Monstera Deliciosa are a great plant, but who can be satisfied with a small, leggy little monstera growing in a corner when you can have a giant monstera with just a little extra effort?
Growing a giant monstera deliciosa plant will require providing good quality soil, fertilizing regularly with a quality fertilizer like osmocote, watering when your top 1-2″ of soil gets dry, selecting a pot that’s large enough not to tip over, and making sure your plant gets enough light.
I’m going to cover everything you need to know to give your Monstera the leg up it will need to reach its full potential.
By the way, if you want to check out other types of Monstera, I have a post describing a bunch of varieties here: 16 Amazing Monstera Varieties YOU Should Grow
The information in this post will work just as well for those varieties:
1. Provide Good Soil for Your Monstera
Monstera deliciosa thrives in well-draining, good-quality soil. You should mix good-quality potting soil with some peat moss. When you combine good quality soil with peat moss, the mixture holds moisture without getting soggy and is thus ideal for growing a monstera deliciosa.
Add some perlite to the mixture because perlite improves the aeration and drainage of potting soil mixes. It will also speed up the germination and rooting of your monstera deliciosa.
Harris Premium Horticultural Perlite for Indoor Plants is a great option for premium perlite. It’s long lasting, pH neutral, and non-toxic. It also comes at a reasonable price.
2. Use a Pot With Drainage Holes
Monstera deliciosa thrives in well-drained soil; so, grow it in a pot with drainage holes so that the soil drains freely. If the soil doesn’t drain freely, it stays wet for an extended period, and this could cause root rot.
Alternatively, use a self-watering pot, such as a wick pot. This eliminates issues with overwatering and underwatering and leads to a healthier plant.
All of my healthiest plants are ones I’ve grown in self-watering pots. It’s been a huge boon to my experience in gardening.
Resources:
3. Select the Right Pot for Your Monstera’s Size
The plant needs to be in the right pot size at every stage of its growth for optimal growth. For instance, when the plant is young, it needs a small pot and a bigger pot as it matures.
So, increase the pot size every year and ensure it’s deep enough to hold the additional support (see next section) you will provide to help the plant climb.
You want to avoid choosing a pot that is too large, because it will make it more difficult for your Monstera to take up water properly. A pot that is too small will cause your Monstera to become rootbound and/or tip over.
When repotting, choose a pot that is only a bit bigger than the one it was in before. A few extra inches in diameter will work fine unless your Monstera vastly outgrew its previous pot before you decided to repot it.
4. Give the Plant Additional Support
Monstera deliciosa is a natural climber; when it grows in the wild, it clings to trees using its aerial roots and climbs to great heights. Additionally, your indoor plant needs some support to help it climb.
This will be especially important if you want to grow a giant Monstera.
Therefore, you should provide one or more of the following for your monstera to climb on as it grows:
- Moss pole
- Trellis
- Stake
- Support sticks
Resources
How to Trellis Your Monstera (from my blog)
5. Ensure Your Plant Gets the Right Amount of Light
The amount of sunlight your plant gets will significantly determine whether it will grow into a giant monstera deliciosa. Monsteras can use anything between low and high light conditions, but they should be kept out of direct sunlight.
If your plant is in a place with direct sun, the sun can scorch the plant’s leaves, developing brown spots.
Having more light, however, can give your Monstera the energy it needs to grow larger. Because of this, placing it near a bright window or using an LED grow light to supplement the light it’s receiving may be helpful if you want your monstera to reach its max potential.
Resources
How Much Light Your Monstera Needs
6. Rotate the Pot Regularly
It’s good to rotate the pot now and then; if you don’t turn the pot for some time, you will notice that the leaves nearest the window will be bigger than the rest.
The reason for this is that these leaves are nearer to the sunlight than the others. So, rotate the pot regularly so that the plant can grow evenly.
7. Keep Its Leaves Clean
Indoor plants don’t photosynthesize as quickly as outdoor plants because outdoor plants have more sunlight than indoor plants. However, if the leaves of your indoor plant are clean, the plant can photosynthesize more. So, keep the leaves of your monstera deliciosa dust-free and clean, preferably using water and a microfiber cloth.
8. Check for Pests Regularly
Pests such as mealybugs, scale insects, and spiders can sometimes infest your monstera deliciosa. You can keep off the pests by spraying your plant with a natural pesticide that is not harmful to humans and pets. An example of a natural pesticide that you could use on the plant is neem oil.
