The post about my Boston Fern mentioned the events surrounding the purchase of two particular plants. If you didn’t read that post here is a quick recap:
After the whole I killed My ZZ debacle I was completely disheartened and felt like a complete failure as a plant parent. Ironically that day I thought that a trip to a garden centre (and a piece of cake) would cheer me up. On our way to Carewswood Garden Centre, one of my favourite coffee and plant spots in Cork, we stopped by B&Q because I “needed soil”. Needless to say I left with two new plants and some pots.
This might seem insignificant to some, I mean so you killed a plant right? Happens to all of us. But this was the first time a plant died such a horrific death while in my care and it was really devastating. I wanted to give up caring for plants entirely due to my overreaction. Luckily I am not one to just give up.
The second plant I bought that day was a Monstera Adansonii and I couldn’t control my excitement when I saw them displayed on the shelf. I had been hoping to add one to my collection as I really love caring for my Monstera Deliciosa. In Ireland I’ve found it a bit harder to find certain plants as garden centres and shops (in my area at least) tend to only have a limited amount of “special plants” that is if they stock them at all.
With my “Meet The Family” series of posts I will be introducing you to my plants and tell you a little bit more about the story behind each plant. I will also attempt to share more about my plant care, and how the plant responds to the conditions in our apartment.
If you are looking for an easy to care for plant I can highly recommend the Monstera Adansonii. Mine has been fairly low maintenance and is growing quite well. I keep her in my plant corner where she receives light from a South facing window. I water once a week or once every two weeks and mist her every other morning, depending on the season and the weather of course.
I have her in a well draining soil mix (houseplant mix, cactus soil mix and perlite) and she will grow faster in brighter lighting conditions. She is also very forgiving if you let her dry out a bit. After watering or a good misting I normally see new leaves emerging so she will definitely reward you for your care and attention.
She started growing a bit leggy (it was just the way the cutting was propagated) so I started forcing the nodes into the soil to grow more roots. I am trying to coil her around her pot so that she grows fuller and so far this has been quite successful. How this works is the nodes will grow roots if placed in a growing medium (water or soil). So you can chop and prop or you can gently force them into the soil. I have done this with both my Pothos as well. This will also promote new growth out of that stem.
I initially thought I wanted her to trail, but since she has started to mainly grow in one direction I have realised that I need to make a climbing rack for her to grab on to. In the meantime I have moved her against the wall so she is starting to climb up the wall. This is only temporary however.
A few weeks ago while we were on holiday she unfurled a new leaf and she currently has two new leaves waiting to unfurl and two more on the way. I really love watching her grow!
Do you have a Monstera Adansonii? I would love to hear from you. Leave a reply by commenting below! If you have any questions, advice or requests for particular topics that you would like me to discuss please feel free to contact me here or pop me a DM on Instagram.
New Day New Growth 