I have a beautiful new Monstera. It's technically my second – because the first one died (breaking my heart in the process) and I can't bear to go through that again.
How much should I water it? (As in, how many ounces, roughly, and how often?)
My first monstera I only watered one time about a week or so after I bought it (when the first few inches of the soil were dry) and I didn't even water it that much – maybe 32 ounces? I then let the water drain through, yet the next few weeks the soil remained wet and each leaf turned yellow turned brown turned gray and my heart did the same. It was really depressing.
I don't want this other monstera to suffer the same fate, and I'd love to hear any and all tips others might have, whether related to watering or otherwise.
Thanks!
by tjv2103
8 Comments
You water when the soil is completely dry. If you water when only the top few inches are dry you’re gonna kill it because you’re not accounting for the rest of the soil. You will essentially be drowning it if you only go by the top few inches.
I water when the soil is almost all the way dry. I check by sticking a bamboo stick into the soil. If it comes out mostly clean, I water it. I can often tell when it wants water though because the leaves will start drooping a little bit, but you’ll have to get to know your plant first to notice that. How often depends on the time of year for me. Anywhere from every 1.5 to 3 weeks. How often will depend heavily on your environment and how much moisture your soil retains.
When watering, completely drench the soil until water runs out of the drainage holes. The amount of water doesn’t matter as long as it drains out the bottom fully. This means make sure everything is drained before placing it back in its spot.
Monsteras love light, contrary to what many believe. I use a full spectrum LED grow light with mine because I don’t have good enough natural lighting. It definitely needs bright light in a nice window to grow. Is your bathroom normally where you keep it? Unless there’s a big window in there, it likely isn’t getting enough light, which will make it take in less water and contribute to root rot. Just make sure to acclimate the plant slowly if you want to change the lighting drastically.
I personally dont measure how much I water my monstera. I normally put my monstera in the shower and drown it in water until it’s thoroughly wet and then wait until the soil is dry to water it again. Monsteras need well draining soil to prevent root rot (a chunky soil mix). I hope this helps😊
Let me just say. I’m no expert but my soil is bone dry hands deep. And I’m expecting THREE babies! Let them talk to you.
I water my monstera constantly, probably a gallon a week. Never fails…wooden skewer goes in, comes out bone dry, soil isn’t even moist. It’s crazy how thirsty my Thai con is.
What a beauty! 🩷 Water deeply, and let it drain completely. I top and bottom water mine (poor through the top “drowning it”, then let it sit in a bowl of that water of what drains out until it quits sucking up the water – then take it out of the bowl, and let it drain out for 10 mins).
I never let it get BONE dry. But I use clear pots so I can see moisture or condensation on the inside of the pot. I wait another two days then water. My home stays at 72 degrees at around 55% humidity because I live in Houston, TX. I like her in my bedroom but I only have a north facing window so I use grow lights only. I keep the ceiling fan on Medium. I water about every week and 2 days as needed. My soil is VERY chunky so I water more than someone with more dense soil. You have to watch her and get to know her. She will tell you when she is thirsty. I agree with previous posts about just sitting her in the shower under almost warm (never cold) water. Rinsing the leaves helps with dusts and pests. Early morning east facing direct sun works fine for her in the summers. Otherwise make sure she’s in a room where the sun comes in the window but shining directly on her. She will burn. It’s easy to overwater and kill this plant. Better to underwater, bc you can recover from that- but not root rot. But both are obviously bad. Also consider staking her up so she doesn’t get bed head and look like a wild headed thing soon. She will thank you with bigger leaves. Happy growing!
All the advice given is much better than I could give, but I give the soil the shocker 🤟and if all 3 fingers come up clean then she’s ready to water