Monstera Dilacerata is popular among houseplants for its deep-green, fenestrated, and glossy foliage.
Besides being exceptionally gorgeous, this plant also purifies the surrounding air and relieves stress.
Read this article to let your Monstera Dilacerata thrive in their suitable environment.
Table of Contents Show
Overview of Monstera Dilacerata
Monstera Dilacerata with tropical fenestrated leaves hails from Asian countries like southern China, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia.
Before we jump into in-depth care needs, here is brief information to familiarize you with Monstera Dilacerata.
| Factors | Indicators |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Monstera Dilacerata |
| Native Area | Indochina, Malaysia, Taiwan, Southern China, Japan, and Melanesia |
| Family | Araceae |
| Growth Zone | Zones 7-10 |
| Plant Type | Evergreen |
| Growth Size | Up to 6.5 feet tall |
| Growth Rate | Moderate to fast |
| Grown For | Evergreen foliage with dramatic fenestrated leaves |
| Growth Type | Erect, upright |
| Container | Glazed ceramic or plastic pot |
| Foliage | Large green foliage with multiple splits and holes |
| Availability | Pretty rare |
| Toxicity | Toxic to Humans and Pets |
Monstera Dilacerata- Complete Grow & Care Guide
Monstera Dilacerata is a tropical epiphyte of the aroids family that requires excellent care.
| Parameters | Suitable Conditions |
|---|---|
| Lighting | Light or bright shade for at least 4 hours |
| Watering | Once a week in Summer & once every 2 weeks in winter |
| Temperature | 65-80°F |
| Humidity | 60-70% |
| Potting Soil Mix | Maintain slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5.5-6.5 |
| Fertilization | Balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer |
| Repotting | Every 2 years to larger pots |
| Propagation | Via stem or tip cuttings and layering |
| Pruning | Occasional pruning of damaged, dead, or decaying foliage. |
| Common Pests | Mealybugs, Spider mites |
| Common Diseases | Bacterial leaf spot, Anthracnose |
1. Sunlight & Temperature
Monstera Dilacerata is a photosensitive plant, so plants’ location and the intensity of light they receive are crucial.
However, leaves of plants suffering from low-light conditions lose fenestrations, and the growth stops eventually.
And excessive temperature & lighting result in black spots, brown leaf tips, leaf curls, and wilting of foliage.
Yellowing, drooping, and dropping foliage are the symptoms of cold stress.
Tips to Provide Adequate Light & Temperature
- Keep plants along the northeast-facing wall for outdoor Monstera Dilacerata.
- If you live in an area with lower sunshine, use artificial grow lights for up to 10 hours to fulfill its light needs.
- Use thermometers to measure and adjust the temperature as per the needs.
- Use Frost blankets to protect outdoor Monstera Dilacerata from frosts.
2. Watering & Humidity
Regarding watering, the Monstera Dilacerata has an absolute demand for moist soil but is not soggy.
Meanwhile, the watering needs of Dilacerata vary with temperature and time or season of the year.
Wilting, drooping, stunting, and increasing susceptibility to fungal attack are the major signs that your plant will show from improper watering and humidity.
Tips for Correct Watering & Humidity
- Ensure the top 1-2 inches of soil has dried out completely before watering.
- Check soil moisture from time to time using a soil moisture meter.
- If the plant is underwatered, use a pebble tray filled with water and submerge the plant in a tub filled with lukewarm water.
- Fetch your plant water during the morning hours in a consistent manner, or use a room humidifier.
3. Soil & Fertilizers
Monstera Dilacerata transforms into a big monster plant clinging to trees in the wild due to its epiphytic nature.
To prepare an ideal potting mix for your plant, add organic soil with compost, mulch, living organism excretions, and bark fragments.
DIY Recipe: Use 50% organic materials and 50% sandy loamy soil to prepare the best potting mix for your Monstera Dilacerata.
Tips for Efficient Soil & Fertilizers
- Ensure you keep the fertilizer at least 5 inches away from the plant base to avoid fertilizer burning in roots or stems.
- Providing your Monstera Dilacerata with a slow-release 20-20-20 fertilizer once a month during its active growth will suffice.
- Reduce fertilization during the fall and winter to dodge over-fertilizing problems.
- Use Miracle-Gro and FoxFarm potting soil for better results.
4. Repotting Every 2 Years
Monstera Dilacerata needs a Terracotta or Orchid pot of 10 inches or more.
If the roots of your plants start popping up from the drainage holes of the containers, understand it’s time to repot them.
To prepare potting mix, use organic matter and sandy loam soil or buy a commercial potting mix.
