Use all-purpose potting soil to repot your monstera at any time of the year. Repotting these plants should only be done every two to three years because they prefer to stay in their pots. Instead of repotting your monstera once it is in a container with a diameter of eight inches or greater, top-dress it with new potting soil.
Your monstera will eventually lose its lower leaves as it climbs; even cutting off growth tips won’t stop it from moving upward. While there is no method to promote regeneration on the lower, barren stems, it is simple to propagate a new, fuller-appearing plant from a strong stem with multiple leaves.
How big of a pot should I use for my Swiss cheese plant?
To prevent their roots from resting in water, Swiss cheese plants require pots with drainage holes. Pick a pot that is a few inches broader and moderately deep than the root ball of your plant.
A moss pole, trellis, or other structure that your plant can hold onto as it grows will be helpful because Swiss cheese plants want to climb.
At hardware stores, garden centers, or online, you can buy pre-made trellises or moss poles. You can also create one from scratch! Here is our tutorial on creating a moss pole.
Make sure to select a quality, peaty mix or simply add a little extra peat moss to standard indoor potting soil because Swiss cheese plants need loamy soil with a lot of peat (we recommend our premium potting soil).
How to care for your swiss cheese plant
After you bring your monstera home, you should wait a week or two before repotting it to give it some time to become used to its new environment.
Place a small amount of your soil mixture in the pot’s bottom before planting. The grower’s pot should then be carefully removed from the root ball by tipping the plant onto its side. DO NOT try to remove the plant from the pot. Put the plant in the pot’s center with care, then fill up the spaces surrounding it with your soil mixture. Drink plenty of water until it begins to leak out of the pot’s bottom.
Repot your plant in a slightly larger container every year when it is young. Once it reaches the size you like, you can get away with repotting it only occasionally.
What kind of pot is ideal for a Swiss cheese plant?
Swiss cheese plants are rather simple to grow indoors, regardless of the species. For healthy plants, follow these simple maintenance guidelines:
- 1.Light: These plants thrive in direct, bright light or light shade. Windows that face south or west will function effectively. If exposure to direct sunlight is unavoidable, keep it to only two or three hours in the morning.
- 2. Water: While overwatering may result in rot, letting the top inch or two of soil dry out will help you maintain the ideal moisture balance for your plant. Swiss cheese plants prefer a little bit of dryness in their soil.
- 3. Temperature: These plants prefer a temperature of about 6085F inside.
- 4.Humidity: Swiss cheese plants are tropical plants, therefore you may need to use a humidifier or set aside time to mist your plants every few days. High humidity, defined as 50% or greater, is optimal for Swiss cheese plants.
- 5.Situation: In the summer, a shaded area outside will enable your plant to benefit from both indirect sunshine and the surrounding heat and humidity. Bring them back inside around fall, before nighttime temperatures dip below 50F, and take them outside when nighttime temperatures are above 50F.
- 6.Potting mix: Use an unglazed terra-cotta pot with good drainage holes for the optimal aeration. Like other aroids, Swiss cheese plants can benefit from the addition of horticultural charcoal, medium to big perlite, and bark to the potting mix. They will thrive in potting soil with a peat base. A pH of the soil between 5.5 and 7.0 is ideal. If you want your plant to climb, give it a moss pole or some other kind of support.
- 7.Repotting: You should typically repot your plant every other year and change the potting soil every year. Use a thick potting soil comprised of compost and peat for repotting and growing the plant; this will aid in aeration and drainage. Repotting is most effective in the summer.
- 8. Fertilizer: After repotting your Swiss cheese plant, give it four to six months before you begin fertilizing it. Then, using an all-purpose liquid fertilizer that has been diluted by half, you can do so every month.
- 9. Pruning: Because Swiss cheese plants are vine-like climbers, you might need to do some pruning if they start to outgrow the area they are in or just start to seem unpleasant. Spring or fall are the best times to prune. Remove the top growth as well as any dead or damaged leaves, cutting close to the main stem to prevent leaving stubs.
LIGHT
This plant prefers filtered light or bright indirect light, as you might expect given how it thrives in the wild in its natural habitat, which is mentioned above. I grow mine in a sizable window with an Eastern aspect, so it gets enough of light, including calming morning sun.
It can survive in situations that are more darker and lower in light, but your growth won’t be as impressive. After all, photosynthesis in plants depends on light!
However, you should try to limit your exposure to the sun, especially in the harsher afternoon light.
You should protect your Monstera deliciosa from too much direct sun if you reside in a location where there is frequently intense sunlight.
WATERING, FERTILIZING & HUMIDITY
When it comes to watering, Monstera deliciosa is quite understanding. Like most plants, I prefer to wait until the top layer of soil has dried off before watering it again.
I’ll allow the top inch or two totally dry up before I water again, depending on the size of the pot. To check the wetness of the soil, simply use your finger. It will be acceptable to use tap water.
Mine is growing in a 14-inch container, so I won’t even think about watering until the top 2 inches, roughly, have dried up.
Don’t water according to your calendar because larger pots could take longer to dry out than considerably smaller pots.
Use your finger as a reference. Let the top inch of the soil dry out if your Monstera is in a smaller container before watering it once more.
Refrain from overwatering. Never allow this plant to sit in water as it is susceptible to root rot. Any extra water that collects in the plant saucer should always be discarded.
On the other hand, if at all possible, avoid letting the potting mix become entirely dry. Find a good middle ground!
I fertilize my Monstera deliciosa all year round, with the exception of the winter.
