Megan, are you having trouble posting the pics? Unfortunately, not unusual for Houzz.

Hello,

I ordered a monstera deliciosa and the mailman left it outside on my porch in -0 degree temps. I got home and discovered it on the porch 9 hours later and the 3 leafs on the plant where basically dead. I cut the leafs off and planted the stem in soil. After a week and a half of no progress I digged up the stem and discovered it was turning brown along both ends of the root but the aerial root appeared to be okay. It is also sprouting a new root. I took it out the soil, cut off the brown areas on the stem, and put it in a small jar of water.

My question is, should I have left it in the soil? Will it still grow in the jar of water? Any advise would be great for I am trying to save this plant.

Hi @Russ1023 (central Fla) hopefully this picture works! You can see on the right especially where the stem is completely browned over on the top, allowing no more growth.

Megan, your plant was originally produced by tissue culture given it's many leads from a central point. There are dormant nodes (growing points) on all the stems that will start growing if the tip is cut, or destroyed as in your case. On the stem in question, there is a node that is being hidden by the petiole (stem holding the leaf) of the leaf just below the cut stem. If you bend the leaf back a bit you might be able to see a small round or oval bump on the main stem, which is the node.

So no worries, in the spring you will see a replacement plant emerge from that node. If this was a Philodendron you would probably see 2 or 3 new growths from nodes, but monsteras are solitary and usually only replace a lost growing tip with one new plant from the next highest node on the stem.

An afterthought, nodes aren't always obvious, so if you don't see it don't worry, it's there and will show itself when it starts to grow in spring.

Hi All! I have recently propagated my monstera and it grew a few roots and was ready to plant! A couple of weeks after it was happily planted disaster struck and it fell, injuring two leaves. I had to remove the two leave - is it worth keeping or will it slowly die? (Pictures below)

Thanks in advance for any helpful comments!

Sophie

It will probably be fine, losing the leaves will slow down growth but doesn't really harm the plant. Disturbing the roots in the fall has more negative effect than no leaves, but it's temporary.

Your pot looks too big for the plant unless it has a big root system, so be careful not to overwater. Water when the top inch or so of soil dries out, if it's damp on top don't water.

@Russ1023 (central Fla)

Hi Russ! I have acquired the bottom three leaves / nodes (with intact root system) of a large Monstera plant. The rest of the plant has been pruned away. There's also a little baby shoot coming out separate from the main plant.

Are these three nodes still viable for new growth? I wasn't sure because of how old this plant is.

How can I best stimulate growth and turn this into a full plant?

I'm thinking of two options:

1) Transplant the whole thing into a new container (with a stake) and hoping for new growth

2) Cut off the top two nodes to propagate, then plant together with the main base plant.

Thank you!

Hi Sheldon,

You have a project ahead of you.

Unlike philodendrons, monsteras don't usually produce more than one plant per stem, which will be from the top node and the ones below will stay dormant. So to have a full pot you must plant multiple, separate plants.

I would cut the entire vine at the base, just above the soil line, then cut the leaves from the stem. You can propagate the vine in a couple of ways. If you're experienced with propagating 1-node cuttings, you can potentially have 5 new plants to put back into a pot with the young emerging plant. If you're not experienced, I'd recommend cutting the stem into two 2-node cuttings leaving a single 1-node cutting. Two nodes are safer to deal with and I believe a larger cutting is stronger, containing more energy. When making cuttings, try to locate the node before you cut to avoid destroying it.

I prefer to plant cuttings sideways with 1/2 or less of the stem below the soil line, of course with aerial roots down in the mix. Looks like most of the cuttings will have aerial roots. Being above the soil, the cut ends are exposed to the air and have less chance of rot. Not a big deal if the node is down in the soil, it will grow up toward the light. If you have rooting hormone, dip both cut ends and roots in it before planting. It has a fungicide that might help against rot.

On the big pot with the little plant, it probably has a massive root system and would leave little room to place new plants. Plus the mix is old and needs replacing. I would take it out into the yard, unpot, and tease all the old mix off the roots, then cut off some of the roots to make it more balanced with the plant they need to support. This is called 'root pruning', probably seems like major surgery but it's a very old procedure that helps old, worn-out plants.

