to the same water, I utilized the water from its glass jar. When the watering gauge indicated “max,” I carefully filled the edge of the pot with freshly mixed water (clean water and a small amount of plant food). Give the soil around 30 minutes to absorb all the water it can or wants to before removing the inner pot and dumping out the additional water if you’re still above the “max” level. Don’t worry too much if you overfill a little. The “max” indicates the level at which your water reservoir will begin to contact your soil medium. If it is higher than this level, any roots at the bottom of the pot will be more susceptible to rotting. You want to avoid root rot at all costs, I assure you.
Look at that monstera now that it has been potted! Bonus: The newest leaf started to come out a week after it was planted!
My cutting is getting ready to become a mature plant now that it has roots and a new leaf. I’m eager to start staking the new growth so that this monstera will eventually develop into a bushy climber along a moss pole!