Hi all, would appreciate some advice on this please. I was advised to place my monstera by the window (it was 3.5m away from very large windows). So I have read that monsters have a front and a back and the leaves should face the window, I of course will do whatever it takes to keep it healthy but I don't like it facing the window as I want to see the plant in its full glory from my armchair. Should I leave it facing inside the room?Should I rotate regularly? Or should face it to the window during the day then face inside the room when the sun goes down so I can still enjoy it more? Maybe I'm over thinking this but I don't know much about growing house plants.
Thank you in advance
by goonertone75
7 Comments
Leave them facing the windows. Yes, you have more than one plant there.
Untie those petioles!
It is correct that a monstera have a front and backside. Your monstera will gain close to nothing from the sun the way it’s facing here, as the backside of the leaves don’t photosynthesise nearly as well.
I see three options for you:
1. Rotate it with its front towards the window and simply enjoy the view of its backside as it grows larger beautiful leaves over time.
2. Leave it as the picture, and it will spit out new leaves in the direction of the window, twisting it’s body. Over time, you’ll have leaves in every direction, so you have some to view and some to photosynthesise. The downside is that it will always use energy on all of its leaves but only gain energy from half of them. It will live but not thrive, and you won’t get as large leaves with as many fenestrations as otherwise.
3. Move it wherever you want and give it a really strong grow lamp instead of the window. If you place the grow lamp between your armchair and the plant, then any future leaves will also be turned towards the armchair.
This is the reason I don’t have a monstera right now: they will face the light source no matter what. Which, in many rooms, means that they will turn their back on you. If you have a place (I used to have one) where you can place the monstera in a way that allows here to look out of the window while allowing you to look at the front side of the monstera, then, they are wonderful plants.
But that kind of setting just isn’t possible in most rooms, because the wall opposing the window is mostly quite far away from the window (and they like bright light). So, either you go for a compromise, by placing it near a window but in front of a wall perpendicular to the window (the wall will limit her ability to turn around completely, especially, if you support her by hooking her to that wall). Or you go for the wall opposing the window but supplement light with a grow light. Or you just leave the house and watch her from outside to appreciate her full glory 😁
Thank you all for advice.
Watch this video. You’ll regret facing your monsters inwards in a years or so. And watch a few other monsters videos from this guy. He’s genuinely informative and his videos are helpful.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5oMTKX1vIs0
Nature and Nurture
I defer to horticulture experts and/or monstera specialists in this sub. Some of them may provide recommendations based on absolutes from data and studies in plant morphology, behavioral adaptations and/or specific types of these actions, such as growing towards light or roots growing down—a term called tropisms.
Others of us like to ignore the rules, guidelines and do our own thing or nothing and just let plants do what they will. As long as they are not suffering or dying—it’s all good in the hood.
That said, it’s totally a preference, aesthetics and lifestyle thing what actions are appropriate or necessary for your multiple plants living in that pot. If you provide all of them with adequate light, nutrients, and moisture—they will be happy. You may or may not set the world record on leaf size, fenestrations (cuts) or perforations (holes) but maybe that’s okay and you like the look.
My fav coffee shop in Seattle uses a professional plant care company to maintain their indoor garden scape. Their Monstera Deliciosa plants are cascading down from their planters hanging from building posts 12 feet up. Their leaves are small and have no fenestrations. [Their’s a mature monstera that has NO POT and climbing up a wall at an antique shop in Liverpool.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Monstera/s/Gk0E9Fp9Q5)
When I recently became a monstera Mom, experts, influencers and promoters recommend something—I buy it. Come to find out, I could have just used what I already had at my house or backyard as supports for my climbers. I mean, I am not setting a goal to grow my plants past our 8-foot ceilings or compare my leaf size to the master gardener next door. The one goal I have is for my Monstera Thai Constellation plants to develop pronounced white spots and not revert back to all green.
I have seen monstera parents who “rotate” their multiple plants in one pot and allow them to grow “symmetrically” around their support system rather than following the absolute of backside and frontside. There’s a [ginormous grouping of monsteras named Monte growing from a buffet turned planter.](https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/s/YxuBTWy8iH)
Rant done. (Shared in previous comments.)
At the end of the day, have fun!
https://preview.redd.it/vikop2puy8ig1.jpeg?width=3600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97873bb9e0cfe730e220fed98d2fb3910b06d46a