I would wait to unpot and root prune until after you get plants from the cuttings, then you can pot the main plant and cuttings all together at one time. Use a light, peat-based commercial mix, not the heavy dirt-type 'potting soils' that are only good for filling holes in the yard. If you have perlite, mix some in with the soil, aroids like a loose, chunky, air-filled medium.

No problem on more questions.

Bluesea14808@yahoo.com or post here.

Russ

@Russ1023 (central Fla)

Thank you so much for your detailed response.

What is the reasoning behind cutting off the leaves from the nodes before propagating? From what I understand, the leaves can photosynthesize and will provide energy to grow new roots. But I can also see how the leaves might sap resources from a stem w/o roots which won’t be able to support the leaf. Either way, I may just be hesitant to cut because I don’t want to lose the large beautiful leaves!

As for node identification, here I’ve circled where I suspect nodes to be:

1, 2, 4, 5 are all nodes for sure (presence of a split & aerial roots). But what about 3 & 6?

I don’t have much experience with 1 node cuttings so a more conservative approach may be best.

Here’s what I’m thinking:

1. Cut below the second node (2 in above pic) to have a two node cutting. Propagate this cutting in soil.

2. Leave the last branch and bottom nodes (4 and below) attached to the root system and the new small plant. Repot and root trim to balance with the now smaller plant.

Then, once the two node cutting has taken root, plant together with the main plant In a large pot.

Please advise if you think that’s a good plan.

For soil mix, I have a quite chunky mixture of orchid mix (fir bark + charcoal + perlite), coconut coir, conventional potting soil (comes with slow release fertilizer), and more perlite. Is this suitable for rooting the cutting in?

@Russ1023 (central Fla)

Another thought just came to mind. What about air layering all the nodes? Once they have grown some roots, then I can cut them off and plant together. Maybe this will increase my chance of success?

You're right that a cutting with no roots, or even a small root system, can't support a big leaf.. It needs hydration to stay turgid and will just wilt, turn yellow and fall off anyway. Besides that, the heavy leaf out on the end of the long petiole makes the cutting hard to manage in a pot., especially with no roots to stabilize it. The cutting itself is green and has stored energy, so it can grow a plant from the node without help from the leaf. There is some benefit to having a small leaf attached to provide energy, so if the petiole isn't too long I often trim the leaf down to a small size that won't be such a drag on the cutting.

Every segment of stem will have a node whether or not aerial roots are present. The node is just above where the petiole is attached, sometimes it's just a bump on the stem, other times it's a bump within a small sunken area surrounding it. They can appear simply as a light spot on the stem, so not nearly as obvious. If you cut in the middle of the section you're likely to avoid the node whether you see it or not.

Your medium sounds fine, use it.

On your original plan, leaving the bottom branch with nodes 4 and below wouldn't work. As long as the branch is connected to the small emerging plant at the base, all energy from the roots is supporting it. So the other nodes will stay dormant.

Your plan for air layering is interesting and certainly safer than cutting up the stem for propagation. Give it a try! I'd be interested in getting feedback if it works, no reason why it wouldn't but sometimes nature has it's own mind about things. You should get roots by layering, but I doubt it will trigger plants from those nodes. So you'll still have to cut them away and pot them, then the nodes will break and produce plants. Personally, once you get roots in the layers I would put them in their own pots until they produce plants, then transplant in with the established plant.. Planting layered cuttings directly into the big pot with a lot of soil that probably stays wet a long time could rot the cuttings.

More questions are fine. If not please let me know how it goes with layering.

Russ

@Russ1023 (central Fla) I have a question about the sterility of the growing medium when rooting and producing new monsteras from stem cuttings.

We had a giant monstera deliciosa in my office that had about a 5 foot stem. We cut the top off, applied rooting hormone, and are rooting the top with all the leaves in potting mix with extra perlite. We also are growing a new one with the base. We chopped up the stem into chunks with 2-3 nodes, and have been trying to root/grow them in a humid container in just potting mix. They seem to be getting a lot of surface mold, and so I want to try putting them in sphagnum and peat moss. There are a lot of wetlands around me, and I want to go out and harvest my own sphagnum and peat moss, then dry them out in my lab's industrial dryer, and then use as a propagation agent, what can I do to make the moss sterile so there is success?

