We are going to dedicate this article to a somewhat more forgotten section and it is to indoor plants. A good decoration not only consists of having the perfect garden, but we can also obtain great benefits from plants inside the home. This is the case of the monstera. It is a leafy plant that is used for interiors and that has become fashionable, like other species. It is commonly known by the name of Adam's Rib because of the shape of its leaves.
If you want to know more details about how to take care of it and what advantages it gives indoors, this is your post 🙂
Key features
This plant is native to the tropical forests where temperatures are higher as is humidity. This makes it a perfect plant to have indoors in both winter and summer. It comes from the areas of southern Mexico and northern Argentina. Its leaves are quite large and bright in color. Thanks to the rhizomes it has, it has some characteristics of a climbing plant.
It has elongated stems to lean on and climb trees in search of light. To keep growing, it is always oriented towards where the sunlight is. It can grow up to 20 meters long.
It can produce sweet fruits similar to pineapple, although indoors it does not meet the conditions to be able to generate them. Keep in mind that if we see that it generates some type of fruit while indoors, it will not be edible, since it will have a high content of oxalic acid. This acid is very toxic and corrosive.
Monstera is widely grown indoors because they adapt well to indoor home conditions. Although they tend to seek sunlight, they can live perfectly even if they do not have it directly. When we see that his climbing acts begin to show, we can help them by using a tutor. In this way, we will be giving it a better appearance so that it better decorates the rooms in which it is located. If you do not have a stake where you can climb, the branches will fall to the ground because they have nothing to hold on to and it will look very ugly.
Indoor plant and associations
This plant is perfect to combine with others that have a different texture. They can be perfectly mixed with other plants of the style dracaena or some Ferns. By putting them together among other plants, the vigorous and healthy character that the room can have increases.
As well It can be used alone and it will give a pretty nice touch if we use it as a background. Next to a table with books and a seesaw it is quite a nice background. In addition, it will help to renew the air in the house and oxygenate the room. Although it is not in direct sunlight, it photosynthesizes indoors. The best location is near an advantage where the lighting is high.
Its foliage makes a good contrast with the furniture and decorations you have in the room. Provides a sensation of humidity that helps to refresh the environment. This in summer, helps a lot to have better conditions in the room.
Growing monstera outdoors
Although it is a very good option to grow and have indoors, it can also be had outdoors. What is necessary is to have areas in the garden that have shade, but they are enlightened. In this way, it can grow according to the direction of the light and can grow around trees, shrubs or other plants that you use as a tutor.
You can place it under a roof or under the canopy of some trees. So it can climb and form a clump. It will also add a tropical and exotic touch to the garden. How it is a plant that reaches a large size It is perfect to hide some things that do not look good in the garden. For example, some old shed, some tool shed or some more rusty fences. If you put some smaller species you can form a green background wall with shades of different colors that will give depth to the garden and prevent it from looking so flat.
Do not be afraid to know that it can reach up to 20 meters in height, that this only happens outdoors. By not having the same favorable conditions for its growth, indoors it is not even 10 meters. Another disadvantage of its indoor cultivation is that we can only see its vegetative part and not its flowers. What we can enjoy is the leafiness that it will provide in the corners of the room. It is excellent for office decoration.
Necessary care
If we want to keep our monstera in good health, we must take into account some of the most important care that we have to give it. The first is the terrain. If it is in the garden, it must be rich in organic matter and have forest soil. In a pot for indoor use, we must guarantee that the substrate has a great supply of nutrients so that its growth is not diminished by indoor conditions.
The ideal is to change the pot every 2 or 3 years once they have become adults. The time to change the pot is between spring or summer, so that it does not suffer from low temperatures while it adapts to the new conditions. We will pay with a liquid fertilizer every 10 days during the months of April and September. This is done so that in the warmer season it has enough nutrients to develop well.
Exhibition It must be bright but without coming into contact with direct sunlight. It is also able to adapt to other less illuminated places such as offices or apartment entrances. It is better that the environment is warm.
The waterings should be done with a frequency that keeps the soil moist but without overdoing it, since you could contract fungal diseases. We will notice that it suffers from disease if its leaves turn yellow. We will treat her with an antifungal.
I hope these tips help you enjoy monstera.