The Delicious Monster (Monstera Deliciosa): Care Tips and Facts
The Delicious Monster or also known as the Swiss Cheese Plant is the perfect indoor plant for those looking for a low maintenance and vibrant green piece in your home. These evergreens need only a little love to have years and years of successful growth. We will be focusing on care tips and facts about the Delicious Monster that will help you reach a successful outcome with regards to knowing and growing your plant.
What is the Delicious Monster?
Known as a must-have décor item, the Delicious Monster is an ideal plant to use as an accent piece in your home. With its vibrant foliage, the well-known perennial is not identified as part of the philodendron family as you might think. They do share one thing in common wwith the philodendron family, as they both fall under the larger “arum” family. There is no need to worry when the leaves start to split, as this is part of the beauty that comes with the growth of your plant. It is identified by its medium to large heart-like split leaves with long stems. The colour of this philodendron can be described as a vibrant green and its stems tend to reflect the same.
Plant Care Tips for the Delicious Monster:
Climate
The Delicious Monster is a tropical plant that enjoys warm climates. For all of those living in Johannesburg, Midrand, Centurion or Pretoria, we all know that we can get quite cold winters. Although the Delicious Monster is not frost hardy, it is mainly known for being kept indoors. This means that it will be sheltered from the freezing climates and will be able to tolerate a bit of the cold.
Although it can tolerate a bit of cold, it is always best to keep your indoor temperature between 18 and 28 degrees Celsius during the day. This will promote better growth and a healthy plant.
In the scorching summers, it is best to make sure that your plant is not exposed to extreme heat conditions. This will result into your leaves wilting and your soil drying out quicker than it should.
Light Conditions
To ensure that you keep your plant happy and healthy, it I always best to keep the Delicious Monster in bright indirect sunlight. This means that it should still be in a shaded area but needs to receive a lot of natural light. We advise to keep your plant closest to your nearest window or skylight.
Watering
Here at Bergamann’s Garden Centre, we have noticed that the Delicious monster is not a very thirsty plant. This means that watering does not have to happen on a regular basis. Watering should occur once a week or when the top part of your soil is dry. When watering, be sure to pour the water into the pot until the water starts to appear in the drip tray, or until the water starts coming out of the holes at the bottom of your pot. If you are watering from the bottom, be sure to keep the plant in the water until the water level keeps still.
Soil
When your roots have started to fill the whole pot and there is no place left for them to grow, it is a good indication to repot your plant. Always make sure that the pot that you are replanting in is a larger pot by at least 5 cm. This will allow your plant more space to grow.
The best soil to use to replant your Monstera in would be a well-draining indoor potting soil. This can be purchased at our very own Bergmann’s Garden Centre. An indoor potting soil allows for the water to drain well, but also retain enough water to keep your roots wet enough until the next watering session.
Fertilizer
An ideal fertilizer to use is one that is well balanced. It is recommended that a good liquid fertilizer like Nitrosol or even Wonder’s Plant Food Stix (5:1:5) are ideal for promoting the colour and growth of your monster. Note that when using a liquid fertilizer, that the fertilizer should be diluted by half of what is regularly used.
Fun Facts
- The Delicious monster is actually indigenous to the tropical forests of southern Mexico.
- The function of the holes in the Monstera are to withstand heavy rainfall on the leaves. The holes assist in the rain falling rather through the leaves than on them.
- The Monster Deliciosa can grow up to 3 metres if planted directly into the ground.
- The Latin word Monstera means “strange”. It is known as a strange plant for its unusual leaf holes.
- Monsteras produce fruit that are very delicious! It is not a common phenomenon but when it happens, it truly is a delight!
- These plants can also climb up to tall trees or stakes and produce aerial roots.
As we have read, the Delicious Monster is definitely a must-have in your home as it is a plant that needs little effort to produce more.
Be sure to visit Bergmann’s Garden Centre for more Delicious Monster Care tips and to purchase your very own. We have a wide variety of sizes available at affordable prices.
