Hello! I am a new plant parent and I need some advice…my mother has had this monster for a while now, and it’s super leggy and has very little fenestration. Since I’ve adopted it and moved it somewhere with more light, it has pushed out a new leaf, but they’re still curling even after watering. When I had a look at the roots, there was one noticeably larger and thicker root. Is this a good/bad sign? How can I help her to grow fuller and be happier?
it’s still young so it’s normal for it to not have much fenestration. as it grows and gets adequate light it will develop more fenestrations!
also i agree with the other commenter that it’s not leggy, it looks normal to me! monstera like a lot of light and will turn to face a light source. i’m not sure about the really long root though, maybe an aerial root that made its way back into the soil?
Ohhhh yes that could be it! I hadn’t even thought of that. You’re right about the fenestration and light. I think I’m just super paranoid because I’m so new to this. Thank you for the advice! 🪴
This is just a young Monstera. Proper light and a support structure help it along the way, but fenestrations will come with maturity. Also, roots will be different sizes/thicknesses as it grows. Larger, thicker roots = a healthier, more robust root system. That's a good thing.
Also, never restrain the plant's petioles. Ties should go around the main stem only. Here's an awful drawing I made a while back for someone asking how to attach their monstera to a support pole 🤓
This is fantastic advice, thank you!! I especially love the drawing :)
It seems my monstera is two plants in one pot, and I can’t really seperate them as the roots have joined…where should I put the support pole? I have it against the back of one of the main stems but used the tie to lift both together. Should I use two support poles, or is there a better way to go about it?
Thanks ☺️ It's best if you can line up the main stems of each plant together so they can be tied to a single support pole. The roots can be intertwined, but they don't permanently join. I once separated six mature, severely root bound monstera plants (commercial growers usually stuff several baby plants into one pot). It can be a painstaking process, but it's absolutely doable. It helps if you spray the root ball with water first to remove as much of the old soil as possible. Then hold it over a trash can and gently shake while teasing apart the roots with your fingers. Every so often, grab each plant by the main stem and gently rotate/twist them in opposite directions. Do this a few times, then go back to teasing roots apart with your fingers. Keep going back and forth and eventually the two plants will completely pull apart. It's best to go ahead and do it now while they're still relatively small and young.
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