Interesting question Tricia, I assume you are in Canada where there are moss and peat bogs.

This is out of my area of expertise, but if your commercial dryers are like household ones and get hot, I would think the heat would mostly sterilize the moss. I have read that small amounts of soil can be sterilized by putting for a time in a microwave. You could probably find out more with a Google search but a hot dryer accomplishes the same thing and it's also fluffed in the rotating drum.

I'm wondering why you're putting the stem cuttings in higher humidity, they don't need it and the closed atmosphere is why you're getting mold. If you left leaves attached, I usually cut them off stem cuttings. I feel they're more of drag on the cutting to provide moisture than a help with producing energy. The big tip cutting with all the leaves is the one that might need higher humidity unless it has a lot of big aerial roots. If leaves wilt, cut off a couple of leaves to lessen the demand from aerial roots for moisture.

Back on stem cuttings and just a thought for you, I prefer to root them planted horizontally. This leaves the entire cutting mostly above the medium in fresh air so the ends are less likely to rot than if planted vertically. It also allows all aerial roots along the stem to be in the medium rather than having roots on the top part of a vertical cutting in the air or cut off. The horizontal stem will only be slightly down in the medium, at least 3/4 is exposed to the air.

More questions are welcome.

Russ

Hi Russ,

You have a lot of knowledge to offer regarding this topic, so I thought I would reach out for help!

I bought this Thai cutting from a local nursery. the cutting was originally longer, they admitted that it would not root in pumice and so they chopped off some, and then put it in water.

It now has a lot of developed roots, but it is probably six months from initial cut date and has no change other than root system. It looks as though it was cut too close to the node, there is no aerial root, no apparent auxillary bud, and no sign of new growth from the node or the sheath of the existing leaf. I am seeking advice on whether this leaf may still grow into a plant, or if it is a dud leaf. I would like to hope if that is the case that this was an honest mistake, but I have messaged them and they just assured me there is a node and also noted this is a ”top cutting and that it will have new growth eventually,” though I am still unsure if it has what it takes to form a plant. I have yet to pot it in aroid mix so that I could keep an eye on the roots and recently placed it in leca.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Alexa, if it's truly a tip cutting you don't need a node, although there is a very immature one just above that line which is just above the bottom of the stem... if that makes any sense. The light line is obvious in pic 3 and 6.

Pic 4 shows the petiole, in which I'm most interested. If it's a tip cutting there is an unfurled leaf running most of the length of the petiole. Is the petiole rounded or at least somewhat flat? Or is it concave? If the latter there is a problem.

Given the great root system, it is odd that in 6 months you haven't seen any signs of growth, which would be the unfurling of the leaf.

Russ

Hi Russ,

I have an update!

I returned to the nursery and brought the cutting to the person in charge of houseplants. It is in fact a top cutting as suspected. She peeled back the sheath and there was a long new growth leaf trying to pop out, but the sheath was also full of rot :(

There was a second smaller new leaf behind the first rolled leaf that was not rotted; she scraped out the mush and she believes the cutting is still viable. That being said she offered to give me a new non-rooted cutting that she will cut fresh off the mother plant before I pick it up. I agreed and hope she can rehab the first cutting. I requested another top cutting, and am now trying to determine how to set up the best environment and conditions I can to ensure rooting and no rot. I will hopefully get the new cutting this weekend. I am nervous to try to root this on my own, as the first cutting was rooted when I got it, but they said it had tried to rot on them multiple times and they cut some off each time, hence the closeness to the node.

I am thinking of trying to root this one in LECA and water so that I can keep an eye on the roots, but dont know if I should use a growth light or heat mat, I hope to have success this time but am hopeful since this is a new cutting and a fresh start!

Thank you so much again for your quick responses and helpful input :)

Good for you Alexa! Probably a good idea that you took the fresh cutting, if it has aerial roots it will start growing faster.

I'm not familiar with Leca but I have friends that prefer it for rooting cuttings.

If you can give it good, strong light from a window it should be okay, no direct sun. A heat mat would probably help, especially if you're in a northern state or growing in the house with air conditioning below 80 degrees. But it's not critical, rooting will just be slower.

