Monstera Deliciosa, a very trendy plant. This plant is native to the tropical forests of southern Mexico. Nowadays, it can be easily found in every part of the world and is famous among indoor plant lovers.
I have noticed that a lot of people asking about how to care for this plant. I personally find it very easy, and I am thrilled to share it here to benefit all other plant lovers.
LIGHT
VERY IMPORTANT! This plant loves bright light, but not direct sunlight as it will burn the leaves. If you keep them indoors, you will see the leaves will start to change their facing toward your nearest window. And new shoots will grow in the same direction. I will rotate the pot from time to time.
WATER
Monstera is quite sensitive to its soil moisture. They do not like when the soil is soaking wet, so it is crucial to ensure the soil you are using can drain easily. And do not water too often. The tip is, I only water them when the soil surface is dry. I will normally touch it with my finger, and if I feel it dry and hard, I will start watering them the next day. This trick works very well for all my monstera and encourage them to grow faster.
SOIL
ONLY use a well-draining potting mix. If you are using normal potting mix from local nursery, I will normally mix the soil with perlite or leca (clay pebbles) to increase soil aeration. I will always go with perlite as it is very light so that the pot is light for handling.
My favourite soil is from MiracleGro Potting Mix. You do not need to worry about mixing it with anything. It is good on its own and, it is proven that all my plants are growing much faster than those in the regular potting soil I bought locally. Yes, it is quite pricey, but it is worth it. Trust me!
TEMPERATURE
Most houseplants prefer temperatures around 22°C - 30°C (room temperature). Colder temperatures will not kill the plant, just that the growth will be very slow. But do not let go below 15°C.
HUMIDITY
The plant seems to adapt pretty well to humidity. For example, when I lived in Calgary, Canada, the humidity level can go very low, but all my monstera adapt to it very well and grow very healthy. Most importantly, they get bright daylight.
COMMON PROBLEMS FOR MONSTERA
Leaves turning brown and crispy at the edges - Sign of underwater.
Brown dots on leaves - Sign of overwater. Please refer to the tip I share above about watering.
Yellowing leaves - A warning sign of overwater, and the root start rotting. Action needs to be taken before you kill the whole plant. I will be sharing how to save your plant in the next topic. Stay tuned!
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