... watered both pots today.. still wondering if I should repot them or not

.. both plants are pushing out new leaves.. I hope the new ones will manage to unfold fully..

I understand there are hybrids of adansonii being marketed as the species, as well as under other names like your plants. So I hesitate to say your plants are indeed the species. Don't go too big with the new pot, roots can rot if too much mix stays wet too long.

I agree, they don't look like M. obliqua, more like M. adansonii. Not sure how the "(lechtlinii)" on the label fits into the story, there is a species M. lechleriana but nothing "lechtlinii". If it is a hybrid it's a bit difficult to say much about it other than what applies generally to Monsteras.

The roots coming out of the bottom of the pot will be an ongoing issue. They're a semi-epiphyte that normally grow up trees with roots descending to the ground, often over long distances. It's in their nature to send out long roots. If the roots get exposed and too dry then they will tend to wither. It's a bit of a balancing act.

Thanks!

Found this line in a scientific botanical publication": "Monstera obliqua expilata (M.Leichtlinii Hort.)" - sounds like a synonym? from here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257039603_Thigmomorphogenesis_in_Climbing_Epipremnum_aureumMonsters_obliqua_expilata_and_Philodendron_scandens_Araceae

I'm worried about the dead aerial roots. That literally happened overnight - every hanging root has gone black and shriveled. Is it the change in environment? Bruising from handling and transportation?

Since watering (last night), one plant keeps producing water droplets on the leaves (still visible now). The other one has been dry (in another room it gets a bit more light). Does the weeping one feel overwatered and should be kept in the same size pot when repoting?

Another website (NL) sells a plant that looks exactly like mine and the text says (translation): "Monstera Adansonii "Leichtlinii", also known as Monkey Mask or Obliqua. Comes from South and Central America."

https://www.replant.nl/Monstera-Adansonii-Leichtlinii

Dialt, I would ignore all the name nonsense you're seeing on websites. Erroneous and made-up names are negatively affecting every genus.

The droplets on the one plant is normal, called guttation. Probably has something to do with different temp or humidity levels in the different rooms.

As Tropicbreeze said, I wouldn't be too concerned with the aerial root issue. I would repot both, everything should be fine. I think you need to get them into new pots soon so they will adjust before fall and winter gets too close.

Monsters repotted :)

I've made a mix of orchid bark (mix with some peat), peat/compost (general purpose houseplant mix), and washed perlite (aprox 4:3:1). And a small handful of coco coir because I just couldn't help it... And I also added the original peat (?) removed off the roots (there wasn't much of it).

It looked/felt ok, but I don't know if this mix is very good - the original soil was much faster draining (water wasn't stopping on the surface at all).

Not sure what I did wrong with my mix, but for a few long moments it looked like a swamp after watering. Maybe I have compacted it too much? I was worried about leaving large air pockets after removing some soil off the roots..

Roots looked fine

Surprise - found a rubber band in one pot :)

I think, for a future, it's better not to repot just bought plants immediately. Let them adapt to your apartment conditions for a month at least. Yours look healthy, that aerial roots situation might happened due to transport-shock. If you really have to repot, I wouldn't tease soul out of roots, just trim a bit dried bottom ones and up-pot it. Monsteras usually stop growth for a while after re-potting, so don't be alarmed about it and easy on watering.

Yes, the guttation (water droplets) could be affected by amount of light and water plant is getting.

Yeah, I guess the transport-shock was real... bearing in mind that I managed to bring them home on a bicycle LOL I was going slow and it wasn't a long ride at all (2km), but they still got some real-world wind and the temperature was a bit lower (around 19C).

Re: adapting to apartment conditions vs repotting immediately.... If the plant is generally healthy looking, maybe it's better to repot asap? If we presume that the plant is trying to make sense of the new environment, a new pot might be just another factor in the mix. I think I prefer to stress it a little more all at once vs stress it again in a month by repotting after it's all settled in. Wrong?

Either has worked for me. Waiting can be better but I'm not that patient and doing it earlier reduces my chances of forgetting or pushing it aside later.

Also, when I buy a plant, often I pick a pot with more than one plant in it. If separate them during repotting then I probably won't see new growth for 2 - 4 weeks. Plus I could lose several of the older leaves. If I buy plants in the same ideal condition as yours, I'll cut the pot away without cutting any roots. Then I leave it as is, with undisturbed roots, and place it in only a slightly larger pot. For those I notice new growth in a week or less.

Having air pockets in the potting mix isn't a problem. In nature they're used to having most of their roots exposed to the air. Just keep the mix moist and they'll be as happy as .................

