No cuts in most leafs
So i’ve had my Monstera for a while and he’s doing great, even propegated a bunch because he grew so big!
Here’s the question though, in almost all leafs there’s none of these cuts/grooves that the monsteras are so well known for. Only approx 6 out of 30 leafs have em. Is this normal? Are the plant’s need not met correctly? Help! 😅
i’m also a little but concerned about him growing a crap-ton of new leafs and stems but he doesn’t seem to grow his existing leafs larger (like most other monsteras i see in you guys’ pics.)
Here’s the question though, in almost all leafs there’s none of these cuts/grooves that the monsteras are so well known for. Only approx 6 out of 30 leafs have em. Is this normal? Are the plant’s need not met correctly? Help! 😅
i’m also a little but concerned about him growing a crap-ton of new leafs and stems but he doesn’t seem to grow his existing leafs larger (like most other monsteras i see in you guys’ pics.)
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Best Answer
Hi Mees! 😊
Monstera leaves only fenestrate (get holes) as they mature, that can sometimes take 2+years from a baby plant. Seeing as yours does have a few is a good sign! But the question is, did it have them when you got it and reverted to new leaves not fenestrating, or have the new leaves been the ones getting the holes? If it was old ones that have it and not new ones, there could be several reasons. It could not be getting enough light, nearing winter could be a possible cause for that if your climate has been experiencing less light. Another possibility is if it’s been root bound for a long time and there’s no space for new roots to grow. Another possibility is if you fertilize it? Plants can survive on water and light, but some need that extra boost of nutrition to really begin to thrive. ☺️
Monstera leaves only fenestrate (get holes) as they mature, that can sometimes take 2+years from a baby plant. Seeing as yours does have a few is a good sign! But the question is, did it have them when you got it and reverted to new leaves not fenestrating, or have the new leaves been the ones getting the holes? If it was old ones that have it and not new ones, there could be several reasons. It could not be getting enough light, nearing winter could be a possible cause for that if your climate has been experiencing less light. Another possibility is if it’s been root bound for a long time and there’s no space for new roots to grow. Another possibility is if you fertilize it? Plants can survive on water and light, but some need that extra boost of nutrition to really begin to thrive. ☺️
@Ikvergeetnogalwat Welcome to Greg, Mees!
@RJG is correct, with more lightning you will get bigger leaves with more fenestrations. That’s why I have mine under a grow light.
@RJG is correct, with more lightning you will get bigger leaves with more fenestrations. That’s why I have mine under a grow light.
@PlantingPeace thanks for your extensive answer! In my room they don’t get thát much direct sunlight, even in summer. When i got him, about half of the leafs were fenestrated, and now only the older ones are fenestrated. The newer ones aren’t. I did fertilize a bit in growing season and he’s got a fairly large pot now for about half a year. I’ll try to put one of my propegated monsteras in the living room where there’s more direct sunlight to see if that makes for more fenestration. Do you happen to know if there’s a specific reason that he makes so much new small leafs instead of growing the existing ones larger? Or is that more a case of every plant is different just like us humans?
@Ikvergeetnogalwat of course! Most leaves for monsteras are pretty predetermined. They do grow slightly as they pop out and unfurl but they don’t really continue to grow past that threshold. That’s why your new leaves haven’t been splitting, if they come out small, they likely won’t get bigger, unfortunately. 😔 if they are going to be big leaves, they will pop out big with their fenestrations. 😀
That being said, please do take care when moving it into direct sunlight. They can burn from a lot of direct sunlight, especially if they haven’t been acclimated slowly to it, so try to have it diffused by using a thin sheer curtain if you happen to have one. Other wise, you can move it to the sunlight area slowly maybe increasing 1h a week till it’s use to it (this may take a lot of moving it back and forth) or you can have it in the room with direct sunlight even if it’s not directly hitting it, just as long as their is more light than it has right now. 🙂
Also, don’t underestimate Grow Lights, it doesn’t even have to be labeled a “grow light” to benefit the plant. Since Monsteras are grown mostly for their foliage, you can use a LED bulb of 5000-6500kelvin (temperate color) with higher lumens (1500-3000k lumens) and pop that into a lamp near/over it. I use these type of bulbs as grow lights myself and they work darling 🤗 (bluer “cooler” light is better for growing foliage than warm light)
I hope all goes well and it starts to pump out some more big leaves for you. 😄
That being said, please do take care when moving it into direct sunlight. They can burn from a lot of direct sunlight, especially if they haven’t been acclimated slowly to it, so try to have it diffused by using a thin sheer curtain if you happen to have one. Other wise, you can move it to the sunlight area slowly maybe increasing 1h a week till it’s use to it (this may take a lot of moving it back and forth) or you can have it in the room with direct sunlight even if it’s not directly hitting it, just as long as their is more light than it has right now. 🙂
Also, don’t underestimate Grow Lights, it doesn’t even have to be labeled a “grow light” to benefit the plant. Since Monsteras are grown mostly for their foliage, you can use a LED bulb of 5000-6500kelvin (temperate color) with higher lumens (1500-3000k lumens) and pop that into a lamp near/over it. I use these type of bulbs as grow lights myself and they work darling 🤗 (bluer “cooler” light is better for growing foliage than warm light)
I hope all goes well and it starts to pump out some more big leaves for you. 😄
@PlantingPeace thanks for taking your time to give all this great info! I’ll place the monstera a further from the window in the living room i think, that way it gets more light but not too much. Very interesting to see that the leaves come predetermined! I alway thought that leaves grew a bit later on like how stems can get thicker over time.
@Ikvergeetnogalwat I’m glad that my words are of help to you. 🤗
It really is interesting! 🤣 before I learned about monsteras, I also thought the holes came after the leaf matured, not as the plant matures. 🤭 they sure look cool unfurling with their fenestrations though! 😄 and a faster indication to let you know if it’s liking its new spot. 😉
It really is interesting! 🤣 before I learned about monsteras, I also thought the holes came after the leaf matured, not as the plant matures. 🤭 they sure look cool unfurling with their fenestrations though! 😄 and a faster indication to let you know if it’s liking its new spot. 😉