I am hoping to get some serious help with repotting my monstera. This thing is a BEAST! It’s huge. I live in Florida and we brought her in during the last hurricane. When we did that, the pot broke — like the bottom just fell right out of it. Because it was just on the brink of winter, there were NO pots in stores that were big enough for this thing so I just let it rock in the broken pot for a few months. I’m also 7 months pregnant, so repotting this plant was not my priority when I was just trying to survive.
I was able to find a larger pot this weekend and my husband agreed to help me take this project on. When we broke the old pot, we were greeted with this mess. Now let me tell you, this thing was in about a 30 gallon pot that I repotted it in less than 1 year ago. I was thinking I could break it up into a few different pots to make it more manageable, but with the roots so bound, I have no clue how to get it apart. Can I just saw right through the middle? Should I soak it overnight to try to loosen the dirt? I am in serious need of some advice. Please help. 😩
by b_xela
4 Comments
Monstera’s like to be root bound. If you go up a pot size, only give it 1”-2” around the root ball. If you want to separate it, soaking it is ideal but you’re still going to lose roots in the process. If you do separate it, make sure you aren’t using really big pots (only 1”-2” bigger than the root ball) and use a well draining, chunky soil mixture. They usually spring right back so it won’t hurt to pull it apart. Then you have gifts for others! Or eventually a big monstera jungle.
What an honestly fitting name for this plant. Def a monster(a) 😂
I sprayed mine with water to get the soil out, then soaked it for a bit. Then I loosened them gently (lost about 20% of the roots). Then replaced in indoor soil mixed with sphagnum moss. Watered heavily. Lost a few leaves in the month following, but I’ve gained a bunch back.
You can do a root prune when you repot. Up to a 30% prune is usually pretty safe with heavy rooters like pothos and monstera. It’s a common practice in the bonsai community, too. Sometimes if I like the pot my plants are in I’ll just root prune and add new soil instead of switching pots.