A while back when I met up with some online plant friends for the first time, the question got asked, ‘What’s your poison, are you into Succulents, Philodendrons…?’ and honestly I was stumped. My answer was a questionable ‘I’m into all plants?’.
Well, some time has passed, and I can tell you that yes, although I remain into ‘all plants’, there are some plant families that do it for me more than others. One of which is the Monstera clan. Oh goodness golly gosh, do they make my heart pulse faster. Currently, I have the following in my collection:
MONSTERA DELICIOSA F BORSIGIANA
This has to be one of my biggest plants- it’s about 5 years old and I only recently identified it as being a Borsigiana form when I noticed that even after reaching maturity the leaves weren’t fenestrated as much as they should be if my plant had been a true M. deliciosa. Not that I mind! I love the compact heart-shaped leaves. This massive dark green goddess livens up any room. Presently, she’s in the corner of my lounge and has actually started to vine outwards along the walls.
VARIEGATED MONSTERA DELICIOSA
Jumping onto the bandwagon trend I just had to grab a Variegated M. deliciosa when I saw one become available. I tend to give it just about the same attention as I do my normal house plants, but with most variegated plants, the fun comes in when a new leaf unfurls and you get to see the variation in leaf colourings. It’s like a lucky packet for plants.
MONSTERA KARESTENIANUM
Ok, it took me a long time to learn how to be able to say this name- but I finally got it! This beauty came from a plant swap, and I just couldn’t believe my luck. I didn’t know what it was but it was absolutely beautiful. It took quite a long time to grow from the initial cutting but I’ve found by giving it a bit of extra light it seems to do better.
MONSTERA ADANSONII
The first thing every Monstera addict learns is that ‘it’s never obliqua‘. This refers to the common practice of beginner plant hobbyists confusing adansonii with a much rarer species obliqua– to be honest, once you’ve seen photos of the two side by side, it’s not hard to confuse them. This is a beautiful vining plant, and mine has now reached the length that I have to decide what to do with it. Vine it up a poll or let it drape downwards? A fellow plant lovers advised to try and vine up my adansonii because it can get quite leggy if its allowed to hang. Although, the best suggestion I think I’ve heard so far is to make lots of cuttings for propagation, and this will also allow for the plant to be bushier- Thanks Aviv!
Now that I KNOW I have a thing for monsters, my eyes are peeled! I’m looking for the following, so if you see them let me know! M. deliciosa Thai Constellation; M. siltepecana and M. dubia.
Words by Saffron, follow her on Instagram @saffronsgarden
