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Variegated Monstera are extremely beautiful, but come with a price tag a lot of us just aren’t willing or able to pay – especially if we’re not 100% sure how to care for monstera.
What’s most frustrating is that variegated monstera aren’t even rare – they’re just in such high demand that they command a high price tag. Not Monstera Obliqua high, but you know, high enough.
So why not buy variegated Monstera seeds? There seem to no end of kind hearted Etsy sellers willing to sell 100 variegated Monstera seeds for about £7. Even if only 10% of them germinate, you could end up making a hellish profit?
WHAT COULD GO WRONG??
Is it possible to grow variegated monstera from seed?
No.
At least, it’s highly unlikely. Those Etsy sellers are scamming. The annoying thing is, it’s perfectly possible to grow Monstera deliciosa from seeds, but they’re not even selling those.
How to identify variegated monstera seeds
You can’t – chances are, you won’t know it’s variegated until it grows. Regular green Monstera seeds look like this:
Maybe the variegated seeds have little white lines on them? who knows? Commercial variegated monstera (which is like, 99.99% of them) are not grown from seed.
The chances of a monstera seed producing a variegated plants are a good 100,000:1.
Those odds do not a commercially-viable business make.
Where can I buy variegated monstera seeds?
Etsy!
Well, you can spend a few quid on some cress or grass seeds labelled as variegated monstera.
You can’t get variegated monstera seeds. You can, however, buy monstera seeds. AND there’s a million to one chance you get a variegated one.
How long does it take to grow a Monstera from seed?
I don’t want you to think that you can’t grow a Monstera from seed – you absolutely can. I also think it’d be a really fun project. But don’t do it to save money. You can buy Monstera pretty cheap if you look in the right places.
Check out my blog post on how much Monstera’s cost here.
Basically, you can go from having a seed to having something you could call a proper plant in a under a year. Not bad. This guy grows them in Texas though – I’m not sure I could achieve the same results in Yorkshire.
If you’re up for the challenge, this site has a great post on growing Monstera from seed.
Wow, I really want to try though.
Will the variegated monstera seeds I buy from Etsy grow?
Absolutely – if you take the time to learn how to germinate them, keep them warm, and make sure they stay moist, your seeds should germinate pretty quickly.
Except they won’t grow into variegated Monstera.
I’ve heard reports of growing anything from grass, to carrots, to basil.
I’ve never actually heard of anyone receiving even green Monstera seeds, which is weird, because surely it’s easier to explain why a non-variegated Monstera grew than freaking basil?
How do Etsy sellers get away with it?
- No one can be bothered to report
They probably bought the seeds on a whim (maybe late night shopping with a credit card in one hand a glass of wine in the other), planted them, then when grass grew, learned from their mistake and moved on. Etsy is unlikely to take the odd report seriously, and by the time they do, they scammers have moved on.
- Scammers set up shop, sell, and leave
By the time your variegated Monstera seeds have had chance to not grow, they’ve gone.
- People are buying them, and assuming they did it wrong
If nothing grows, the buyer assumed they either prepared everything incorrectly, or the seeds were duds. Since very few seeds have a 100% chance of germinating, they don’t bother seller.
After all, they weren’t that expensive.
What’s the cheapest way to buy a variegated Monstera?
Weirdly, I don’t like buying expensive plants online. I got my Monstera Thai Constellation from my local garden centre, and paid £89.99 for it. I just prefer to buy expensive plants in person.
If that isn’t an option for you, take comfort in the fact that Monstera generally travel well. I would opt to spend a little more on a plant, but if you can only afford a cutting, please use a reputable buyer.
Check out my Etsy list of plant sellers or use an online plant shop such as the Rare Plant Shop.
Make sure that the seller has good reviews, and see if you can see a picture of the acual plant you’re buying.
Kaylee Ellen (who wins the rare plant shop) has a great video of rehabbing plants that have been shipped.
Final thoughts on growing variegated Monstera from seed
Please don’t be scammed. It’s basically impossible to buy variegated Monstera seeds. A lot of plants are grown in tissue culture in labs – seeds barely enter into the equation.
Variegated Monstera are currently extremely fashionable but either:
- The trend will die down (unlikely)
- More places will grow them using tissue culture, thus making them easier to produce in bigger quantities and driving the price down (likely – literally happening right now)
- Everyone who wants one will have them. Demand will fall, and so will prices (hmm, bit of a long shot)
Be patient and save up, or ask Santa nicely.
Or do what I did and develop a passion for Calathea instead.
I got seeds off of my variegated monstera. Will they grow?
There’s no reason why they won’t grow, but they’re no more likely to be variegated than a regular green monstera seed. The more you plant, the more likely you are to get a variegated one!
Hi, I see a Chinese company selling “variegted monstera deliciosa ‘Albo variegata’ Saplings which appeared as a off white colour.. Calling them golden monstera… Very very expensive…
NOW I’ve an other guy in the east who reckons he can get variegted monstera deliciosa seeds!!!. For a price. I’m very suspicious.. Im just not sure. & while im here can you recommend a British company(save on permits ect ect)who has monstera deliciosa seeds at competitive prices I need a 1000 for about £250 is this reasonable to expect…
Thanks for you’re expertise & time completely appreciated .
Priceless thank you tom
You definitely can’t guarantee you’ll get delicious seeds, but there’s a decent chance you’d get one out of 1000 seeds! Sorry, I can’t recommend anyone, because all the sellers I’ve seen in the UK don’t look legit. I’ll keep my eyes open for some though, and add any decent sellers to the article.
Caroline,thanks for the wise words,I learnt a lot over the last couple of week in my quest to find the impossible variegated monstera seeds..
I found a woman in l,A who does regular monstera seeds but not sure if there what they say they are.
Mh ….the fickle quadmire that is buying on line.Id suggest doing lots of checking if poss…
Once again thanks. tom
I used to grow Clivias from seed with a plan on breeding Duruma Yellow variegated clivias.
In order to get variegated seed, the pod parent must be variegated and only the berries with variegation will carry variegayion. Some will grow out to be pure white/yellow but those generally don’t survive for long.
The variegation is unpredictable but is pretty stable on the plant. Like half moon plants will continue to throw half moon leaves although that half moon may shift. Pups from those plants can also be half moons, but only if the new new growth starts at the base of the division line of the the half moon of the parent plant.
So, generally speaking. The pod parent should be highly variegated with fine lines, which makes them quite unattractive, but those will be the best pod parents. So you can’t really breed for a specific variegation, except for Light of Buddha types, but you can increase your chances getting a some good patterns.
Each propagation is also generally different. So generally you would just cut and throw out any undesirable pups.
Thanks for the info! I can’t find many house plant seeds in my local garden centres, but there are a few, so I should really have a go.