Light
Give it bright light with no strong direct sun: near an east or west window, or a few feet back in a bright room.
- Too little light: new leaves come in small and without splits, on long, thin, pale stems.
- Too much direct sun: the big leaves scorch easily.
Water
Let the top 2 to 3 inches of soil dry out, then water until it runs out of the bottom of the pot. Empty the saucer afterwards; roots left standing in water rot.
Water less from fall through late winter. Too much water harms this plant far more often than too little.
- Too wet: wilting even though the soil is damp, soft brown or black roots, tiny gnats around the pot.
- Too dry: slow growth, brown leaf tips, soil pulling away from the side of the pot.
Soil and pot
Use an open, well-draining potting mix with plenty of organic matter. The Royal Horticultural Society's recipe is one part peat-free potting mix to two parts orchid bark mix. The pot must have drainage holes, and a heavy pot keeps a tall plant from tipping over.
Humidity
It likes medium to high humidity and puts up with less once it has settled in. When the air is too dry, the leaf edges turn brown.
- A humidifier in the room is the fix that works.
- Grouping plants together helps.
- Skip misting: the moisture is gone within minutes, and wet leaves spread leaf disease on this plant.
Warmth
Ordinary room temperatures suit it, 60 to 85°F. It stops growing below 50°F, and frost kills it. Keep it away from heating and cooling vents and from doors that let in cold drafts; both dry out and scorch the leaf edges.
Feeding
Feed once a month from April to September with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer, and not at all in winter. Monstera is easily burned by fertilizer salts, so mix it at half the strength on the label.
Support and pruning
This is a climber. Give it a moss pole or trellis and keep the pole damp; once the plant grips it, the leaves get much larger. Without support it grows sideways.
The cord-like aerial roots are normal. Guide the lower ones into the soil, where they help feed the plant, and tie the upper ones to the pole or cut them off. If the plant outgrows its space, cut it back in spring. Wipe the leaves with a damp cloth now and then to clear dust.
Repotting
Repot in spring, and only when the roots have reached the sides and bottom of the pot: it copes with a tight pot far better than a roomy one. Move up to a pot no more than 2 inches wider. Extra soil stays wet for too long and rots the roots.
Making more
Between spring and late summer, cut off a stem tip just below an aerial root. Stand the cutting in a glass of water in a bright spot until it has a good set of roots, then pot it up.
When something looks wrong
Yellow leaves
Likely causeMost often soil that stays too wet. Too little light, too little fertilizer and pests can do it too, and an old lower leaf yellowing now and then is normal.
What to doFeel the soil before anything else. If it is wet, let the top 2 to 3 inches dry and make sure the pot drains. Then look under the leaves for pests.
Brown, crispy edges or tips
Likely causeDry air, hot air from a vent, salt build-up in the soil, or going too long without water.
What to doMove it away from vents, run a humidifier, rinse the pot through with plain water, and water as soon as the top of the soil is dry.
New leaves have no splits
Likely causeThe plant is young (holes usually start once it is a few years old), the light is too low, or it has nothing to climb. Leaves that grow after a hard pruning also have fewer holes for a while.
What to doGive it brighter light without direct sun, and a pole to climb.
Drooping leaves
Likely causeSoil that is too wet or too dry, a cold draft, or a pot packed full of roots.
What to doFeel the soil. If it is dry, water thoroughly. If it is wet, let it dry and check that the roots are firm and pale, not soft and dark. Move it away from cold drafts.
Long, leggy stems
Likely causeNot enough light, or no support.
What to doMove it somewhere brighter, give it a pole, and cut it back in spring.
Dark spots on the leaves
Likely causeLeaf-spot disease: dark brown spots with a yellow border, or yellow leaf edges that turn tan and then dark brown and spread inward. Direct sun can also burn patches into a leaf.
What to doKeep water off the leaves, stop misting, and give the plant warmth and room for air to move. Sprays are not recommended.
Fine webbing and pale speckles
Likely causeSpider mites. Plants in warm, dry spots, such as under a heating vent, and plants kept too dry are the ones they go for.
What to doWash the leaves with water or insecticidal soap, paying attention to the undersides, and repeat two or three times about five days apart. Move the plant away from the vent.
White cottony tufts or brown bumps
Likely causeMealybugs (white, waxy, cottony) or scale insects (brown bumps on stems and leaves). Both leave the leaves sticky and yellowing.
What to doKeep the plant apart from your others. Wipe the insects off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, then treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil made for houseplants.
Where this guide comes from
- Monstera deliciosa, Plant Finder, Missouri Botanical Garden
- Monstera deliciosa, Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, NC State Extension
- Swiss-Cheese Plant, Monstera deliciosa, University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension
- How to grow Swiss cheese plants, Royal Horticultural Society
- Monstera deliciosa fact sheet, UConn Home & Garden Education Center
- Swiss Cheese Plant, toxic and non-toxic plants, ASPCA
- Growing Indoor Plants, Utah State University Extension
- Help for Houseplants, Utah State University Extension
- Houseplants: Temperature and Humidity, Colorado State University Extension
- Moving Houseplants Outdoors, Colorado State University Extension
- How and when do I bring my houseplants back indoors before winter?, Iowa State University Extension
- How often should I fertilize houseplants?, Iowa State University Extension
- Mineral and Fertilizer Salt Deposits on Indoor Plants, University of Maryland Extension
- Humidity and Houseplants, Penn State Extension
- Guide to Growing Houseplants, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
- Repotting Houseplants, University of Arkansas Extension
- Insect Pests of Houseplants, Mississippi State University Extension