I’ve had this monstera that I grew from prop for about 7 years. I saw a plant TikToker say all monstera steams should be facing in the same direction and she should be more compact. Unfortunately I’ve lived in several places with different light conditions. Have I done something wrong? And if so, how do I fix it?
by Unique-Bandicoot-809
32 Comments
Your plant looks very happy and healthy! So many fenestrations. The advice they are giving sounds more like aesthetics of the plant than actual health. You might end up hurting your plant more than helping if you try and manipulate the stems that are preexisting.
That person was only focused on the aesthetics. Your plant is very happy obviously
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There’s nothing wrong with your monstera health-wise from what I’m seeing. The reason it’s all over the place like that is having light come from all directions.
There’s no way to “fix” it as bending the stems will probably break them, that is if you can move them at all considering the age of the plant.
If you need it to be more aesthetically pleasing (which I’m not sure why you would, your plant looks like it came straight from the jungle, and it was just a tiktok comment anyway), you can chop the top part and posture it with light coming from just one direction. Personally i wouldn’t, I’d get a new monstera if i wanted it to be that way.
It’s healthy, I agree! My only tip is that a grow light aimed horizontally would produce the ideal “compact leaf wall” aesthetic. Personally I like the vibes of a plant doing its own thing, but if you care, thats how you’d achieve it (without, like, a giant window).
Also monsteras will spin their leaves crazy fast to chase the light! Like a matter of weeks, IME. So I wouldn’t worry too much about past light conditions.
One thing you could do that I’ve done before is use some twine to loosely “bundle” all the edge petioles together so that they’re more vertical. In general I spend a good amount of time doing stuff like this—clipping stems to the pole as high as possible, wrapping, bundling, etc—to get the right aesthetic. So don’t be afraid to try stuff out! You can always just untie stuff if it doesn’t work
Plant tok is wrong
Sometimes, on social media, the advice or judgement you’re receiving can be from a 12 year old. Remember this always.
Looks normal to me.
Tik tok is just random people making videos with opinions.
Plant TikTok can be fun, but it can also be highly critical. Gardeners have different styles, but expecting plants to be “perfect” takes some of the joy out of it.
My monstera is big, twisty, and wild, but it is very happy after nearly losing it and then finally improving its light source. I’m into this for the fun and learning, so I try to keep my approach relaxed (unless we’re talking pests then 🔥).
ignore these tik tok bitches who only care for the aesthetic and not the soul of the plant. she looks healthy !! and is beautiful !
Don’t listen to those people. They’re probably constantly pruning their plants because they’re more concerned with aesthetics than the plant’s natural growth habit. I’m a master gardener and your monstera looks healthy and beautiful! 💚
Wow I’m calling game and wildlife on your monstera. /s
I love the wildness of it. The only thing I even remotely see that could be a potential issue are the curling and droopy leaves. They should be more flattened like a sheet of paper. I don’t have a monstera, so I’m not sure how to fix that and don’t want to give you bad advice. I just haven’t seen the curling leaves much in healthy, outdoor varieties.
It looks like it’s reaching for more light. I face my monstera towards the window even tho that means I see the back of the plant lol
Your plant looks like it’s thriving! Great leaves and what not. Nature doesn’t care what tik tok thinks it should look like, leaves get damaged sometimes and some turn yellow and fall off. It’s like fruits and veggies from your garden vs at the grocery store, home grown ones look different but taste so much better
Monstera looking like a thaumatophyllum
My personal tip is to stop using tiktok and chatgpt for anything related to plants.
Why?! Looks great
He looks great! Hes got the wild look about him.
I would say help her stand up more. She’s gorgeous btw… just looks like she needs support.
Your plant child just has “interests in multiple areas” and I fully support it. It may benefit from a drink or possibly a larger containment unit. Looks a little thirsty, but thriving.
Most things on tik tok are probs gonna be bs in general lol take it all with a grain of salt (imho)
Not only are they wrong your plant is gorgeous and v happy, idek what they would be saying is wrong with it
I’ve got one in the bathroom that looks exactly the same. He just sends leaves wherever and I let him do his thing.
I mean, it doesn’t look great— it’s a bit droopy and has chaotic growth habits and definitely doesn’t have enough light in this photo. But it doesn’t seem that you’re doing anything *wrong*. You could just be doing things a lot better
It looks fine to me! Just because it’s not sitting on someone’s front porch in Florida does not mean that it’s not thriving. 💚💚💚
Mine looks similar, only it’s bigger and bushier. It lives in my dining room which is surrounded by windows so it’s just all over the place in its glory🤣
my monstera looks like that. if the leaves are green and shes still growing, then let her live. who gives a shit if it looks like an influencer’s plant? it’s your baby and shes magnificent how she is
i see at least 2 plants in the pot, and although you have a pole, the plants i spot are not perfectly being supported by it. there’s tons of youtube videos on miss poles and monsteras, but basically the backside of the plant should face the pole and given support.
I’ve seen people maintain only a few large leaves. The only thing I do differently is i loosely tie the stems closer to the moss pole to promote vertical growth. The leaves do turn on their own. In my opinion, it depends on the plant parent’s preferences. I occasionally stress mine by rotating them & I put them on my bedroom balcony in the summer. I think that little bit of stress builds stronger stems and leaves. But I’m not a botanist, so I’m not certain it has any effect. Just a humble plant dad. 😊
TikTok is like the worst place you could possibly go to learn about plants (or anything really). It’s so full of misinformation and outright bullshit. It will make you worse at plants. Do yourself a favor and just delete that brain rot app entirely.
Your monstera is fine. Sounds like it’s been fine for most of a decade. You clearly know what you’re doing. You don’t need to uproot it just because a random stranger in a popularity contest posted a 20 second clip saying that monsteras need to be organized.
Lmaoooo tiktok. 😂🤣😂🤣