“The one that says cheese, and means Swiss.”

Monstera

Monstera deliciosa

Huge glossy leaves slashed with holes and splits, on a fast-climbing vine. Easy to please and quick to fill a bright room.

Forever

3.1/5

how easy it is to care for

4.4/5

how much it stands out visually

: Shade to filtered

More light, more splits; keep it out of direct sun

Plenty of brightness with no sun on the leaves brings the most deeply split leaves. Lower, medium-level light keeps it going, just with fewer splits; direct sun is the one thing to spare it.

The cream-splashed kinds, like 'Thai Constellation' and 'Albo Variegata', want more light than the all-green plant (NC State), so they get the brightest place you have.

An east window can suit it, with the plant set back from the glass. Facing south or west, pull it well into the room; sun striking those glossy, cut leaves can scorch them (RHS).

On a plant old enough to split, a new leaf that opens whole and uncut may be asking for more light. Keep the sun off its back and it’ll keep cutting new windows.

: 2-3× a month

Deep drinks, top 1-2 inches drying between; less in winter

Soak it every 7-10 days in summer and every 10-14 in winter, letting the top 1-2 inches, or the upper quarter of the soil, dry between. Its thick roots likely want some air between soaks, not constant wet.

If it climbs a moss pole, wet the moss whenever you water. Kept moist, the pole becomes something its aerial roots grow into and grip (RHS).

That damp pole doubles as a little humidity of its own, right where the plant climbs. If the leaf edges start to brown, which University of Wisconsin Extension ties to low humidity, and that bothers you, wetting the moss between waterings may help. It’ll be fine either way.

Gone for a while? Two weeks is fine if it’s soaked the day you leave and not sitting in hot, sunny glass.

: Giant

A fast climber that can reach 6-8 feet indoors

Tied to a moss pole, it climbs fast to 6-8 feet indoors and grows bigger leaves; the pole also holds up heavy stems that might otherwise snap. The pole sets its footprint, so plan for a tall column of leaves.

In its native forests, from southern Mexico to Guatemala, it can climb 70 feet up a tree (Kew; NC State), many times the height it reaches in a living room.

Those aerial roots make it easy to share: pin a stem into a pot of soil while it’s still attached, and cut it free once it has rooted there (NC State lists layering).

A pole in its pot asks for headroom more than floor: a corner under a tall ceiling, the wall between two windows, a stair landing. For a smaller home, 'Thai Constellation' grows fuller and more compact, its leaves spaced closer on the stem (Penn State Extension).

: Mildly irritating

Chewing can sting the mouths of dogs, cats, or kids

DogsMildly irritating
CatsMildly irritating
KidsMildly irritating

A chewed leaf may sting a pet’s or child’s mouth and bring on drooling or vomiting. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to dogs and cats for its calcium oxalates; NC State rates it low severity.

Its leaves and stems are packed with needle-shaped calcium-oxalate crystals that lodge in the soft lining of the mouth, which is where the burning comes from (University of Florida IFAS). Along with drooling and vomiting, a pet’s mouth and lips may swell, and swallowing may get hard for a while, even after an ordinary chew (ASPCA). It usually settles on its own. The sap can also irritate skin, so gloves are a good idea when you prune it (NC State; RHS).

If symptoms don’t settle, or anything worries you, Poison Control can help with a child. For a dog or cat, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (a fee may apply).

A plant this big lives on the floor, so a high shelf won’t hide it. With a toddler or a pet that chews everything, give it a room the chewers can’t get into.

ASPCA: mild for dogs.
Pet Poison Helpline: mild for dogs.
ASPCA: mild for cats.
Pet Poison Helpline: mild for cats.
NC State Extension: mild for kids.

Cats and dogs: Most of the leading sources agree.

Kids: No poison-centre listing; rated from university extension sources.

: Average

60-85°F; average humidity is fine

Happiest at 60-85°F, and it shouldn’t sit below 50°F. Humidity can drop to 30% without trouble.

Temperature: 60-85°F

: Scale insects

Scale most often; check stems and leaf undersides

Scale tends to find it: look along the stems and the veins under the leaves. Mealybugs hide in leaf axils, petiole bases, and aerial roots, mites sit under the leaves, and aphids favor new unfurling growth.

Scale insects
Mealybugs
Spider mites
Aphids

Few pests bother it indoors, though mealybugs, scale, spider mites, and aphids can turn up, and soil that stays wet rots the roots.

Mealybugs look like tufts of white cotton where leaf stalks meet the stem; scale looks like small brown bumps stuck to stems and leaf undersides. Wipe them off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol (a fingernail lifts scale), then check again next week.

