Monstera Deliciosa - Swiss Cheese Plant - ESCAPE | LEARN

The monstera deliciosa is also know as fruit salad plant, and is recognised universally because of the splits (or leaf fenestration) in their glossy shiny leaves. These plants are big and beautiful and are known to be a bit of a thug when it comes to growing – a healthy plant will produce aerial shoots that will search for new soil so be aware if you have other plants nearby to this one, it will quite happily drop these shoots into the soil of a neighbouring plant looking for extra food. The swiss cheese plant was very popular during the 70s and fell out of fashion but is now a firm instagram favourite alongside its species variations.

Their beautiful splits in the leaves will form on the larger leaves when the plant is happy and has enough light (if your plant is in shade it will not produce the splits), the younger leaves don’t have the fenestration as this develops as the plant grows. The plant creates the fenestrations as a natural response to allow the smaller leaves and roots to have access to the light.

FAMILY: Araceae
HUMIDITY: Moderate (Over 40%)
LIGHT: Indirect light / filtered sun
TEMPERATURE: 18-25C / 65-75F
CARE: Easy
WATER: When top 10cm (2in) of soil is dry, less in the winter – use a probe for reference if you are unsure
SIZE: Can grow up to 8m High by 2-3m Wide (26ft x 8ft)

PLANTING:

The Monstera Deliciosa is very happy when it’s roots are allowed to spread and grow, and therefore needs good draining soil that isn’t too compacted.

You can position your plant alone in a pot to grow freely or with a moss pole to grow up. The plant is essentially a vining plant and will want to spread it’s way either out or up. In its natural habitat it would grow up trees so you can replicate this if you wish by trailing the plant up wooden structures and allow the aerial roots to fall freely.

CARE:

The deep glossy leaves are so stunning you can’t help to reach out and touch them – keep them clean by dusting the leaves once a week and misting the leaves every few days. You can also wipe over with neem oil or an oil or your choice to help to keep them glossy. If you have a moss pole mist this as well and water when you feel the soil getting dry. This is the perfect plant for propagation so why not take some cuttings in spring if the plant is getting too big and share your cuttings with friends or family or have a go at propagating them yourself either in water or soil.

FEEDING / FERTILISER:

You can treat the plant with an specialised fertiliser once a month during the growing season for optimum growth. Refer to the instructions for dilution guide.