If you want to keep the old leaves, move it back into the shade – it’s still better light then it would have inside. If you leave it where it if, new leaves should be able to handle the higher light so they won’t burn, but the old ones will die off. If you keep it hydrated and we’ll field it should grow quickly though.

How literally did you mean to whack it outside and let it burn to a crisp? Should I leave it in its new spot or move it back and hope for the best?

Monstera are super resistant so if you put it back in the conservatory over spring/summer it should grow quickly. You don’t need to feed every week – monthly is plenty. Water throughly so the soil is evenly moist (but make sure any excess can drain away) then wait until it’s fairly dry again.

Don’t repot unless it’s absolutely necessary (I have an article on that here) because monstera like to be snug in their pots – if you give them too much room they’ll concentrate on growing roots not leaves.

There isn’t a specific timeline here but Monstera do have a habit of concentrating on growing a tonne of roots before any new growth, so it can take a while. Like, several months. The good news is that once they do eventually start growing foliage, they grow pretty quickly.

Making sure the roots are quite snug in their pots (go down a pot size if you’re impatient) can encourage leaves to grow faster, but it isn’t a guarantee.

Thank you so much! There isn’t a hard and fast rule about when Monstera start to fenestrate, BUT you can speed up the process by making the plant believe it needs to start. Monstera develop fenestrations to allow light to penetrate to the lower leaves, and possibly to help them remain upright in windy weather.

The easiest way to convince a Monstera to fenestrate is to increase the light – a couple of hours outside (in the shade, or at least protected from super bright light) or by an open window will really help.

Other than that, all you can do is look after it well – water when needed, keep the leaves clean (lint roller for the win!) and feed every month or so.

Some plants really respond to being grown up a moss pole or plank of wood, but my Monstera is intent on growing horizontally across the floor and she has fenestrations, so that isn’t a hard and fast rule.

Yeah, most likely! I probably water mine monthly, but it depends on where it is. Mines right next to a south-facing window so gets a decent amount of light. If yours is in a darker spot it’ll use less water take much longer to dry out