I occasionally cycle and swap fertilizers, but for the majority of my leafy houseplants, I currently use Dyna-Gro Grow, and I don’t think I’ll ever switch again. I buy a lot of this AMAZING fertilizer from Amazon.
Every time I water, I like to dilutedly fertilize. In this method, my plants receive continuous nutrition, much like they would if they were growing in the wild, plus I don’t have to keep track of when I last fertilized them!
Even though this plant would benefit from high humidity, my house has low humidity during the winter, and it still thrives.
LEAF PROGRESSION
Observing the Monstera deliciosa plant develop from its young leaves to the more developed adult leaves is one of the most satisfying aspects of raising the plant.
Young plants have entirely solid leaves without any slits or holes.
The young leaves of Monstera deliciosa will develop more and more fenestrations (holes) and slits as the plant ages. Remember that once a leaf opens up, it will remain in its current state and not change.
The fenestrations on the younger leaves will gradually increase as the plant ages.
Very young monstera plants may take years indoors before they show any fenestrations, depending on how well your growth circumstances are.
Take a peek at the development of my own plant’s leaves:
Repotting
Check out my blog post on repotting for some general repotting advice and when to repot your plant.
After reading this Monstera topic, be sure to read up on the numerous crucial repotting considerations and steps that are covered in this post.
The beginning of spring, when plants are just starting to wake up, may be the ideal time of year to repot your plant. If the growth conditions are favorable, it can actually be done at any time of the year. But your best bet is to wait until latter winter or early spring.
You’ll need to add some support because Monstera deliciosa naturally climbs, as I already explained. Repotting your plant is the ideal opportunity to do this!
By doing this, any root damage will be reduced to a minimum. However, you may add support at any moment if you are diligent.
Make sure to slightly loosen the root ball after removing your plant from the pot. Only select a pot that is one or two sizes larger than the one you currently have. Use a pot with drainage holes at all times as well!
With a piece of shattered pottery, I prefer to conceal the drainage hole (placed like an upside down U over the hole, which leaves space on the sides). Some folks like to cover the hole with an old piece of window screening.
Repotting is the ideal opportunity to include a support so that your plant can begin climbing!
I merely ordered three bamboo stakes from Amazon online and placed them in the planter when I repotted the plant. Since I use them in my garden as well, I like to keep extras on hand.
The top was then easily tied off with garden twine. It has a very strong foundation.
When you repot, you can also add a moss pole or moss stick. You may create your own moss post using the instructions I provided in a printable, step-by-step blog post. It is considerably higher quality and superior to anything you could get pre-made.
For Monstera deliciosa, I like to use a high-quality potting mix, such Miracle Gro Indoor Potting Mix, but I also like to add some #3 size perlite to the mix.
Utilize a ratio of 2 or even 3 parts potting soil to 1 part perlite.
I wholeheartedly recommend “House” Houseplant Mix if you’re looking for an AMAZING organic potting mix that you can use right out of the bag with no modifications.
The company’s proprietors compost food leftovers and incorporate the compost into the mixture, which results in a highly sustainable product. I’ve had wonderful results with this mixture and am converting many of my indoor plants to it (when the time comes to repot).
The makers of “House” potting mix responded to all of my queries and more when I polled my readers about their complaints about potting mixes.
Visit my blog post Best Organic Potting Mix for Indoor Plants to learn more about this premium mix and my experiences using it.
You’ll have a lovely, breathable, nutrient-rich, well-draining soil that this plant adores as a result!
If you’re struggling to select what kind of pot to give your Monstera, check out my post on Monstera Pots, which will guide you in making the right decision.
Searching for a Monstera deliciosa to buy? Etsy is one of my favorite and most practical one-stop shops for purchasing almost any plant. Visit Etsy now to view the Monstera deliciosa assortment!
Propagating Monstera Deliciosa
Who wouldn’t want more of something positive? It is really simple to multiply your Monstera deliciosa.
I’ll outline a few different techniques for spreading your Monstera deliciosa.
Simply cut a vine and submerge it in water if you’re eager and don’t want to take too much time. But not just any old vine. Select a vine where you can see an aerial root.
Then, just make a simple cut close to where my finger is in the shot below, below the location of the aerial root.
Simply submerge this slice in water after that. In water, the aerial root will develop swiftly, and you can pot it up in no time.
The other way to multiply your Monstera deliciosa is through air layering. You should air layer in the same location as I mentioned above (where my finger is in the photo).
Your vine will benefit from this since it will be less stressed (versus just cutting it completely off the plant).
You can learn exactly how to accomplish it by reading my blog post on air stacking houseplants! You can carry out the steps in that post exactly.
You don’t even need to cut into the vine like I say in the piece about air layering, as long as you pick a vine where you can wrap the sphagnum moss around an existing aerial root.
Simply continue without trimming since the aerial root will begin to grow very quickly.
You can follow the remainder of the instructions minus that one specific instruction. When it’s done, just cut the vine where you air-layered and pot up your new plant by placing it in the ground.
Get everything you require to support the growth of your Monstera deliciosa. In conclusion, these are the items I discussed in the blog post so that you can develop your own enormous Monstera deliciosa. (The living room will soon be completely taken over by me…)
Mix Miracle Gro Potting Mix in 2 or 3 parts to 1 component #3 perlite. This gives these plants a gorgeously airy, well-draining potting mix that they adore.
Simply put, Dyna-Gro Grow is among the best fertilizers available. On your Monstera deliciosa plant and all of your other tropical plants, use it frequently!
Also, don’t forget the bamboo stakes you’ll need to construct your tee-pee. Monsteras require assistance as they expand.