I recommend using Greenskeepers’ Choice Neem Oil Spray for Plants. You can buy it “in bulk,” so to speak, in a 16 ounce (453.59 grams) container. Plus, it’s 100% pure, cold-pressed neem oil, so you don’t have to worry about dangerous or unpleasant additives.
You can mix it with a little bit of soap so that it actually mixes into the water instead of separating out.
9. Hydrate the Plant Properly
One of the tricks of growing a giant monstera deliciosa is ensuring that the plant is adequately hydrated. The idea is to keep the soil moist without overwatering the plant. So, instead of having a routine watering schedule, water the plant when need be.
You can check if your plant needs watering by sticking a wooden stick an inch or two into your soil. If the stick comes out completely dry, the plant needs watering. If part of the stick comes out wet, the soil is moist, and the plant doesn’t need immediate watering.
When it’s time to water the plant, water it thoroughly to ensure all the roots and soil are well watered. Water the plant until you see water flowing through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. About 25% of the water will drain out, and the rest will remain in the plant.
Another approach, as mentioned earlier, is to use a self-watering pot with a wick. This will make sure it always receives an even amount of water and is never over-watered.
Resources
10. Ensure the Humidity and Temperature Are Ideal
Monstera deliciosa originates from a tropical climate, and it thus needs high humidity and temperature. These plants grow most in temperatures around 65-85 °F (18-29 °C); that’s why they thrive during summer. If your house gets colder than that, your monstera’s growth will suffer.
Be sure to water less frequently in colder temperatures so you don’t cause root rot.
For humidity, 25-50% humidity should be acceptable, according to the University of Gerogia Extension Office, but some sources recommend 60%+ humidity.
If your humidity is in the 25-50% range, watch your plant to see how often it needs to be watered and if it’s developing crispy brown spots at the tips of its leaves. If it is, you may want to move the plant into a bathroom, near an aquarium, near other plants, or otherwise take steps to increase the humidity for your plant.
11. Deal With Plant Problems Immediately
One of the common problems that Monstera deliciosa faces is root rot caused by overwatering. The signs of this disease include the following:
- Dark brown roots
- Yellow leaves
- Stunted growth
The best way of handling this disease is to stop watering the plant immediately for some time.
Another problem is under-watering; the most significant sign of this problem is curled-up leaves. You can deal with this problem by increasing the amount of water you give to the plant.
Resources
- What to Do If Your Monstera’s Leaves Won’t Split
- Signs Your Monstera is Being Over-Watered
- Signs Your Monstera is Being Under-Watered
- Why Are My Monstera’s Leaves Drooping?
12. Feed the Plant With Some Fertilizer
Suppose you want to grow a giant monstera deliciosa. In that case, you should feed it with fertilizer to give the plant vital nutrients for healthy and fast growth. Use a water-soluble fertilizer but don’t over-fertilize; if you over-fertilize, the fertilizer can damage the plant.
So, feed it with fertilizer at least once a month during summer and spring. Avoid fertilizing it during winter because it doesn’t experience much growth during that season.
13. Prune the Plant Occasionally
As mentioned earlier, your monstera deliciosa can grow into a giant if you take good care of it. Pruning helps to remove unhealthy or dying leaves and gives your plant a new lease on life. This frees up its energy to spend on the healthy leaves
You can also prune the plant to your desired size if you feel like it is growing in the wrong direction and want to shape what it looks like.
The best part is that you can turn the cuttings into new monstera plants and either keep or sell them to make some extra change. (This can really help if you have a more expensive variegated monstera deliciosa.)
Resources
- How to Prune a Monstera
- What Should You Do With Aerial Roots on a Monstera? (Everything You Need To Know)
- Everything You Need To Know About Monstera Nodes
- How To Root Monstera Cuttings
Key Takeaways
Monstera deliciosa is a beautiful houseplant that can add beauty and color to your home or office. The plant is easy to grow as it doesn’t require a lot of pampering. You can grow a giant monstera deliciosa within a few years, but you have to encourage the plant to reach its full potential by doing the tips that I mentioned in this article.
Here are 13 tips on how to grow a giant monstera deliciosa:
- Mix good quality soil with peat moss.
- Use a pot with drainage holes.
- Use the right-sized pot.
- Give the plant additional support.
- Ensure your plant gets the right amount of sunlight.
- Rotate the pot regularly.
- Keep the leaves clean.
- Use some insecticide.
- Hydrate the plant properly.
- Ensure the humidity and temperature are ideal.
- Deal with plant problems immediately.
- Feed the plant with some fertilizer.
- Prune the plant occasionally.
