Monstera is a beautiful large plant with large leaves belonging to tropical vines. Under natural conditions, it is found in the tropical forests of Brazil, in Mexico. Recently, the plant has been successfully grown indoors. Due to its large size, the liana is often used to decorate halls and offices. Caring for a monster at home (see photo below) is simple, and its appearance is attractive.
Plant features
The monster genus has about fifty species. The plant got its name because of its huge size. Although there are opinions that this one comes from the Latin word monstrotus, which means bizarre.
Caring for a monster at home is so simple that anyone, not even a very successful florist, can handle it.
In nature, the liana reaches forty meters in height, under indoor conditions, the plant is much smaller, although it can reach ten meters and a little more. Because of these sizes, the liana is placed in spacious offices and halls. She has roots with which she attaches to trees. They are able to cling to the wall of the house with them, but it is better not to allow this, but to put a support to the plant. Hanging aerial roots cannot be cut, they should be directed to the ground, tied to a support. When the roots reach the ground, they are sprinkled with soil.
Caring for the monster at home, attention should be paid to the backup. This powerful plant is heavy, and not every support is able to withstand it. To protect the liana, it is worth looking for special supports for lianoid, large flowers.
Monstera is able not only to decorate the room, but also to ionize the air in it.
Types of Monstera
There are over fifty types of monster. At home, the following are most often grown:
- Attractive. This type of creeper is the most common. When caring for a monster at home, it grows to three meters, and in greenhouses - up to ten. With good care, lianas bloom every year. After that, their fruits ripen. The attractive monstera has a variegated variety. She grows slowly, moody, needs a lot of light, high humidity.
- Climbing. In nature, this species is found in mountain forests, in the tropics of Central America. The variety is characterized by large leaves with a heart shape, a diameter of up to sixty centimeters. Liana blooms with long ears, after flowering, fruits are formed with the smell of pineapple. He is edible.
- Holey. The vines of the species are characterized by perforation of leaves, because of which they look unusual. This type of flower is found in the American tropics. The length of the oblong ovoid leaves reaches a length of a meter, and a width of about thirty centimeters.
- Oblique monstera. Planting and care at home for this species is practically no different from attractive content. However, oblique in indoor conditions does not bloom, unlike other species. This variety is characterized by elliptical leaves up to twenty centimeters long and about five wide.
- Borziga. This is a Mexican variety that cannot be called a powerful vine. It is characterized by a thin stalk with a diameter of about thirty centimeters.
- Liana Adanson. In the tropics of Brazil, its height reaches eight meters. The plant has thin leaves with holes. When grown at home, the liana rarely blooms.
How to care
To get a monster, as in the photo, home care is simple and insignificant, every beginner will cope with it. When growing a flower, it is necessary to prune, monitor the level of humidity, temperature conditions, transplant in time, water and feed.
Lighting and location
For indoor monsters, home care comes down to creating conditions similar to tropical ones. Since the plant grows in the tropics, where there is a lot of tall growth, it lacks light, therefore, it does not need direct sunlight. Moreover, they are able to cause sunburn, injuring green leaves. However, the lack of light affects the plant badly. In this case, the leaves become smaller, the aerial roots become thin. All this causes a nutritional deficiency, which makes the plant lose its attractiveness.
Caring for a monster at home is to choose the right location for the flower pot. It is better to choose a western or eastern, northern window. On the south side of the plant can not be placed, as the liana can get burns.
Be sure to provide support to the plant. To do this, you can use a trimmed tree trunk, special supports for vines.
Feeding and watering
Growing monstera and caring at home involves creating conditions with high levels of humidity. The plant loves high humidity, abundant watering, but be sure to let the topsoil dry. When watering a flower, the remaining water should be removed from the pan: this is usually done half an hour after watering.
In winter, the interval between watering is increased by a couple of days. Otherwise, the process of root decay begins, brown spots appear on the leaves. The soil must not be allowed to dry out, just as waterlogging must not be allowed. For watering, soft water should be used: rain or settled tap water.
To support high decorativeness, fertilizers are applied twice a month. Without recharge, a large representative of the plant world will have to starve. So that the plant does not lag behind in growth, mineral complex fertilizers, organic matter are introduced. The latter is introduced as a mulching layer. To this end, apply leaf humus. Mineral fertilizers are bred according to the instructions and used for watering or spraying. Caring for a monster flower at home involves fertilizing from April to the end of summer.
Temperature and humidity
The tropical guest easily adapts to any, even the most difficult conditions. But in order to grow a beautiful flower, as in the photo, to a monstera, leaving at home involves observing the temperature regime. For growing lianas, it is quite extensive - from twelve to twenty-five degrees. For normal wintering, exotics are provided with temperatures up to eighteen degrees, and at other times of the year - from twenty. You can not allow the flower to be at a temperature of ten degrees or lower, since it will freeze.
In nature, the liana grows in conditions of high humidity. It is these conditions that should be created for the plant at home. To do this, spray the leaves and stalk with water at room temperature, remove dust from the surface of the leaves.