Spider mites leave fine speckling and webbing, mostly in warm, dry air; aphids are small, soft bugs clustered on new growth. Wipe or rinse the leaves, undersides included, and if they come back, spray with insecticidal soap.

Root rot shows as yellowing, drooping leaves while the soil is still wet. Let the pot dry right out, empty the saucer, and water less often; a badly rotted plant is best restarted from a cutting.

: More

Turn monthly, wipe and feed 6× a year, stake 3×

Turn it every month so each side faces the window. Wipe the leaves and feed it 6 times a year, spring to fall, and tie stems to a moss pole 3 times in spring and summer. Repot and trim once, in spring.

Feed6× a year
Clean leaves6× a year
Stake3× a year
Prune1× a year
Repot1× a year
Rotate12× a year

A rich potting mix that drains fast, in a heavy pot with a drainage hole: a big monstera is top-heavy and can tip a light one over.

Repot every one to two years, in late winter or early spring, one size up, once roots reach the bottom and sides of the pot. That’s the time to add a moss pole, too.

Food helps a fast grower: a dilute houseplant fertilizer regularly from spring until fall, as UW–Madison advises, and none in winter.

: Suave

Big glossy leaves slashed with holes and splits

Each huge green leaf is cut with splits and holes, as if punched out by hand. The surface is glossy, and the leaves overlap to cover part of the soil without hiding all of it.

Fun fact

Grown big enough, it bears a green fruit like an ear of corn. About a year later its scales fall away, and the pulp underneath tastes like banana crossed with pineapple. Any sooner, it can sting the mouth.

Designer tips

Big, glossy, and graphic, it’s the classic statement plant for a mid-century or tropical room.

On a moss pole in the corner beside a bright window

The statementClaims the corner between the sofa and the windowGiven a moss pole it heads for six to eight feet, and without one it sprawls sideways, so give it a corner it can own rather than a gap it has to share. One mature monstera fills the space a cluster of smaller plants would only clutter.

Light and shadowCasts its split leaves across the wall after darkA floor lamp or an uplight behind it turns every hole and split into a shadow bigger than the leaf. It’s the evening version of the plant, and it costs nothing but a plug.

The styleBelongs in a mid-century room beside walnut and black steelIts bold, simple, split leaves suit the style’s love of graphic shapes, and plain green sits well with walnut, black and white. A terracotta cylinder on tapered wooden legs is the period-right way to lift it.

The potStays upright in a heavy pot a third its heightA pot about a third of the plant’s total height looks settled under a big climber, and the weight of heavy clay keeps it from tipping off its pole.

Troubleshooting

The new leaves have no holes

Too little light, or it’s still young. Young plants make small, whole leaves, and the splits come with age and a bright spot (Clemson); beside a bright window, out of the sun, the next leaves are likely to start splitting.

Leaves are turning yellow

Usually too much water. If the soil is still wet days after a soak, give it longer between waterings and empty the saucer; one old leaf at the bottom yellowing now and then is normal.

Why are the leaf edges going brown?

Dry air, common in a heated room in winter (UW-Madison). A humidifier nearby, or wetting its moss pole between waterings, may help, and the brown bits trim off if they bother you; it’s fine either way.

See all 9

It’s leaning and flopping over

It’s a climber with nothing to hold. A sturdy moss pole with the stems tied on loosely keeps them from breaking (NC State Extension), and a turn now and then helps, since it leans toward the window.

My cat bit a leaf

Expect drooling, pawing at the mouth, or vomiting: it’s mildly irritating (ASPCA), and the signs show fast and usually settle. If vomiting keeps up, swallowing looks hard or your cat seems unwell, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

What do I do with the long brown roots?

They’re aerial roots, how it climbs trees in the wild. Guide them onto a moss pole or down into the soil, or leave them be.

Why are there drops of water on the leaves?

The soil is likely staying too wet: UW-Madison notes it 'sweats' when the mix is too moist, an early sign before root rot. Let it dry more between soaks.

Is it true it makes edible fruit?

Rarely indoors: NC State Extension says a houseplant seldom fruits. In the tropics the fruit is edible once fully ripe and tastes like banana and pineapple, but UConn warns it’s poisonous until then, which takes about a year.

Can it go outside for the summer?

Yes, in shade: a porch or under a tree, out of the midday sun. Bring it back in before fall nights turn cool (it’s happiest at 60-85°F), and check it for bugs first.

Propagation

Yes, easily: a stem cutting with a node roots in 2-4 weeks.

Cut a stem just below a node (the bump where a leaf and an aerial root join the stem), with a leaf or two attached, and stand it in a jar of water or a pot of damp potting mix or perlite.
Pot it up once it has a good set of roots, in a heavy pot, since a cutting is top-⁠heavy too.