Monstera Adansonii, or commonly known as the Swiss cheese vine, has gorgeous, oval foliage full of fenestrations. You’ll like it or you won’t, but one thing’s for sure – once you fall in love with Monstera Adansonii’s foliage, you’ll need to get one for yourself.
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You can grow your Monstera Adansonii in two ways, climbing up a pole or trailing down as a vine. Both looks are amazing! As Monstera Adansonii’s natural habitat is trailing up on trees, the plant will naturally develop faster if you let it climb onto something.
Personally, I love the look of it’s vines, so my Monstera Adansonii is hanging down a shelf and it still looks gorgeous!
You can find a few different varieties of Monstera Adansonii, the differences are in the look of the leaves that have just a slightly different shape, but it’s the same when it comes to care.
get this thing right and you’ll have a beautiful and happy Monstera Adansonii | watering
Monstera Adansonii is really easy to take care for. The number one thing you need to do to have a happy Monstera Adansonii is correct watering. What I mean by that is water only when the soil has almost dried out.
The n.1 houseplant killer is overwatering. Constantly watering your plant, without letting the soil (at least partially) dry out, can lead to root rot after some time.
Forget about those tips like “water it once a week”.. the watering frequency will depend on a lot of different factors. You can read more about these factors in my article – 7 factors that affect your houseplant watering frequency.
Because of that, I can’t advise you to water it once a week, as the soil may be still quite moist even after a week. Maybe it will dry out in 3 days.. who knows.
Check the soil before watering your plant. Stick your finger in the soil, or use a moisture meter, and if the soil is dry by the length of your finger – give it a thorough soak.
What I mean by that is that you water all around your plant, allowing the water to reach all the roots (on all sides of the pot).
After watering, throw out all excess water. Don’t let it sit in that water for longer than half hour. In my experience, if I don’t throw it out after I finish watering the rest of my plants (that need watering), I simply forget to do it.
What type of soil does Monstera Adansonii need?
Monstera Adansonii can survive in different types of soil. It definitively likes soil with good drainage, a mix that has peat moss or coco coir that will absorb the water, as well as an aeration medium like pumice or perlite.
To read more about this, check out – Why is good soil drainage so important for houseplants? | how to make a good potting mix.
I potted mine in a houseplant potting mix that has both types of mediums I mentioned above, as well as nutrition in form of hummus.
Also, I potted it in a terracotta pot, as I find that the soil dries out faster and that’s something my Monstera likes. But whether you decide to pot it in a terracotta, plastic or any other type of pot, the most important thing is that the pot has drainage holes.
Drainage holes are the key to avoid overwatering that can eventually lead to root rot.
where should you place your Monstera Adansonii | lighting
Monstera Adansonii can withstand different lighting situations. The best would be to provide it bright indirect light.
The more light it gets, the faster and bigger it will grow.
But even if you don’t have a ton of light, if you have only north facing windows for example, the Monstera will adjust to that amount of light as well!
The only place you should avoid placing it is a spot where direct sunlight is coming through the south facing window.
Monstera Adansonii has very thin foliage that’s sensitive to direct sun rays. If it’s exposed to them for longer periods of time, it will get brown spots on the leaves. It’s OK if you have light white curtains that protect the plant’s foliage from burning but that still let light penetrate the room. Otherwise, keep it a few feet away from the window.
So, how do you get bigger leaves on your Monstera Adansonii?
There are two things that can help your Monstera Adansonii get bigger leaves.
Staking it up on a pole and placing it where it will get lots of bright indirect light.
In their natural habitat, Central and South America, it’s a climbing plant, clinging on trees, similar to other types of Monstera as well as Pothos, Scindapsus and Philodendron. Because of this, by climbing up a pole, they will develop bigger and bigger leaves…
But you also need to keep in mind the amount of light your plant is getting, as with low light it will not be able to grow as fast.
In low light situations houseplants are mostly surviving rather than focused to grow.
Lastly, even when you combine these two elements, you’ll still need to be patient because this won’t happen overnight. It also depends on the plant itself, how old and how healthy it is.
One thing’s for sure, you’ll enjoy watching those beautiful leaves grow and develop throughout almost the whole year round.
does Monstera Adansonii require high humidity?
Monstera Adansonii will love to be in a humid place of your house. When I say humid, you probably immediately thought of a bathroom or kitchen, right? While plants like humidity, they also like airy spaces. So if you are considering to place your Monstera in your bathroom, be sure to ventilate the bathroom.
In any case, you can keep your Monstera Adansonii in any part of your home, just move it away from heat sources during winter.
Should you mist your Monstera?
While some think misting plants is pointless, I still do it because I like to do it and my plants seem to like it!
The only part of the day when misting can be harmful is the evening. Avoid misting plants in the evening, as they are already “getting ready to go to sleep”. The additional water you give them by misting will just sit on the leaves and that can eventually rot that part of the leaf.
Monstera Adansonii fertilizing frequency
During the growing season, from March/April to October, I fertilize it once a month using a complete liquid houseplant fertilizer. I dilute the fertilizer in water, following the instructions on the bottle. Be sure to read the instructions and dilute the fertilizer accordingly. Different brands have different fertilizer/water ratios.
Don’t think fertilization as: the more fertilize = the better, because giving too much fertilizer can be harmful to your plant.
How do you make your Monstera Adansonii bushy?
One single cutting will produce one single vine, so in order to have a bushier Monstera Adansonii, you’ll need to have more cuttings in the pot. There are three ways you can achieve that.
- If you haven’t yet purchased a Monstera Adansonii, or you want to buy another one, check out how many cuttings are in a pot, and buy the one with the most cuttings. While buying, check out the roots and foliage overall to choose a healthy plant, as well.
- You could buy more plants and pot them together.
- Lastly, you can wait for your Monstera to grow a longer vine and then take a cutting from it. Place the cutting in water, and after it grows roots, pot them back in a pot with the mother plant.
Is Monstera Adansonii toxic to pets?
Like other types of Monstera plants, Monstera Adansonii is also toxic and harmful to pets, and humans, if ingested. It’s best if you keep it away from children and curious pets.
Is Monstera Adansonii rare?
Monstera Adansonii is not really rare. You can find them in garden centers and nurseries across the world. Of course it will depend on where you live etc., but you can find them.
What you won’t find is the Monstera Obliqua, a really rare and really expensive plant. On the first glance it’s similar to the Adansonii, leaves have a similar shape and they both have fenestrations inside the leaves.
The Monstera Obliqua has a really small leaf surface with really big holes. People who have a Monstera Obliqua or have seen one, say that the leaves are paper thin, way more thin than the Monstera Adansonii.
If you see that a Monstera Obliqua is sold on eBay, it’s a 99.9% chance you’ll get a Monstera Adansonii and not an Obliqua.
If you want to know more about the Monstera Obliqua and the differences between the Obliqua and Adansonii, check out the video of Kaylee Ellen where she talks in depth about it – Monstera adansonii vs obliqua : Differences and an In-Depth Comparison | FEATURING A REAL OBLIQUA!.
All you need “Monstera Adansonii kit”: