Monstera deliciosa

split-leaf philodendron
Tropical foliage feature gets 3ft split leaves with oval windows. Climbs on thick stem with ropy aerial roots. Shade champ. Luxe groundcover.
Monstera deliciosaMonstera deliciosa
height 2–10
width 3–8ft
tolerates Coast, Cool Summers, Fog, Heat, Pots
water
needs		 Moderate
water
info		 Monsteras are more drought tolerant than you would think, looking at their tropical foliage. Still, that means they want an average amount of water, preferring to be deeply every week to two weeks once established. Much of that will depend on how much shade they are grown in.

Monsteras are adaptive to a wide range of soil conditions.
hardy
to		 28F
exposure Full Shade – Part Shade
indoor
outdoor		 Outdoor
drainage In Ground: Planting Mix, In Pots: Potting Soil
fertilizing All Purpose
origin Central America
california
native		 No
sunset
zones		 16, 17, 21–24

Sunset Zones Map

Outdoor Exposure Guide

OUTDOOR EXPOSURE GUIDE

Full Sun
Six or more hours of sun beams directly landing on the plant's leaves.

Part Shade
Three to five hours of sun beams directly landing on the plant's leaves.

Part Sun
One to two hours of sun beams directly landing on the plants leaves.

Full Shade
The plant is never fully lit by sun beams, but is in a bright spot or has dappled sunbeams playing over the leaves throughout the day.

Deep Shade
The plant never has dappled light on the leaves, and is in a place that feels dim, even on a nice sunny day.

SUNSET ZONES MAP

Growing Notes

Monsteras are bushy when young, becoming a large heavy vine with great age. Leaves of small Monstera will be heart shaped, and without splits or holes. As the plant matures it will start to have split leaves, and then later holes develop within the leaves.
Plant will grow in direct sun, but often will get yellowing on the leaves.
Responds well to pruning, with a new ‘branch’ coming out wherever you cut the plant back. The pruned top is easy to root by either placing it in water or adding rooting hormone and planting it in a fast draining mix.
Monstera can be mounted or trained up a tree, and have aerial roots that will attach to a plank (or your wall.) If you don’t like the aerial roots they can be removed without hurting the plant.

Special Interest

Makes edible fruit, thus the specific epithet deliciosa! Unfortunately these fruit tend to ripen poorly in the Bay Area.

More Info

This plant was grown for an outdoor environment, so we do not recommend moving it inside. In general we do not recommend moving plants raised for an outdoor environment indoors.
This plant would make a good houseplant if it had been grown in a controlled greenhouse with houseplant soil. This ‘greenhousing’ ensures that plants who come home with you are well acclimated to indoor life, and also that they don’t have any pests. It is common for outdoor plants to have other passengers as well, such as earthworms or centipides that don’t necessarily hurt the plant, but aren’t welcome indoors.
If you consider yourself an expert gardener, you can of course attempt to transition this plant indoors. In that case you’ll want to strip all the soil from the rootball, wash the roots clean and then spray the entire plant (leaves, undersides of the leaves, all the cracks and roots) with a mix of one tablespoon of rubbing alcohol in a cup of water. Repot the plant in the appropriate sterile soil/pot and take extra care as it transitions to the indoors, especially looking for pests and treating at the first sign of problems. Always consider the risk that any bugs could also affect other houseplants you have nearby.
For some plants, we sell two versions: outdoor-grown and greenhouse-grown. If you’re looking to grow this plant indoors, feel free to ask our staff if we have a greenhouse-grown version in stock!