Transfer
Adults and young plants are demanding on the ground. Young flowers prefer soils from slightly acidic to neutral, the acidity level is 5.5-6.0 pH. The soil should be loose, good air and water permeability. A soil mixture based on one part of sand, two parts of humus and one part of peat and soddy soil is well suited. For adult plants, soil with an acidity of 6.5 to 7 pH should be selected. It is made on the basis of the same components, but leafy soil is added, and the sod is taken more, three parts.
Timely transplantation, caring for the monster at home, proper watering and top dressing will ensure the rapid growth of a beautiful plant with powerful stems and large leaves. In those cases, if you do not want to make the soil yourself, you can buy a ready-made composition, the soil is suitable for aroid.
To plant the vines should choose the right pot. There should be drainage holes in its bottom. Young specimens are transplanted every year, and mature ones every three years. If a transplant is not planned, then a large bush necessarily removes the soil layer and pours fresh.
Young plants are transplanted by transshipment. To do this, a liana is removed from the pot together with an earthen lump and placed in a larger container. At the bottom of the new pot should be expanded clay or other drainage material. A little substrate is poured on top. Then a plant is placed in a pot and sprinkled with earth. After the transplant, the vine is abundantly watered. The first top dressing is made no earlier than a month later. The transplant is carried out in the spring.
Breeding
Care and reproduction of monstera at home suggest a periodic renewal of the plant. For this, you can use seeds, cuttings, air shoots. Since the plant rarely blooms in captivity, it is almost impossible to obtain seeds. The most popular material is a stalk.
Propagation by cuttings
The simplest and most common method is propagation by cuttings. The technique allows you to rejuvenate the plant and get many new copies.
For grafting take a sharp knife or pruner. For rooting, use part of the plant with one aerial root. Cut sites must be treated with charcoal to prevent infection.
Slices are made just above the root and slightly lower. The blanks are placed in water. After a month and a half, the plant is ready for planting in the ground.
Old, bare vines are cut in such a way that there are three eyes on the stem. Slices are immediately treated with charcoal. Billets can be put in water or planted in a mini-greenhouse. A month later, the stems will give new sprouts.
Root propagation
For this method, you need moss or a container of water. The upper roots are wrapped with wet moss or dipped in water. As soon as small roots appear on the aerial roots, the top of the plant is cut off, sprinkled with charcoal, and the stalk is planted in the ground. After such pruning, the plant releases lateral shoots.
Seed propagation
If you can find the seeds of monstera, then you can try this method of reproduction. Sowing requires diffused light and a stable temperature. Seeds are sown in soil to a depth of about 0.5 cm. During germination, it is necessary to ensure that the earth does not dry out.
Six months later, the seedlings will release leaves, and a year after sowing, the plant will become strong and ready for transplanting. When propagating, picks are carried out in more spacious containers as necessary.
Possible growing problems
Sometimes they appear due to improper care of the disease. At home, the most common problems are:
- Decay of the root system. Due to improper watering, excess moisture in the flower begins to decay the roots. The same thing happens when watering with cold water.
- Yellowing leaves. With a lack of fertilizer leaves begin to turn yellow. In this case, you should immediately feed the plant with complex fertilizers. You can also replace the topsoil with a new one.
- Pests. Vines can be affected by thrips. Light dots on the leaves speak of their appearance. If you turn the sick sheet, then on the reverse side you can see a pest colony. You can get rid of the pest only with the use of special drugs.
- Curvature, falling of young leaves. When defeated by a mealybug, the leaves curvature and fall. To get rid of the pest, the leaves are treated with Actellic, wiped with a damp sponge.
- Spider web on a flower. She speaks of infection with a spider mite of a creeper. To destroy it, it is necessary to increase humidity: spraying is carried out, wiping with soap solutions. With severe infection, they are treated with special drugs from ticks.
- The appearance of brown plaques, falling leaves. These symptoms indicate infection of the plant with scale.
If suddenly the whole plant began to turn yellow, then this indicates a bay, and the gradual yellowing of the leaves indicates a lack of nutrition. A small number of leaves at the bottom of the creeper indicates a lack of light, and their massive drying out indicates a high temperature in the room.
Pruning
Monstera is trimmed when leaving at home for the purpose of sanitation. During the procedure, old and damaged leaves are removed, giving new ones the opportunity to develop and grow properly. This method helps to maintain the decorative bush.
If the liana is already large and slowed down growth, then they carry out stimulation by removing the crown. It can be rooted. In the remainder, new shoots will begin to grow actively. This method helps rejuvenate the plant.
Interesting Monster Facts
Monstera is a unique plant with which many legends and myths are associated. In every country where a flower grows, a story is associated with it. In some countries, creeper is used for medicinal purposes.
In Asia, this plant symbolizes good luck and excellent health. In Cambodia and some other countries, it is believed that if you put a pot of liana near a seriously ill patient, then healing comes to him. In some countries, a vine is planted near the house to attract wealth and health.
In Mexico, Monstera is a breadfruit from which a cure for arthritis is made. On some islands, snake potions are made from creeper, and in Peru ropes are made from creeper. And these are not all methods of applying a wonderful plant.