I bought a split leaf 2 years ago at a yard sale for $2. When I got it, there was only 2 small leaves. Since then, I would say it is about 3 1/2 - 4 ft tall and about 7-8 ft in diameter. There are so many leaves:) I love it, but I need to prune it back some because after I transplanted it into a new pot, the leaves are pointing in different directions and some of them are upside down now. I have tried to prop them up to face the right way, but I am afraid of breaking the thin stock. For some reason, their branches are thicker than the base. So, how would I go about pruning the leaves back? Do I just cut them where I would want it, or is there a certain spot on the branch, base, or what I call (conjunction-a cluster of branches from one place)? I won't do anything to it until I know it won't hurt it. This thing likes to grow fast!!! I can almost guarantee that I won't be able to find this place again on the web, so if you know the answer to my question, please email me at cpenena@hotmail.com. Very much appreciated.

The emerging leaves are pale, telling me that it's not getting the bright indirect sunlight it needs. The soil mix looks fine, very similar to what I use, but it's not getting watered enough. These plants love water, they just don't like wet feet. If that makes any sense. With the soil mix that you're using, you can water it much more often. Mine stays outside for most of the year and I water it almost daily. Plus, I rarely fertilize it and it still grows like a weed. That's because it gets all of the bright, indirect sunlight that it wants. It doesn't matter how much fertilizer you "feed" a plant, those fertilizers aren't food, and they won't do any good if a plant isn't getting the sunlight it needs to photosynthesize. Plants manufacture their own food, and they can only do that through photosynthesis. As for the aerial roots, you won't really see many of those until the stems grow much longer. Just give your plant much brighter indirect sunlight and more frequent waterings, and it will take care of the rest itself. These plants are called monsters for a reason, HaHa... Also, don't bother misting. Monsteras love humidity, but will grow perfectly fine in the interiors of our homes. My place uses gas heat, which pretty much strips any moisture out of the air during the winter months, and it doesn't phase my monstera one bit.

Hi robin98(NZ(9b)) thanks for your help! *I've had the plants for approximately 2 years. *I repotted them approximately 1-2 months ago. *Both were in terracotta pots, now just the larger one is. The smaller one is in a plastic pot now, there's been no change in either plant other than getting worse. *I water both when the top 2 inches are dry, I use my finger or a wood dowel to tell if the soil is damp, mainly my finger. If the top 2 inches are dry I water until soaked, with the water draining freely through the holes. I never let them sit in water for longer than maybe 30mins, after watering. *The build up was before I repotted, it looks like salt or water hardness. I removed them from those pots and placed them in fresh pots that had been disinfected prior to use. There's some build up since that time on the rim of the terracotta pot (can be seen slightly in photo below of the top of the pot) I'm still sad, but learning to cope with it! ;) Well, I'm trying to learn from this experience. Thank-you so much! I've included some newer photos, please feel free to ask more questions if necessary. I'm considering removing the large one from it's pot, to repot again, but into a smaller pot after I remove some roots. It smells from the top of the soil now, and although when I repotted previously there was no indication of rot I'm thinking this is either leaf disease of some type or root rot. I removed these leaves: Then this started: Here's a picture of the top of the pot: Thanks everyone in advance! Let's hope we can save these guys!

Emily, you must be doing a few things right to have them that big and green! But wilting leaves even though plants have been watered means they're not able to take up that water, so look to the soil and the roots. Salt buildup in the soil from fertilisers and/or minerals in your water can prevent the roots from absorbing water by creating an osmotic pull in the other direction. Or your potting mix might be old and compacted (soil level looks pretty low in photos), your plants might be rootbound, maybe there could even be some root rot going on - all of which interferes with the roots absorbing water. Overwatering can do the same thing but that sounds less likely for you. Of course fertilising contributes to how well a plant will do but only once the above factors are sorted, I doubt just giving your plants a bit of this or that will be the answer. First step I would flush the pots out with plain water ie. water them thoroughly until it's draining through, wait 10-20 minutes and repeat. This will dissolve any salts back into solution and then rinse them out. Like re-setting. Cassandra, I see a nice looking one of these in the background of another post of yours, whatever you're doing must be working too!