New monstera deliciosa was donated to the charity I volunteer at. I have previously been named the designated green thumbs, but this is way out of my skill level. It needs some serious help but I'm lost. I don't own this plant or the shop so chopping completely down is not an option.
It is a 6 foot 6 inches monstera deliciosa. With currently 5 leaves, one of which is small and one is broken half way off (Pic 4 assuming it needs to be cut).
The stem is very thin where the stem meets the soil, but further up the stem looks good. I'm worried it could break so I'm trying to take the weight off it. It is quite misshapen and any attempt to straighten it up has been unsuccessful because the weight of the plant is dragging it down. I do not know how to support it. Other plants I have given a coco pole because they are easily available and cheap in my area, not for the quality, I doubt it's the right choice regardless. They don't sell 6'+ coco poles and this thing is heavy. How do I support a heavy plant that can't hold it's own weight? I feel like it is slowly sliding downward. (Accidentally left some leftover twine thread by the roots in the third picture from a failed attempt to support, sorry)
I don't know what the soil is or what to replace it with.
I've been trying to soak it any time it is dry, but it still looks incredibly dry to me
I feel like all the advice I can find online is specifically for monsteras that are no more than a couple feet tall and it is hard to follow with it being so tall.
I'm on the edge of giving up, but it's not my plant and chopping is not an option. We get so many compliments about having a big plant, so it has to stay.
by Miss_Bubbles_Miss
4 Comments
This is a tricky one for beginners
https://preview.redd.it/o08pql2n4axg1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=435c16df7c0c6925a1b69d31f7fb8fbce2150fd6
hehe (not the plant, the state of it). Should not be this tall without leaves. Ideally you would cut it back closer to that cluster of leaves at the top, but you don’t have many aerial roots there.
Depending on the level of effort you are willing to put in, you could air layer that top. Its a technique to get it to root before chopping. You put sphagnum moss around the area, cover with cling filme and keep it wet until roots between nodes develop, where I marked 🙂 you can find youtube videos showing exactly how to.
For now, fertilise it, water when almost fully dry and keep it next to that window should help.
Its leggy cause it didn’t get enough light at some point but the larger fenestrated leaves tell me it was loved in the past.
That’s sad
So I’m not an expert, but as far as I know you will probably have to chop the top because Monstera deliciosas, like many other plants, have apical dominance. A deliciosa typically won’t regrow bottom leaves unless it is forced to (the apex is removed or damaged). Also the monstera won’t regrow bottom leaves in the same exact place, once a petiole is broken off it is gone and won’t regrow, it will actually produce new vines along the stem.
This is only what I have heard so don’t quote me on this 🙏
I wish you luck 🤞
Needs to be chopped and idk what garbage soil that is but they dont like soil . Like at all. Period. No soil. If anything a handful. They need course gritty soil. And more loght. Its reaching too much snd will never grow that back beloe the green leaves. Also looks maybe like your friend got root rot. From the soil being too dense.