That looks good. I have the Monstera adansonii and siltepecana (and like everyone else, deliciosa as well). The adansonii and siltepecana are also fast growers, much faster than my deliciosa.

This is the only Monstera I have . . . so far. I saw some really gorgeous large deliciosas recently but I bought a bunch of plants in January, and I'm about out of space, so I put them on a "someday" list.

When this one starts to outgrow its pot (it needs repotting anyway, the mix in there looks awful) I'm going to give it something to climb up, try and keep it from spread out horizontally too much.

this is looking VERY good, keep doing what you're doing :). adding some sort of stake will help. It likes to climb and that increases the leaf size.

I'm going to give it a stake when I repot. Or maybe two stakes, because I think there are two cuttings in there, and they are heading different directions. (probably not 2 pots, though, because even though "more plants" is great, "more pots" would be a space problem.)

I have been amazed at how much growth it has put out! It's winter!! Some of my other plants have been growing a lot, too, so I've been giving them all some fertilizer sometimes when I water (if I remember).

Questions about adding a stake: Would giving them a piece of rough (unsanded) hardwood lumber to climb be acceptable? I know wood may eventually rot at the base if stuck into a pot, but it would be easy for me to get hold of; no one local seems to sell moss poles, and the nursery is currently selling some philos and pothos that are trained up wood stakes - looks like some of them are held up with staples but others have totally just gripped onto the wood by themselves. (and maybe I can do something clever that doesn't require the stake to be IN the pot) And should I just go for a tall length right off, rather than giving it a 3-foot stake and running out of height in a year or two?

My siltepenana really grips tightly to smooth surfaces and has rocketed up really high. But the adansonii doesn't grip so well and tends to flop a bit without getting very high. I don't know what obliqua is like though. But an alternative would be to have it in a hanging pot and just loop long vines back up over the pot.

ah, but if it's climbing it will increase the leaf size. but then, may be you don't want that? it seems to be a fast grower - so you'll run out of stake fast in any case. i foresee lots of cuttings in your future ;).

you might use bamboo poles - 3 per pot, like bean teepee, but you'll need a larger pot then. and double it up into a heavy ceramic pot, so it won't tip over easily.

then perhaps you can stick the poles between the walls of a ceramic pot and your inner plastic pot and duct tape them to the plastic pot for stability...

I wouldn't mind the leaf size increasing. I'm thinking the benefit of a climbing plant attached to a stake is that it might be easier to move around than one with vines flopping all over the place. Plus, the plant is naturally a climber, so I want to provide it that option. Sounds like no matter what, at some point I may just have to cut it back.

Bamboo poles seem like they'd be even slicker than rough lumber - would it need to be tied/clipped to them somehow?

yah, use twisties. bamboo poles are not the best, but are easily found. but normally roots attach to uneven surfaces quite tight. raw lumber prolly would do - just a board even would be better, but stabilizing the board is harder then a 3 pole teepee.

Tropicbreezent, I haven't put my siltepecana where it can attach and climb, how has yours changed after it's climbed 'really high'? I'm interested in leaf size and whether it retained any of the silver variegation. What about splits or holes?

Thanks, Russ

My siltepecana is on a palm tree and about 5 metres high now. It's run into some bamboo up top and I'm afraid it might just take off through the bamboo. May have to cut off the top section and make new plants from it. It never had any variegations. As a small plant the leaves were very small, looked a lot like a Philodendron. At about 1.5m it developed fenestrations in the leaves which also grew a lot larger. They're still small by M. deliciosa standards, and are more narrow. I'd say the leaves up top have a blade length of not much more than 300mm, but I haven't had a ladder up there to actually check for an exact measurement. A new shoot has started near the base of the vine and it has the same small leaves and no fenestrations as the original plant started with.

Hi tropicbreezeent, thanks for the trouble of all that good information. My siltepecana juvenile has some dull silvery variegation, but I've seen many pics of it that are all-green like yours. I just saw a pic of a mature siltepecana leaf on a Google search and it was full of interior holes with splits all along the edges.

I would think any aroid would have trouble attaching to bamboo, but your plant could certainly ramble through it and 'disappear into the woodwork'. So new cuttings from the top sounds like a good idea.

I have many live oaks on my property and there are several aroids I want to plant at the base, including siltepecana. Epipremnum pinnatum has been climbing a big oak for many years, it's maybe 13 metres high and has branched off in all directions up there. Philo hederaceum (oxycardium, scandens, etc) is fairly high on the same tree, as well as P. 'Venezuela' and Syngonium podophyllum in green and white-variegated forms. Also an unidentified philo that might be giganteum.

