Monstera deliciosa, Reserva Forestal Bosque de Yotoco, Colombia

Cultivated (botanical garden).

comments (5)

Christine Young

Lion

Monstera is supposed to be very easy to keep as a houseplant. I've tried twice and failed. Do you have any? Posted 2 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  No, I don't. I'm not great with house plants. Henriette did find a cool app "plant buddy" where you enter the plants you own and then it gives you a notification when you need to take action (give water, extra sunlight, fertilizer, trim it, etc).
  
  Other factors are of course position in the house, temperature, humidity that probably affect the outcome the most. Posted 2 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    I'm okay with plants. I used to have 80ish houseplants, but am down to around 50. I prefer low maintenance ones and do write on my calendar when to water, etc. I try to cater to the needs of each species, but have terrible luck with monstera and ferns. Oh, and carnivorous plants -- they always die.
    
    Interesting app -- I will check it out! My main issues are light, especially in winter bc the sun is behind the mountain before 4pm. Humidity is a problem, but I use humidity trays, which help. Temperature is fairly well-controlled. We cover our windows with plastic in winter (is this a thing in the Netherlands too?) to cut down on energy loss and I wrap frost cloth around pots that are near doors/windows at night. I definitely coddle my plants. But, regardless, my thumb is far from green. Posted 2 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Wow, 50 is still a lot! For this plant, my gut feeling is that perhaps humidity is the issue. I'm basing that on where the plant naturally grows where it most definitely will struggle for light but not for humidity. I don't know about you, but in winter indoor humidity may get as low as 40% which is a far-cry from the 80-99% the plant may naturally experience.
      
      I've never seen anybody cover their windows in plastic here. The standard is double-layer or tripple-layer glass. That said, modern "open architecture" featuring enormous glass panels are now turning against us. The traditional Spanish building code (tiny windows) in that sense is better, to protects against both heat and cold. Posted 2 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        50 is for amateurs. I want to feel like I live in the forest, hehe. It's so true about the humidity! We use a humidifier in winter, but it still struggles to get above 35-45%.
        
        We have double-paned windows, but do have big windows/glass doors/double windows. In the northeast, at least, many people buy window kits for winter. It consists of sheets of clear plastic that you tape to the windowsill/around the window. Then, you heat it with a hair dryer and it shrinks so that there are no wrinkles. You can barely notice it. It does help, unless you have cats that think it's fun to whack and scratch the plastic.
        
        Tiny windows sould much more energy efficient, but I love light. Posted 2 years ago

The Swiss Cheese Plant

"Monstera deliciosa" is a species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. It is very widely grown in temperate zones as a houseplant.

Info 8 0

Similar species: Water-plantains, Seagrass

Species identified by Ferdy Christant