Rainsend, my experience trying to do what you want involves lots of skinny leaves breaking off in your hands.... no matter how much fiber you use. Look at the picture below (and the 3 following it) to see what I finally did. It is not a leaf cast but it did turn out to be very pretty. The first photo shows the initial result and the next 3 show different views of the same paint job. I do not have a picture of the final product - the same paint job with a coating of exterior urethane that added darkness to the reddish color and a slight amber to the lighter areas. I did this by coating the leaf with as "even" a coat of white cement (quickwall in this case) as I could get. ooops, I forgot an important step. FIRST, lay out a sheet of heavy clean plastic on a big sturdy table. Wad up a small amount of paper and decide how much to put under the center section of the leaf to give it alittle depth but still be able to put the leaf fronds flat on the table. It doesn't take much padding here - and JUST under the center vein area. NOW pick up the leaf and put it somewhere else and spray it with spray adhesive. I had some 10 year old can of stencil adhesive but I think anything would work. Next, go back to your clean plastic on the table and carefully (extra hands help here) lay the leaf down on the wads of paper and arrange each frond so it is separate from the others and push down so the adhesive makes the leaf parts stick to the plastic on the table. Get this all looking like you want and gently press down every edge so concrete won't seep under the leaf. NOW you can go back to spreading white cement very carefully on every part of your leaf. Try not to get much smeared off the leaf because you are going to have to clean up every bit before you go on. When you are happy with your white cement coating (at least a quarter of an inch thick.... more on the big solid parts of the leaf), get all the edges like you want. Because you surely will have made a mess somewhere, now sprinkle clean sand over the plastic sheet and between every separate leaf part. DO NOT get much sand on top of the white cement). Let all this dry for awhile. I waited about an hour. Mix up a big pan of gray concrete and color it whatever color you want. I added a small amount of red powder (concrete colorant) someone gave me to try. I used a hypertufa recipe(on the dry side... not runny ) because this piece was going to get too heavy with just solid concrete. The rest is easy and quick. You dump the colored (could be gray - just not white) mix over the leaf and pat it gently around so it covers everything and mounds up to the shape and thickness you want. Because the middle of this leaf is so deep, you need to have about a 2 to 4 inch thickness. Because you are using a mix that doesn't run, you can use your hands to give it a basic overall shape you like. All that sand you poured on the plastic will give the front of your piece a nice sandy finish which you will brush off later. check out the photos and see if this would work for you Laura Here is a link that might be useful: try here

You can either decide to direct the "aerial" roots down into the pot, let them grow wherever they want, or cut them off. In their native rainforest of Yucatan, the aerial roots help anchor them into surrounding plants/trees and help them climb into the forest canopy. Believe it or not, even the common philodendron (cousin to the monstera) does this. I had one in a north facing window and the vines formed aerial roots and started to attach themselves to the wall (like ivy) and start climbing the walls. I let them do this for a while because I found it so interesting and was pleased the plant loved its location. (Also made me aware of a moisture problem with the wall to begin with). Moral of the story is that you may want to provide some sort of supportive structure for the weight of the vines.--They can grow to massive proportions given the right conditions. I'll leave it up to your ingenuity to design a support. As a general rule of thumb, I do not like to translant anything into a pot larger than 1.5 times the existing size. If that sunroom of yours gets chilly in the winter(below 60 F), watch your watering. I have kept tropicals in an unheated sunroom that would be in the 55-65 degree range in the winter but you have to reduce watering if it gets that chilly (monsteras are really pretty drought tolerant). PS. Did you know that the mature Monstera produces a tasty fruit in the tropics. Good luck!

Hi Sheri! If the plant is truly Monstera deliciosa it isn't a Philodendron at all. The genus Monstera contains 33 to 36 or so species depending on the scientific source quoted. There are many scientific names in the genus but almost all have been sunk into synonymy with a much smaller number of accepted species names. It sounds as if you've done your homework already since you know the name of the botanist that originally published the plant or at least his abbreviated name so I'd say you actually have that species. Monstera deliciosa has a number of natural variations and some produce leaves that remain very small for the entire life of the plant. I was recently given a cutting from a 20 year old plant the the largest leaves weren't 12 inches wide. Philodendron is a very large genus with something close to 1000 species divided into three major sections but that is a totally different discussion. The same common name is used for Philodendron bipinnatifidum (P selloum) since it has multi-lobed leaf margins (edges). Even if the plant were P. bipinnatifidum the growth method is basically the same. It sounds as if your growing conditions are good for Monstera deliciosa since it is very tolerant. I doubt you can over water it since it naturally grows along steam banks in southern Mexico and most of Central America. However, the soil mixture may not be good for this species. Monstera require a very fast draining soil so if you have it in Mississippi clay the roots may not be able to freely grow and gather water and nourishment. The other possible cause would be either lack of or over fertilization. Either is just as bad. Most commercial growers prefer something like Osmocote 30-30-30 for large aroids. If the soil is good I'd try the fertilizer first. If the soil has not been amended I would suggest you mix a large quantity of moisture control potting soil with about 20% peat moss and add a BUNCH of cypress mulch. If you can find a bag of cheap orchid bark with charcoal add that as well along with any compost you can find. I know it may be a big job but if you dig the plant up and replant it in this mix it should begin to thrive. My big question is the weather in your area. Although Monstera deliciosa will likely survive, it will be temporarily stunted by extreme cold. The species is not know to do great much north of Orlando so keep that in mind. You can shield it from the cold during any really cold nights but try to keep it from long exposure. You should know this species craves to climb. I have several large specimens in my own atrium and one is now 10 feet up the nearest tree. I've seen them in the tropics and in South Florida at least 50 feet into the canopy and have read of them climbing much higher. Other than that, without photos to examine I'm not sure what other advice to offer.

Pileas are very cute and apparently addictive! Enjoy the googling - I love them when they are older and have a bit of a trunk to give them character, rather than the baby form with just a rosette of coin-shaped leaves. What you have is an adorable baby Monstera - give her some dilute fertilizer, and a bit of light, and she'll sprout 'grown-up' leaves with holes in them in a hurry for you! I bought a little one just like this about a month ago and it's happily sprouting new leaves for me under grow lights (I'm in Norway so very high latitudes and autumn is already very dark). I hope to repot her in a while to a larger pot (since she's growing actively under lights), because they are supposed to grow into whatever size of pot you give them (though obviously you have to increase it somewhat gradually), and I have a corner in the house we are moving to shortly earmarked for her future giant self! <3 As best I understand it, Split-leaf Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum) is actually a different plant altogether, and the leaves do resemble Monstera's adult foliage a lot, but it's much more rare in cultivation, not nearly as easy, and in my opinion also less pretty.