It's amazing that vining aroids can start out a long way from a tree but will scurry along the ground in 'traveling mode' (narrow vine, long internodes) straight at a tree. How does it know it's there? Mother Nature is fascinating.

G'day, and thanks again,

Russ

I've seen photos of some siltepecana that have the highly decorative leaves but those leaves are usually quite small. They are a bit like the "shingle" plants, Raphidophora sp. Mine didn't show any of that colouration. But they cling really well to the smooth trunk of the palm so I wouldn't be surprised if they'd also manage to hold onto bamboo.

I had Epipremnum aureum up to 25 metres high in African Mahogany trees. The trees were over 30 metres high and I had to cut them out because of the cyclone risk. The Epipremnums drop runners down from up high, sometimes 10 to 15 metres up. When these hit the ground they run along the surface away from the tree for some distance before they 'look' for something to climb. My E. pinnatum is still relatively small but is getting a number of adult leaves. But my E. amplissimum is running rampant through one of my ponds and up anything vertical in the vicinity.

My Philo hederaceum is going up a palm tree but tends to be a bit spindly. I think it would prefer a bit less temperature and a bit more RH. Philo erubescens isn't one for great heights but seems comfortable with 4 or 5 metres. The Philo lacerum gets up high, it outgrows the Syngonium which grows very densely but seems to prefer heights under about 10 metres. Syngonium is a terrible weed that's almost impossible to get under control. It'd cling to a fast moving train, LOL.

They say the vining aroids respond to shade, that's how they find trees. But first they trail along into the bright areas to get away from the tree they're already on. I guess it's all built into their genetics. What works survives, what didn't work died out long ago.

My clone of siltepecana must be intermediate between no variegation and the 'highly decorative' ones you've seen. The variegation is dull and I'd call it gray rather than silver, and in any case, it will disappear once it starts climbing and leaves start getting bigger.

I'm sure aroids could cling to bamboo, but I wonder if they could stay attached given they are usually narrow. Maybe one of the giant, very wide bamboos.

Which E. aureum do you have climbing so high? I've wondered if the highly variegated ones retain the color with size or if they go green or at least 'greener'. I have an all-yellow form (Neon?) that has climbed about 2.5 metres and is still maintaining the yellow. Leaves are half a metre long but no holes or splits yet.

Interesting about all the aroids you have climbing trees. You mentioned E. amplissimum which makes me wonder if I still have mine. I don't remember seeing any in the shadehouse but then it's jammed since I'm just coming out of winter. I guess checking for one will be on the agenda tomorrow.

Syngonium is a class A pest here in Florida too. I rip out garbage cans full but I know it's impossible to completely rid my property of it. My fault, I let the escapes get out of hand from my collection. I'm ruthless with the all-green podophyllum, but I let a few white-variegated ones stay on the two trees they're climbing. Many of the Allusion hybrids stay in their pots for a long time, but they will run eventually.

Russ

My E. aureum is the ordinary variegated one, it was already all over the place when I bought the property. Up top of the tall ones they're still variegated, most leaves have splits but some don't. There's a huge variety in the pattern of the variegation although the variegation is more spread through the leaf on the taller vines. In the leaves on the newer vines (smaller leaves) it's more patchy. I've never bought different varieties, I try to focus more on different species. I'd certainly like to get hold of more Monstera species.

My E. amplissimum I just noticed has dropped a fruit and scattered some berries. I checked one and it has seed inside. I might try some in a pot. Not that I actually want more of them, but it's fun trying them out. Although, I remember when I excitedly raised some Lasia spinosa seedlings. Now a few years later with seedlings coming up all over the place it just doesn't seem exciting at all, LOL.

i had another idea about bamboo poles, which i might try myself, as i got a couple of cuttings of M. adansonii. tie several together in a flat bundle, that is weave a twine back and forth between sev poles in 3 places to keep it sturdy. this will create a flat surface with crevises - i think roots will be able to cling to that just fine.

I think you're right, interesting idea. When you get it constructed.... pics!!

Russ

I'm still looking for this plant. If anyone could find one for me I'm willing to pay for it plus shipping.

Which plant, mrsjdb? Several aroids mentioned here.

Russ

Russ1023 The Swiss cheese vine. From the original post

Understood now, I thought that might be the one. It's rambling on the ground behind my shadehouse, escaped from the pot. I'll PM you on this.

Russ

That's really nice. Afraid to say the only monstera I'm familiar with is deliciosa, which I havent grown for years (no space for one here)