Monstera Propagation And Replanting Guide

Who doesn’t love the Mighty Monstera? The world’s most popular house plant is known for growing quickly and for its ability to regenerate. Also called the “Swiss Cheese plant” for its splits and holes, this plant is great for interior decoration. A big perk about having this plant in your home is that you don’t need to start from seedlings. If you wanted to grow a new plant, you can simply trim another Monstera. The roots will grow out of the cut end so long as your properly care for it. If you follow the steps below, Voila! A new Monstera plant will be the focal point of any room you put it in.

About the Monstera (Monstera deliciosa)

The Monstera plant is a way to bring home a bit of the jungle, as it is native to the rain forests of Panama and Mexico. It has large and picture-perfect leaves. The shape of its leaves is actually the product of evolution. The ground layer of the rain forest can be a dark place due to the taller tree foliage blocking most of the sunlight. There are a couple of theories as to why their leaves split the way they do. One theory is that the holes allow sunlight to reach lower leaves of the plant. Another theory is that with holes in their leaves, they can resist strong winds and not be blown over. While wind will hopefully not be a factor in your house, having leaves that allow light to pass through to lower leaves will let you propagate this plant without having to buy lots of light sources. As is the case with most plants, they try to face the sunlight. The Monstera is no different. If you notice your Monstera is leaning to a side or a specific direction, it is recommended that you rotate or move the plant closer to that light source. While Monsteras do not need tons of light to survive, this leaning can be thought of as a cry for help to be moved closer to the light. It is always advised however to not leave it directly in sunlight as it can cause the leaves to turn yellow and reduce the health of the plant. Monstera will also do well under a hanging plant light. Another interesting part about the Monstera is that they have arial roots designed to hold up the plant. It takes a lot of energy for a plant to hold itself up, so to avoid this a Monstera will produce arial roots, or roots out of the soil, to latch onto something to hold it up. The Monstera will use these roots to climb other plants or trees to grow upwards. This could lead to some interesting relationships between different plants in your home! Check out our latest YouTube video for a step-by-step guide to propagate and replant a Monstera. Leave us a comment and don’t forget to subscribe!

Step 1: Cut a Monstera leaf off the mother plant under the node. This is usually beneath an aerial root. You can find good plant trimmers at any hardware store such as Home Depot.

A Monstera cut beneath an ariel root

Step 2: Put the leaf in a pot, jar, or glass of water. Make sure it stands properly and that the cut end is entirely covered by water. Be sure to change the water every 3-5 days.

The cut leaf in a jar

Step 3: Let it soak for a month or two in a sunny spot or under agrow light until roots begin to sprout. Be careful to not leave it in direct sunlight for too long as you could damage the leaves.

Roots appearing after soaking

Step 4: Take rooted Monstera out of the pot of water and place into a new pot with plenty of soil.

The propagation in new soil and pot

Step 5: Water it and enjoy your new Monstera.

The newly propagated Monstera plant in a Wally Eco Wall Planter

Try it at home and send us your pictures on Instagram @soltech_solutions and on the Soltech Solutions YouTube channel. Hopefully this helps you propagate and replant a Monstera with little to no troubles.