Heh... that's not a problem - that's the end goal. :-) I've seen an absolutely huge Monstera in a university prof's office, in a not-so-big pot, too, and I'd love to have one like that. My concern is - would the regular Monstera eventually edge out the wimpier variegated one?

I have a verigated monstera that i got from logees a couple of years ago. Yes, it was expensive but i had been eyeing it in there catalogue and just took the plunge and bought it. i have no regrets it is a beautiful plant. I live in Washington state and mine is indoors. My sister who lives in savanah, Georgia also bought one at the same time. Her leaves are twice as big as mine and she keeps hers on her front deck outside. Her monstera looks like a bush because the leaves are so big and mine looks like a vine with big leaves. :(( We have come to the conclusion that the difference is her plant is outside and the humidity there in savanah. She leaves it outside all year. So light levels and humidity do make a difference.

Hey Kyle... I HOPE you have a big house..lol Could the F. lyrata that doesn't have fiddle-leaf leaves, possibly be another species? Maybe it's still too young??? Shapes change at maturity. Wowee, 4 Spaths..lol..They are beautiful, my favorite Peace Lily, (beside my variegates) but I just don't have the room. A Mauna loas would look fantastic in a large bright room. If you have pics, please post. Have they ever bloomed? Guess what? lol. Last Fri, I spent a couple hours looking for a variegated Philo/Monstera. While trying to help a friend find an African Violet, I browsed one site..this woman sold nothing but AV's, but has added other plants the last year or two. Sure enough, she had one variegated Philo.. I emailed her ASAP, lol, then ended up phoning..she has one left, but it won't be ready for a couple weeks. I can wait. It's P. Imbe varigata..ever see one? The reason it won't be shipped for two weeks is, before shipping, she wants to be sure roots are full. I respect her honesty..some people would ship a plant, root-less or too young.' Just to get the money. I also found a seller, selling a gorgeous variegated Monstera, on Ebay. He's in Thailand. Problem is he wants 30.00 for shipping, plus the cost of the plant..I was the first bidder, then suddenly, 5 more people bid. Think it was 36.00 last time I looked, plus 30 for shipping..Don't know the final bid so I decided to pass it up. It was BEAUTIFUL, though.. There's one more Philo I want. P. elegans. It's a split-leaf..the leaves are very fragile. Thing is it's impossible to find. I'd prefer variegated, but would invest in green. When young, shape of this Philos leaves look nothing like they will at maturity..they're slow-growing. My Philodendron window is pretty full, so except for the variegated and if I can locate elegans, guess that's it for thie beautiful Aroid. Some of my Philos are super-root-bound, and need repotting. Once they're in larger containers, my Philo window is really going to be packed..lol. How's your new Philo coming along? Toni

My apologies if my wording made it seem like I was asking what the white is. I sought, and spent the extra dime, on the variegated variety of Monstera Deliciosa as I find it gorgeous. I meant to ask about retaining the pure white sections of the variegation. These pure white sections contain no chlorophyll and therefore do not contribute to production of food for the plant. These sections are "parasitic" to the remainder of the plant as the green parts need to work extra to support these non-producing sections. From everything that I have read these are the first parts that the plant kills off when conditions are less than ideal. This explains why some of the leaves are so rough looking. The pure white parts have died off so food could be used elsewhere in the plant. My question is if anyone has noticed that either light, or nutrients plays a larger role in keeping the pure white parts from dying off? Im also aware that Monstera Deliciosa is a vine so it will never be anything other than that. I guess in my mind I am thinking that there may be a tactic that could be used similar to that used on FLFs to grow new branches (vines) in selected areas. From what I know vines branch out and will split to form multiple stems off the main one. I'm curious if it is possible to promote additional growth in Monstera Deliciosa off the main stem. To create a cut on the stem to block the travel of a certain component in the stem (I forget exactly what) and therefore causing a new growth at that location. Has anyone else dealt with leggy Monstera Deliciosa's that eventually gained new growth in the "long" or leggy sections?