Propagating Monstera Deliciosa – Simple & Quick Water Method
Why am I propagating my Monstera Deliciosa? Do I need more plants? Not really, but there is something about propagating a plant that makes an indoor gardener feel accomplished. I am sure I have one or two plants rooting at any given time.
Even if you are a beginner houseplant collector, the Monstera is an easy plant to care for if given enough light and not over-watered. It likes to be root-bound, so keeping it in a relatively smaller pot may be better as a start.
Once my Monstera deliciosa reached a certain size, I knew it would get beyond where I could repot, so I chose a large floor planter (with drainage), but the plant is now getting really large and growing horizontally out to the sides as opposed to growing upwards.
Staking my Monstera will help her to grow more upright, but so will pruning or trimming her horizontal stems and getting those propagated into new plants. Win, win in both instances.
Time to prune…and of course, that means propagating my Monstera deliciosa too!
This Monstera Deliciosa has grown a lot since we got her a few years back. Granted, she was bushier then, but has lost some leaves just from water and light issues. I want to try one of my propagated cuttings outside this summer, so I have to create a new plant.
Propagating Monstera Deliciosa in Water
Cutting a piece of your Monstera Deliciosa may seem a little risky at first, but when you see how simple & quick the water method is, you will want to make more of these pretty foliage plants for free!
And don’t worry about hurting the Momma Monstera. She just grows more and more after being “pruned” for cuttings. That’s why she is called a Monstera, she grows like a monster. In fact, she will outgrow her area when she is getting enough light and water.
To propagate your Monstera, locate one of the nodes along the stems or stalks of your plant. It is at this node that the roots will emerge, so it is most important to include this in your cutting.
The node looks like a raised collar and sometimes will still have dried tissue shedding from it. Perhaps it will also include an aerial root emerging which can be included in your cutting or trimmed off if you wish.
If you cut just a leaf and its stem, this will not develop roots. It does make a pretty display in a bottle for a while, but it won’t root. The node is crucial for developing roots.
Here is a leaf and stem (below) cut with the crucial node. It usually grows some roots within a week in my experience. If there should be an aerial root present, it will also grow out.
How Long Do I Wait To Pot This Cutting?
I like to wait only until the roots are about 3-4 inches long before I try and pot up the Monstera deliciosa cutting in soil. The developing roots have some root hairs which absorb water and nutrients, but since these root hairs are floating in water, they have not yet switched to “search out water” mode.
So when these roots are potted into soil, they have a period of adaptation to get used to the idea that they now have to use their function of seeking water and absorbing it. But they will quickly adapt. I think the longer they float in water, the longer it takes to adapt. Not scientific, but just my reasoning.
What Happens to the Cut Stem on the Monstera?
Once you make a clean cut to get your propagation started, the remaining cut just dries and callouses over just like in this photo. This is the spot where I took the cutting in the image above. Notice a leaf has grown upwards near that cut….and it is growing vertically.
Now I will need to pot up my new Monstera deliciosa propagation plant while I make more and more. I will probably make a video and/or another post on that too. Be sure and check out my video on this propagation and let me know if you have questions or advice for me.
At least in the beginning, Monstera deliciosa prefers to be in a pot that is not much larger than its own root ball. So I will be planting it up in a smaller pot. I will see if I can find an empty hypertufa container that will work!
Later on, I will post a video on my Monstera climbing structure that I am creating for my huge planter. More vertical growth is needed and I think this structure will help me accomplish that. Not a Moss Pole, though!