Keep me posted on progress if you wish, and definitely let me know if you have difficulties or lose it.

Hi @Russ1023 (central Fla),

I planted this monstera from propagated monstera cuttings a while back. It started with 3 leaves but two of them turned yellow and I removed them. Now its just a single leave. Any advice on what I should do to keep it alive and well? Is my only chance at making it bushier to get more cuttings to plant?

Thank you!

Susie

Susie, many things could cause the yellowing of leaves. Underwatering, overwatering, coming out of winter, moving it to a colder room, other problems. Looks like it would be hard to unpot it and look at roots, so I would just keep an eye on it for now. Does the leaf seem firm and healthy? Is the stem hard, not soft?

Yes, the only way to make a bushier Monstera is more cuttings. They don't often branch with 2 or more plants when the top is taken off, altho I've seen it many times with old stems of Thai Constellation.

The tissue cultured deliciosa's you can find in Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot have many leads from a central point and quickly make a huge, multi-plant pot. I think they come in a 1 gallon pot or maybe a little larger. Adding one of those to your lonely plant would be your best bet. I don't know where you are but in Fla they're not expensive, not too long ago they were less than $10.

Hi @Russ1023 (central Fla)

Hi Russ, you appear to be a guru and I'd appreciate some advice re the Monstera leaf cutting which I purchased as a rooted cutting last December (2020).

It has suffered from root rot since so I've changed it to Pon in the hopes that this will prevent this happening again. There was evidence of new root growth at that time but there has never been any new leaf and the petiole is hard and concave (and was at time of purchase)

The leaf is now going brown and I'm thinking that its looking more and more like a lost cause but would be grateful for your thoughts. Was there ever enough of a node for this to have been a viable cutting or was I on to a loser from the beginning?

Thanks

Philippa, I don't understand your pictures. The stem in the last pic looks dead and not related to the other two. The leaf doesn't look too bad but it's hard to tell if there's a node on the stem in 2nd pic. Maybe some more pics would help.

Russ

Bluesea14808@yahoo.com

Russ, I've attached a few more pictures, the first being the leaf and the second two its stem from different angles. Picture number 2 from my initial post is a picture of the same stem when looking at it front on., there's hardly any stem at all below the base of the leaf where it joins the stem. Not sure whether this helps or not.

Thanks.

If i cut my monstera at this line, will it produce a new growth or not?

Philippa, once again Houzz didn't alert me you had posted, only when Merely posted a week after you. Houzz is the worst.

The stem looks in bad shape but there must be a reason the leaf still looks good. Do you know if has good roots? Please take a knife and lightly scrape away some of the surface of top of the stem. Let me know if it's dry and brown, or green (or at least moist and "alive looking"). If it's dry and brown, try a different place on the stem. If you don't find good tissue it doesn't mean the whole stem is dead, the top could be gone but a portion of the bottom of the stem could still be alive which might include a root system that is supporting the leaf. But if it doesn't include the node, if the node was in the dead part, the leaf will stay alive for a long time but you won't get a new plant.

I'll check back here later to see if you've responded rather than wait for notification from Houzz.

It would be easier if you email me.

Bluesea14808@yahoo.com

Russ

Hi Merely, yes you would get a new plant if you cut as indicated. To be absolutely sure, look for the node between where you want to cut and that brownish colored ring just below. The node can be a prominent bump on the stem, a bump within a depressed area, or simply a depressed place with the node not very obvious.

There's probably another node in the white-colored stem section below, but I wouldn't count on it. Also, that sharp-pointed bump in the depressed area on the old original stem looks to me like a node. If it is, it's odd that your new growth came from the node below it.

How many more leaves are there above where you want to cut? If only one, I wouldn't be too hasty to propagate.

Hi all! I have a huge monstera of about 4 years old with a moss stick. There are about 4 in one pot, but the lower leaves have been hurt a bit due to moving around. Now 'm afraid that the top will be all leaves, with no leaves on the bottom. Do monstera's grow new leaves from the bottom half? Should I cut off the lower "hurt" leaves or just let them be? Perhaps split the 4 monstera branches in different pots? Would love your opinion.

