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Mystery House Plant

17 years ago

Unfortunately I don't have any pics. It was a drug store buy rather than grocery, but all the same.

The leaves are 'lilly pad' shaped, Dark green and shiny, about tuna can sized when they get to full size, one at the end of each stalk, the stalks just keep getting longer and longer, so I'm tempted to stake them or something, but it doesn't appear to be the right thing to do since it seems fairly happy getting tall and arching over.

The plant hasn't gotten enough leaves to really tell what it's going to do.

When it grows new leaves they come from 'inside' the stalk of an existing leaf, which has a curled shape that opens up and lets the new stalk come out.

It's gotten to be about 18" tall, and I'm wondering what it's going to do, and what it is.

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Comments (6)

webkat5
17 years ago
The description sounds a lot like the young plant I recently had ID'd as a Monstera deliciosa.

Pics of young plants are hard to find for this plant, so here is the pic of mine....is it similar?

Here is a link that might be useful: Monstera deliciosa
mandi_s1
Original Author
17 years ago
YES!!

I just moved it to my bathroom upstairs since the downstairs is getting so cold.

Do you have any tips for happy monsters? :-D
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Well Toni, not quite, not my beloved Balfour Aralia (which as I've been taught is variegated by definition). Not sure if you can tell, it's a bit tough to see in these pix, this one is solid green, no white. So it's not Balfour, just an Aralia or Polyscias, maybe one called Aralia 'Ruffles'. Nice plant, yes could use some work. Hi GT, The best light for these is bright, indirect, if you repot, then don't fertilize at the same time; bedsides if you use new mix one doesn't need fertilizer for at least 4-6 months. I'd suggest some African Violet mix w/ extra perlite, maybe 1/3 as much perlite by volume; the aim here is to lighten the mix & keep it fast draining. I'd remove the dead, dried up foliage, & use a pebble tray. The pebble tray makes all the difference w/ this plant as it likes some humidity, but also needs to dry out btwn waterings. Yes that MAY sound contradictory, but it's not. I'd trim off all that tall, leggy growth & just leave the central growths which look nicely compact. The cuttings can be placed back into the Mother plant's pot OR rooted in water; either way one you can start another plant. One would place 3 cuttings (once rooted) in a small, plastic pot, say 3" diameter not much larger. Lots of folks have trouble w/ this plant, so the fact that it's still alive is a VERY good thing!
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Toxicity is always a hot topic. Most plants which may cause issues require a huge amount to be ingested before any serious reactions. Problem with sites which list plants of possible concern is that they rarely indicate that though. For that matter, many do "blanket" lists without regard to the fact that plant A may be a seriously dangerous one for kids but not so for cats or dogs, while plant B may be a big issue for cats but not for other organisms, and so forth. Then there are those individuals that may have a stronger reaction than the normal population. Tends to lead to a lot of panic -- much of it unnecessary. Anything that looks grass-like tends to be particularly attractive to cats. Keeping a pot of plants that cats are permitted to chow on can help them from chewing on others. However, rather than use those ridiculously small cups that petstores sell, I'd recommend a large shallow pot and giving the "cat grass" a chance to truly become established/well rooted before introducing a cat to it.
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Omg thank you so much. She said that's it. I'm so happy cuz we have been trying to figure it out for months. We are both going to buy a new one. Thanks again for your help.
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That's definitely it. Looks pretty invasive, though I doubt it would survive our winters. Either way, I'll definitely keep it inside. Thanks so much, it's great to know.
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mandi_s1
Original Author
17 years ago
Will the leaves start having the rounded 'cut aways' like the pictures I've found of the mature ones eventually? About how long into the growth? The bigger leaves are starting to get a little bit 'cup shaped' almost where their edge isn't bid enough for the leaf to be flat.

The dementia has set in. I'm giddy thinking about it.
mandi_s1
Original Author
17 years ago
Here's a picture, Pardon the reflection in the corner.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:115201}}
johnh_or
17 years ago
Hi Mandi.....the existing leaves will not develop the "cut aways" that you have seen. Only new growth will. How long depends on the growing conditions. The plant needs to be trained to grow upright to cause this to happen. Also, bright light is best for this plant too. It shouldn't take very long at all as long as you can provide upright growth and bright light. In nature, this plant uses it's arial roots to attach itself to the bark of trees. The higher the plant climbs, the bigger the leaves will get. The holes are thought to be a natural defense to strong winds.....so the wind will pass thru the leaf instead of tearing it. I read that somewhere anyway. Nice reflection by the way!
johnh_or
17 years ago
Here's a full size plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:115202}}

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