Prefer not to extra stress new plants, it's just a habit. If a plant right now in an active growth phase, I try not to disturb it, while it produce lots of vegetation. Repotted my Monstera once almost right after purchase and she stopped growing for a better part of the summer, woke close to middle autumn and then winter came - so no real growth for many months. That was quite disappointing. For plants which are flowering at the moment - repotting is a big no.

Wouldn't call your situation a pot bound, even with the roots coming out of drainage hole, and the original soil looked pretty decent. You can take it out of the pot, observe and put it back, it's not a crime ;)

When I buy a plant, I usually think about quarantine, nice cachepot for it and regular feeding routine.

Thanks for sharing your experience :)

I'm happy to report that both of my monsters act as if nothing has happened. Both are actively pushing new leaves. Also, both are guttating now (seemingly more actively than before).

I put them in slightly bigger plastic nursery pots + ceramic cachepots. I've noticed this combo makes watering easier compared to planting in a ceramic pot with a single drain hole.

Btw, one of the reasons I like to repot new plants asap (besides my impatience) is the fact that many pots contain unplanned pets. Yesterday I repotted new sansevieria that had both a fat worm and a white millipede!

Glad to hear all is well. This is a fast-growing aroid, you'll soon have more monstera than you you know what to do with.

Russ

Russ, I wonder what was I thinking when I brought home TWO of them :)

I wish a had space for the huge one a.k.a. deliciosa.. but I need a house first..

(currently looking into Rhaphidophora tetrasperma and wondering if I could fit that one somewhere..)

You might check with me before you order aroids, especially philodendrons and aglaonemas, I can do trades and for postage.

Growing room is a problem for most folks in areas with winter freezes, which is just about everywhere. I have monsteras and R. tetrasperma, but just one of the latter. VERY slow, which might be an advantage for you. Email me for lists if you wish.

Russ

bluesea14808@yahoo.com

That's a very kind offer Russ, thanks! :) I'm in EU - too far away... on top of slow/expensive shipping there might be customs problems too.

"VERY slow" doesn't sound like a fun plant to me :) But you are right, it should stay more compact for longer. I'll check if my friendly hardware store will be willing to order them (they did order these confused adansonii/obliqua monsters by request - explains why I managed to get them so fresh).

I've sent sansevierias all over the world, never had a problem but tropicals are too delicate for the long shipping times. Poland and Denmark take 10 days normally.

Russ

I've got 3 Monsteras, M. adansonii, M. siltepecana and M. deliciosa. The Raphidophora tetrasperma is much slower growing than the first two, but only slightly faster than the M. deliciosa.

Maybe my tetrasperma needs more fertilizer... or something else it's not getting. It's put on maybe 3 leaves in two years.

What size leaves does your siltepecana have, and is it climbing or rambling?

Mine rambles in the shadehouse, I haven't grown it as a climber so it stays small.

Russ

My siltepecana came via the mail and I thought it was a goner. It seemed barely alive but hung on for a few years then started slowly growing up a tree. This past couple of years it's rocketed off, growing much faster than the adansonii and producing bigger leaves. It's probably something like 8 metres up the tree now. Difficult to get a photo silhouetted against the sky. The leaves are about twice as long as the adansonii (which are much older plants). None of them get fertiliser, I tend not to worry about the epiphytes as their roots go all over the place.

Thanks very much for the info and pic. My plant has always been in immature stage so leaves have never been longer than a pencil. I need to put it on one of my live oaks. I guess you're just coming out of winter, I've got a month or two left of warm weather.

Russ

{...makes a mental note to look for a house with some jungle in the backyard..}

I was wondering... If I let these little monsters hang off a shelve and dangle freely (when it comes to that point), do I get a long skinny vine with progressively smaller leaves? Or does that also depend on the amount of light the plant gets (or some other factors.. like the exact species)?

I mean, something like that?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/91/df/a8/91dfa8a65e548f50fde80f1ea1b93450.jpg

Russ, mine didn't develop fenestrations for a while but when it did the leaves were still small and the vine about head height. Later though, it took off, in all dimensions. We're officially a couple of days into spring now, but still the dry season. This morning's minimum temp was 21C, maximum today 38C. Forecast for the coming week is most days at 38C, but unfortunately no rain.

Dialt,mine aren't dangling, but what's shown in the photo is what you could expect. They're looking for 'another tree' to climb, so concentrating on distance rather than size of leaves.

I looked for a place with potential for growing some jungle and then worked with that. There were some good foundation plants already there, which helped a lot. I posted some photos of my garden last year in the Tropical Plants forum. If you like you can check them out on this [link GARDEN.[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/rainforest-garden-in-the-rainy-season-lots-of-pics-dsvw-vd~4493354)