Also on the second picture you can see that we're sort of guiding the plant over the top of the moss stick, but all of these leaves are tiny with no holes. I'm thinking of cutting off all the new growth and let the plant grow bigger healthier leaves. The plant has been in a too small pot for a long time, so did grow up, but not really large leaves. We repotted last week.

This was the plants roots just a week ago when we repotted:

Hi Valerie, your monstera deliciosa is the smaller-leaved, faster growing Borsigiana variety. It's poor looking and has been too dry for too long and in dim light. Other folks here might have differing opinions about what to do, but personally I would cut the vines leaving 2 or 3 nodes above the soil level. You could take tip cuttings to root if you want more plants, but I would toss the rest of the vines. It would help if you could give it more light, but no direct sunlight.

Post back if you have any more questions on any part of your project.

Hi Russ! Thank you for getting back to me. So you would advice to basically start back at zero? Should I leave the clump of roots intact?

Valerie, I recommended cutting it back based on you saying you were considering it. If it was my plant that's what I would do, but for many folks it might be a step too drastic. I don't think your plant will look much better than it does now if you do nothing, even though you've repotted it, so choices are few if you don't like the look of it.

A very experienced grower could start from scratch by removing all the soil from the roots, separating each plant, cutting off excess growth as well as much of the roots (root pruning) and replanting. Probably would go back to the old, original pot size.

But it's a lot more work and riskier for plants, especially if you are a novice with limited experience. In that case, just trimming back is the safest way to go. If you haven't been fertilizing it, get one that you mix in a gallon of water but cut it to a fourth strength and use it every time you water. I prefer one with minor elements, look on the back of the package for added magnesium, manganese, copper and others. A product like Osmocote is easier, beads sprinkled on the soil release a small amount of fertilizer every time you water.

Be careful to not overwater, less foliage will require less moisture demand from roots, so if the soil is still damp on top, don't water.

More questions, no problem

Ohhhhh I am so mad right now!! I received a cutting from a rather mature Monstera. I have it in soil hoping for it to root and my roommates girlfriend cut the only two leaves!! She states it will help with root growth!! I have attached before and after pictures. Please tell me she didn’t kill my plant!!!

Megin, I thought I answered this days ago, sorry. Although the woman was wrong that trimming the leaves would help with root growth, it didn't hurt it either. Your monstera is fine and hopefully will root. Did it have an aerial root or two? If having the two leaves is too much of a burden for the stem to support, one will possibly turn yellow. If it does just cut it off and don't worry about it.

Russ

Please help!!!! I accidentally left her outside in the sun a week ago and noticed this is now happening. What do I do 😭😭😭😭

You should start your own new thread. That is not a Monstera by the way. In any case, as you may know by now, those leaves are sunburned and you really can't do much more than cut off any sections that are so badly damaged they turn brown. The plant overall will probably be fine and grow new leaves, but those existing leaves are damaged. Lesson learned. Always acclimate a plant to more light gradually.

Hi

I have been given a Monstera plant as a gift, but have never had one and would love some advice on keeping it healthy, as currently, im not sure it really is!

One of the leaves was hanging precariously and seemed to have rotted at the point it joins the stem so I cut that off. Now I just have a stem which has browned from the top - will this regrow?

The other leaf seems to have brown patches and tears on it, should I leave this? Is there something I can do to get it healthy again? The pot has a white build up around it and I’m not sure if this indicates im watering it too much.

I’ve attached photos - any help would be much appreciated!

Kav

The damaged leaf won't get "healthy" again, you have to wait for new leaves to grow. But don't cut it off. Where it's still green photosynthesis will continue to feed the plant. Make sure the soil in the pot is light and fast draining. If it isn't, change it. A lot of problems are caused by soil being heavy and slow draining. These plants are semi-epiphytes and naturally grow up the trunks of trees where their roots are exposed to the air. They don't like soggy conditions. If you keep this in mind they are extremely easy to grow.

Thank you, that’s helpful! I’ll try to change the soil - are these plants quite resilient to soil changes? Changing the soil on other plants in the past have been hit and miss for me.

Do you have any advice for the stem where I had to chop the leaf off? Should I cut it from lower down for it to grow again? Currently the top has turned brown and doesn’t look like it’ll grow again.