Do not repot during winter to avoid the repotting shock.
Tips to Repot
- Place your palm firmly on the topsoil of the plant and turn your pot upside down.
- Slowly pull out the plant with a gentle tapping on the bottom of the pot.
- Remove excess soil from roots and check for any signs of degradation.
- If any rotting or browning is found, cut it out with a sterilized tool and apply some fungicides.
- Sterilize the pot and fill it with potting soil mix.
- Place your plant in the new pot with roots directed downwards.
- Deeply water your plant until water oozes out through the drainage holes.
5. Regular Pruning
Monstera Dilacerata often requires pruning to make them bushy with a quick growth rate.
Pruning the dead and damaged leaves will prevent the spreading diseases and pests to healthy plant parts.
They feed on the plants and cause them to be yellow, droop, and rot.
Before the growing season, ensure proper pruning of long vines without hurting the plant.
Doing this will boost the growth rate by preventing the vines from getting leggy. Also, you can use the pruned parts to propagate the plant to make them bushier.
Tips to Prune Monstera Dilacerata
- You shall trim long vines with a sterilized pruner at a 45° angle to ensure no leggy growth.
- Do not trim more than 25% of the parts at a time.
- Thoroughly water your plant after pruning to help the plant overcome pruning stress.
- Apply chemical pesticides such as Malathion solution or Pyrethrin spray.
- Apply or spray horticultural or neem oil on the plant to keep pests at bay.
Monstera Dilacerata: All About the Growth Rate
It is a tropical epiphyte plant popular for its monster-splitting or fenestrated green foliage.
Generally, the Monstera Dilacerata grows up to 6 feet tall when kept indoors properly.
But in their adventure to find sunlight, they crawl over the trees in natural habitats extending up to 33-66 feet while absorbing nutrients using aerial roots.
It flaunts its gorgeous oval pinnatifid leaves with splits and holes, which we adore and love.
Pro Tip! Provide the best condition for your plant and get rewarded with increased leaf fenestration.
Toxicity of Monstera Dilacerata
Like the fresh apple the Evil Queen gave Snow White, Monstera Dilacerata hides its toxicity under flaunting beauty.
According to ASPCA, almost all species of Monstera contain calcium oxalate in each part of the plant, which can be toxic to pets.
Drooling, minor stomach discomfort, and skin irritation are other symptoms that may appear upon a greater amount of consumption.
Ensure your pets and children can’t reach this plant to avoid any accidental ingestion. However, on accidental ingestion, you can reach out to the following numbers:
Propagation Methods for Monstera Dilacerata
As I mentioned earlier, frequent pruning of your plant gives an additional push for a faster growth rate and emphasizes making it bushy.
But if you own one already, you can propagate it with a few propagation techniques.
1. Propagation Via Cuttings
Propagation through cuttings is typically the easiest method for various plant propagation. So, it is for Monstera Dilacerata as well.
Carefully follow every step below to propagate the plant via stem cutting successfully.
- Select healthy stems with aerial roots and multiple leaves.
- Using sterilized scissors, cut 5-7 inches-long stems and ensure they have at least two leaf nodes.
- You can use two mediums for rooting stem cutting; water and soil.
Rooting in Water
- Use a sterilized, water-filled jar with at least a 3-inch wide mouth to hold snitched nodes underwater while keeping terminal leaves out.
- Add some liquid rooting hormone and submerge the stem cutting.
- Keep it in an indirect sunlit place and change the water weekly.
- You’ll notice roots sprout from the nodes after 1-2 weeks.
- You may transplant the cutting to an appropriate potting medium for further growth.
Rooting in Soil
- Ensure the potting mix is evenly moist but not soggy.
- Add rooting hormone to the trimmed end and gently slide it into the potting mix.
- Place the pot in an adequate indirect sunlit place.
- After eight weeks, wait one or two weeks for new feeder roots and transfer them to the regular potting mix.
2. Propagation Via Layering
- Select a healthy, long vine with at least 4 or 5 leaf nodes.
- Remove alternate leaves while keeping the terminal leaves.
- Prepare the loosened potting soil around the parent plant.
- Keep the prepared stem in the loosened soil.
- Make sure all of the nodes are properly covered in soil and water.
- Usually, after two weeks, new roots will sprout in nodes.
From Editorial Team
Conclusion!
Monstera Dilacerata is an excellent indoor plant due to its eye-catchy foliage and rapid growth.
Always ensure the best environment for your plant to add healthy natural wallpaper, inside or outside.
Although getting your hands on Monstera Dilacerata is difficult, I hope you’ll find it and make it happy.
