How To Easily Propagate Your Monstera
Monstera deliciosa, commonly referred to as the Swiss cheese plant, or just monsteras, are one of the most trendy houseplants on the market. This is due to their very unique appearance with minimal upkeep needs. They can grow as much as 2 feet a year, according to Monstera Plant Resource Center. When younger, a monstera's leaves are eye-catching as is, but when the plant is older and taller, the large fronds of monstera are stunning additions to any houseplant collection.
All monsteras need to thrive is plenty of bright, indirect sunlight, moist soil, and occasional fertilization. With how fast growing they are for such a minimal effort on your part, odds are once you have one monstera, you'll want more. They look just as gorgeous in a tabletop pot as they do in a larger floor container when larger, and will never fail to impress. Instead of emptying your wallet at your local garden center, though, consider learning how to propagate and regrow monstera cuttings yourself.
Getting the cutting
The first step of propagation is to actually get a cutting. Monstera cuttings are remarkably easy to obtain — all you'll need is a healthy plant with a fair amount of growth and a pair of sharp, sterilized shears or scissors. The piece you're cutting off should have at least two or so nodes — small bumps along the stem where roots or shootings could grow out of. This cutting should be roughly 5 inches long, and have a few leaves.
As gorgeous as monstera leaves are, your next step is to strip all the leaves except a few at the top. You need to make sure the plant is putting its energy toward producing new roots, as opposed to maintaining old leaves. You can help speed this along by dipping the cut end of your monstera cutting into rooting hormone powder, which will encourage it to develop a root system quicker.
Rooting the cuttings
The next step to propagating your new monstera(s) is variable, but the end result is the same — you need to put the monstera cutting in a medium that supports its root growth. While you can pot it in soil, it's much easier to root it in a jar of water.
All you need to do is add the monstera cutting to a jar or tall glass vessel. Then, cover it with tepid water to the very top. Ideally, you should use filtered or distilled water. If you have rooting hormone liquid or gel, you could also add it to the water at this point, per the University of Minnesota Extension. You will need to regularly change out the water, at least once a week, to keep the new monstera roots from getting mushy or the water from getting dirty.
The roots will need to get anywhere from 3 to 5 inches long before you can replant, which can take as long as a few months. Keep your monstera cutting by a sunny window — not too sunny, though, that it scorches the leaves. As pictured above, these cuttings look great lining a window sill.