New growth, new leaves and new roots will come from the nodes (the point where the leaves join the stem). The stem itself won't produce anything. If the tip of the stem dies off it will reshoot from the nodes.

If you cut off the brown back to fresh green stem then that bit will brown off. The brown matter is like a scab. Pull the scab off and you expose the wound to infection and delay the healing.

They're very resilient and have no trouble with repotting. Doing it will give you a chance to check the roots.

@Russ1023 (central Fla) hello there! i came across this thread looking for some information. a comment you made about putting a propogated monstera cutting back into the mother pot can help give it thay bushy look. mine is about 9-10 ft tall and much bushier up top than on the bottom due to old leaves dying off and cutting them. I dont want to cut anything off the top but i do have another monstera that is growing lots of splits and needs to be cut. my question is- could i use a propagated cutting from another monstera plant to add to my other big guy? or is that risky because its not coming from

the mother plant? hope that makes sense haha - thanks in advance!

1. and 2. photo - stem- It's little bit woody but when I scratch it, still green.

3. leaf

4. root system is green colour

Thanks!

Hello there. I found this thread while looking for answers. I believe I have simmilar problem as Philippa. I got this mother plant that has been cut downt to only one leaf. Previous owner was getting rid of it. It had root rot, so I cut it off and re- rooted it again. Roots are now looking healthy and filled the pot nicely. My question is, if you think there is a chance for new growth ? Thank you very much for answers. I' m attaching photos .

Your plant is in good shape. There should be a node between those two rings on the side shoot that grew from the node on the main stem. Even if you can't see a bump which would indicate a node, it's probably there. If the main stem is longer than it looks and goes down into the soil there could be a node underground that could break and make a plant. Did you happen to see a node when you potted and rerooted it? A node looks like a small raised bump, sometimes it's within a raised circle of tissue, it's often fairly flat and just barely peaked above the level of the stem. A node is produced within each section of the stem as it grows.

I would give this cutting a lot of time to show new growth before giving up and discarding it. If you're in a cold state or country I would wait until at least through the end of next summer.

Looking at your pics again, in addition to a possible node between the two rings on the side shoot, there could be one just above the top ring (between the top ring and the cut end of the shoot). Check for a bump there.

So you have a potential of 3 nodes on the plant, hopefully there's at least one that will produce a plant. There could also be more than one node on the underground part of the stem.

Hello, thank you very much for your reply. Unfortunately I didn't notice any nodes (or bumps) underneath the soil, neither on the upper part of the stem. I' m not going to give up on it, maybe next summer it will surprise me with some leaf hopefully :) We'll see ..

Hi Everyone, I’ve been looking for this thread yo upload my pics. I bought this large sized monstera online.

It was sold barefoot âme almost died on me. The roots died when I planted it in soil. I had to remove it from the soil. The old roots dried up. I tried to propagate the plant in water to grow new roots. But that didn’t work, it developed root rot. I cut thé rotten part off and planted it back in soil. I almost gave up and bought a replacement plant. But it actually stabilized and didn’t grow any nee leaf for 8 months. I noticed two weeks ago that the stem was bulging. It was growing a nee stem and I became elated. After two weeks, I inspected the plant and discovered the top of the new stem id black with no leaf. I’m grateful for the new stem but worried if I did something wrong.

Hello, update on my monstera. After almost a year later, looks still the same, no new leaf growth. But this summer I repotted it and she developed giant root system, so I' m not giving up on her. Leaf is looking little bit worse, but still alive. I don't know how she managed to thrive without new ones, but here she is.

Karine, after a year with no growth, and from what i can see of the stem in your pics, i have to assume that there are no more nodes on the plant. Without a node it cannot produce a new growth, so the roots are just maintaining the leaf. I think it could stay alive for a long time. If you are in the US i can help you with a new monstera for price of postage.

Russ

Central Florida

Hey Russ, I hope you are good, thank you for your answer. Unfortunately I think you are right, but I still don't feel like throwing it away, haha! Actually I have two other "project" monsteras that are doing good. One is regular green one that I grew from cutting and one reverted albo with only little variegation that I' m trying to bring back. I'm from central Europe, but thanks for your offer. I wish you well! If something changes I'll give you an update hahah! ^-^

Karrine

Slovakia