There are a tonne of baby Monsteras available on the market and it’s a super rewarding way of growing them.
For a start, they’re cheap.
I got my baby Monstera for £4.99 which is pretty bargainous.
THAT BEING SAID you can get a decent-sized Monstera complete with splits on the leaves for, like £20, so price isn't really that much of an issue.
I just think they’re cute! It’s exciting enough getting your first fenestration on a juvenile plant – getting them on a plant you’ve had since it was a couple of inches tall is a proud moment!
These tiny baby plants are all grown from tissue culture, so a single Monstera node can produce thousands of babies.
It’s this efficiency factor that’s driven Monstera prices into the ground in the last few years.
We are NOT complaining.
There are rumours that plants grown from tissue culture aren't as strong as 'normal' ones, but it's more to do with genes of the parent plant than the fact it was tissue culture.
You can get teeny, tiny babies that haven’t been hardened off directly from tissue culture companies (this is how a lot of people score cheap rare plants) BUT hardening off these plants is a skill, so don’t do it unless you’ve had some experience.
Getting Monstera this way is probably good practice though!
If you’re new to houseplants, I have a complete guide to Monstera deliciosa here.
Should you separate baby Monstera plants?
When you buy baby Monstera you usually get three or four babies in the pot, like this:
Monstera naturally grow on one vine and they aren’t massive fans of being kept in the same pot. There are even rumours they’ll send out hormones to hinder the growth of the other plantlets.
However, there's evidence to suggest that plants that are genetically identical to each other (for example ones from tissue culture that are all clones of the parent plant) will actually help one another.
There’s also the issue that Monstera are big plants and you might not have room for three single stems in separate pots, but you could do three in one pot.
I keep mine in the same pot, but I have separated them so they're further apart.
Just bear in mind that their roots can end up fusing together, so it gets more and more risky to separate them as they get older.
I’m a big fan of the ‘rip the roots apart and hope’ approach, and it actually works pretty well with Monsteras, which simply LOVE to grow roots instead of leaves and probably relish the opportunity to do so.
How big of a pot should you put them in?
Monstera are one of those plants that aren’t that bothered about being put in a massive pot.
If you know what you’re doing in terms of watering, then you can put it in a massive pot and just keep a close eye out for root rot.
However, if you want to grow a Monstera quickly, I like to repot little and often.
Only go up a pot size when the pot is FULL of roots, and only go up one pot size. As I've previously mentioned, Monstera love to grow roots, so if you go up too big of a pot size, they'll concentrate on filling the pot with roots, rather than growing leaves.
By only going up a single pot size, it won’t take long for the Monstera to feel secure enough in the pot to produce a new leaf. You may find that you’re having to repot after every leaf, BUT it’s probably the fastest way to grow your Monstera.
What light do baby Monsteras need?
I have mine in my south-facing window. Like, right in it. Straight from the garden centre (where it was in a greenhouse, so a LOT of light) and into the brightest light I had.
The brighter the light, the faster the growth. I didn’t get any burning, but it wouldn’t have mattered if I did – I’d rather get the plant into great light and risk a couple of baby leaves than waste time acclimating it.
Here she is, sandwiched between my big-ass Monstera and my Thai Constellation. All three of them LOVE it there. Even though they’re plagued by Hoya runners all day long.
Do baby Monsteras need high humidity?
Baby Monsteras don’t need high humidity, but they grow faster, especially when you keep them in bright light.
When Monstera are dry, they don’t grow as fast, and when it’s hot they wilt in the dry air.
Having high humidity allows you to keep baby Monstera in great light without having to worry about them wilting.
I have naturally high-ish humidity of around 60% and it’s doing well, but I could grow it up faster if I put it in the terrarium (but I don’t want the slugs to get it).
High humidity will also make it more likely to grow long aerial roots.
If you direct those aerial roots into the soil from when it’s a baby, you’re less likely to have to get it on a moss pole later.
Monsteras are one of the few aroids that can support themselves on their aerial roots, and if you train them early, you can have *slightly* more control over the direction in which they grow.
This works better in theory because Monstera grow however the heck they like, but it's still worth mentioning.
How often to fertilise baby Monstera?
I tried a thing out where I fertilised every time I watered using hydroponic nutrients (just the recommended dosage) and it worked super well for a couple of months but then growth in a lot of plants stalled.
I’ve pared it back to fertilising every other time I water and it’s going really well.
You can definitely get away with fertilising less though – in fact, if you’re repotting and adding more potting mix often, you may not need to fertilise at all.
The only plant that had negative side effects from the super frequent fertilising was my Pothos N-joy. Every other plant was fine.
Do small Monsteras need a moss pole?
No. You only need a moss pole when the plant can no longer support itself. Monsteras don’t necessarily need a moss pole if you’re diligent about training their aerial roots back into the soil.
Final thoughts
Baby Monstera care is the same as adult Monstera deliciosa care, but you just need to be more diligent about not letting it, for example, dry out too much. I check the soil weekly and in the middle of summer it’s usually ready to be watered when I check. If the moisture meter reads 3 or lower, I water.