the sex monstera This has been a real revolution for any indoor plant lover or curious. Its jungle look and the high density of foliage the plant produces has made it the number one queen for the home. However, within this genus we find different types of monstera. Even if delicious monstera is, at the moment, the best known, another closely related species and the one we are going to talk about today, Monstera adansoniiis a real bet to decorate any space in our home.
In this post we talk about this fantastic plant with large green leaves to maintain inside the house or in warm gardens with mild temperatures throughout the year.
In general, the care of Monstera adansonii They are very similar to their counterpart, since their physical appearance is very similar.
Contents
taxonomy of Monstera adansonii
| Ordered | Alismatales |
| Family | Araceae |
| sex | monstera |
| Species | monstera adansonii |
in the genre monstera we find 60 species identified. Most of them come from the tropical regions of the American continent, as well as from certain hot and humid regions of Mexico.
Although it is always reported as a small plant that does not exceed one meter in height grown in a pot, nothing could be further from the truth. This climbing plant can exceed 20 meters in height when growing in the jungle and wetlands, supported by other trees and creating an authentic spectacle of evergreen leaves and shoots.
Comparison with delicious monstera
Holes and perforations
Similarly, the closest plant to grow indoors is delicious monstera. However, the main difference is that unlike this, Monstera adansonii It has perforated leaves. Mr. delicioushas slits, but they are connected at the edges, so they are not correctly said to be holes.
circular sheets and smaller
In geometry, the Swiss cheese plant, as it is also called, has more rounded and generally smaller leaves. In general, the dimensions of this plant are also smaller compared to its counterpart.
Photography: Cara Cormackcare of Monstera adansonii
We are going to know what are the main concerns of this species of monstera which is gaining more and more followers as a houseplant, due to its ease of maintenance and the persistent color it displays throughout the year.
Location and temperatures
Monstera adansonii East very sensitive to low temperatures. For this reason, it is only seen grown outdoors in warm areas of Spain (Mediterranean coastal environments and islands) or tropical areas of Central and South America.
For this reason, it is a genus that we usually grow as an indoor plant, perfect for living rooms and kitchens, with constant temperatures between 18 and 24 ºC.
Humidity
It prefers moist areas in the home environment. Although it can be grown in humidity conditions below 50%, especially during the hot summer months, it is advisable to apply distilled water to the leaves every 2 or 3 days.
ideal location
Lighted or semi-shaded space inside the house, without direct sunlight. For example, near a window but without contact with the sun’s rays, it accepts darker conditions, so it can be placed in a bathroom with partial access to a window or even in the kitchen (supply of humidity additional).
Types of substrate
Even if Monstera adansonii It is a plant that we relate to humidity, it is worth differentiating ambient humidity (what it needs) from soil humidity (it does not need very humid conditions). In fact, the better conditions for preparing a substrateeither because we want to change the one that comes by default from the crèche or because it’s our turn monstera a graft, are with mixtures of porous materials (preferably perlite and coconut fiber).
Nail ideal substrate recommendation for Monstera adansonii consists of using 50% universal substrate as the base, 30% perlite or coconut fiber as the drainage material and 20% earthworm humus, the nutrient part of the substrate.
how to water Monstera adansonii
Generic recommendations for Monstera adansonii sprinkles frequently but in small amounts. In other words, we must constantly maintain the humidity in the substrate, without peaks of excess or defects.
Pay attention to frequent watering, because inside the house, without direct sun, regular watering at Monstera adansonii they can be the following:
- Watering in autumn and winter: 1 watering every 7-10 days, checking the humidity of the substrate with your fingers before watering.
- Watering in spring and summer: 2 waterings per week, checking the humidity of the substrate with your fingers before watering.
A recommended amount for a plant that requires low volume but high frequency watering this is 1/8 part of the volume of the pot (container with a volume of 10 liters, we will irrigate with 1.25-1.5 liters of water).
Watch out for over-watering: excessive water supply, with a waterlogged substrate, causes chlorosis of the leaves (they turn yellow) and brown spots on the leaves (starting from the edges) and necrosis of the main stem, favoring the mushroom attack such as Phytophthora, deadly and difficult to eliminate except with phytosanitary products.
What fertilizers to use
For a recently acquired indoor plant, if we want to give more volume and increase its size quickly, we can use the supply of nutrients throughout the year.
The most common for inexperienced gardeners is to use granular fertilizerusing a dose of 15 to 20 grams every 30 days in summer and 45 days in winter, the equivalent of half a fist for a plant with a pot of 30 to 40 cm in diameter.
We recommend a 12-8-16 NPK mix or a similar ratio, giving a lot of importance to nitrogen, but still below potassium (it favors hydration of the plant). These blends usually contain micronutrients, so it is always advisable to prevent iron chlorosis.
Use of liquid fertilizers
If we use liquid fertilizers, it is advisable to apply them at least once a week in spring and summer, and once every 15 days in autumn and winter. The dose is marked by the manufacturer, although if we do not know it we can apply a gentle load, between 1 and 1.5 ml for each liter of irrigation water.
In this way prevent overgrowth in a plant limited by the size of the pot.
plant propagation
To get multiple plants from one Monstera adansonii we resort to select a stem as a cutting and plant it using rooting hormones. We will select only one size rod to springand we will place it in a pot with a substrate that is always moistened and with the same characteristics that we have commented on previously.
With patience (the success rate is not as high as in other plants) we will get the stem to emit new roots and we will get a completely new plant identical to the original one.
Plagues and diseases
Inside the house, it is usually very rare for insects to visit, and it is common to have more problems with fungal spores related to excess humidity.
Excessive irrigation can lead to the activation of soil fungi that remain inactive for years in the substrate, but become active when humidity conditions are very high and there is low oxygenation of the medium ( we call them optional mushroomssince they can live in oxygen and oxygen-free conditions).
One of the most common is the type Phytophthorawhich affects the neck of the plant and the conductive vessels, observing symptoms of localized brown spots on the leaves and on the main stem, which progress rapidly and can affect the whole plant in a few days.
One of the most effective ways to solve this problem is to use the active ingredient Fosetyl Aluminumon sale in nurseries and specialized stores.
Yellow leaves on Monstera
When yellow leaves appear on our plant, we must differentiate several options based on their appearance:
Fully chlorotic plant: when all the Monstera adansonii has a weak appearance and without the original greenness, we rule out a disease problem with some certainty and relate it more to a lack of light, excess water or lack of nutrients, especially nitrogen.
We can solve these 3 conflicts at once, locating our plant in a brighter area, reducing irrigation if we find that the substrate is more waterlogged than necessary and we provide a fertilizer rich in nitrogen and with some micronutrients (especially with iron).