Monstera Adansonii
Monstera Adansonii sometimes called “Friedrichsthalii” takes its name from its large, heart-shaped leaves. The leaves tend to grow and have more perforated holes as they age. The five-hole plant is a species of flowering plant in the Araceae family that is widespread in much of South and Central America and parts of the West Indies. This plant is also known as the Swiss cheese vine plant.
In addition, the Swiss cheese vine plant is a tropical ornamental plant that has aerial roots which grow from the stem. These roots easily reach the ground, giving this plant a vine-like attachment. These climbers have incredible and deep perforations in the green leaves.
It has Culms, which is about 1cm (0.4 inches) long with leaves which measures about 21–42cm (8.3–16.5 inch) long and 0.5–1cm (0.2–0.4 inch) wide. The fruits are 1.5–1.8cm (0.6–0.7 inch) long and 0.7cm (0.3 inch) wide.
- Botanical Name: Monstera adansonii
- Common Name: Adanson’s Monstera, Swiss cheese vine plant.
- Plant Type: a Flowering plant
- Mature Size: Monstera adansonii max size of about 10 to 20m
- Sun Exposure: indirect light on the leaves.
- Soil Type: Peat-based potting soil
- Soil pH: requires a pH of about 5.5 to 7.5
- Bloom Time: it blooms in springtime. However, this occurs only in the wild
- Flower Color: its either be Purple or creamy.
Important things about Monstera Adansonii Care
Here are some essential things to keep in mind if you want your Monstera adansonii to be at its best.
- Light: Monstera adansonii is native to the jungles of Central and South America and thrives well in the wild in the shade of large trees. This plant grows best in indirect sunlight. If the plant is exposed to direct light, this tends to limit the growth of the plant. However, it can be exposed to around 2-3 hours of sun in the morning because the morning sun tends to be mild and not harsh on the Monstera plant.
- Soil Requirement: This plant thrives best in peat-based soil that has a large drainage hole. Peat helps retain moisture in the soil without waterlogged. For optimum growth of Monstera Adansonii, aim for soil pH between 5.5 to7.5.
- Water: Water plays a vital role when caring for the Swiss cheese vine plant. Before watering, you should ensure you carry out the knuckle test- whereby you deep your finger into the soil to know how dry or moist the soil to prevent over-watering or under watering of the Swiss cheese vine plant.
- Temperature and Humidity: This plant thrives well in places where humidity, temperature and light are at their optimum level, this plant originated from the wild. There is a need to imitate its natural habitat for the plant to thrive well in other for it to thrive well.
- Fertilizer: After potting or re-potting of the Monstera Adansonii, application of fertilizer should be made after four or six months when using a general house plant potting soil due to the mixing of slow-releasing fertilizer. in addition, after this time fertilizer can be applied during watering at summer or spring months.
Also read: Flowering Succulents Plants that will Purify your Surrounding
How to Propagate Monstera Adansonii Or Swiss cheese Vine plant?
In propagating the Monstera adansonii, it is best to use a root hormone powder alongside stem cutting to aid adequate growth of the plant.
Below are the steps to aid the efficient propagation of Monstera adansonii:
- Cut off a vine with two nodes
- Place the cut vine into a glass filled with water to assist the sprouting of the tender root. The cut vine should be placed in a conducive atmosphere until the tender root sprouts. However, it takes some time for the sprouting to occur.
- The cutting should be kept in an airtight bag to prevent moisture escape, and this will increase the suitability of the Monstera Adansonii plant.
- Immediately the sprouting of the roots in the vine occurs it should be transferred into a well-drained soil to aid multiplication of the Swiss cheese vine plant.
Difference between Monstera Adansonii Vs Monstera Obliqua?
In recent times, controversies have risen in having to differentiate between monstera adansonii and monstera oblique.
These two species of Monstera are similar in appearance, and they grow similarly shaped perforated holes on their leaves. However, there lies some significant difference.
The Monstera adansonii has more leaves than the perforated holes, and the leaves have thick textured the touch.
While the Monstera obliqua is paper-thin in texture and consist of 90% of holes on the surface of the leaves. The M. obliqua grows slowly in comparison with M. adansonii, and very expensive to purchase because of its rare nature. In addition, the stem of monstera obliqua produces stolon which grows horizontally on surfaces. The stolon grows to about 20m in height with adequate support of stakes.
FAQs
Q1: Why my Monstera Adansonii is dying?
Dying of a Monstera Adonosonii may be induced by the level of humidity in your home if it is too low, you may notice the edges of the leaves turning brown. When the temperature within the home is outside an optimum range, you may notice stunted growth, and sometimes the withering of the vines.
Dying Monstera could also be induced by the potting used. If the soil is not well aerated, it might cause withering of the Swiss cheese vine plant
Q2: Why my Monstera adansonii is leaves turning yellow?
Yellowing Leaves may result from overwatering or under Watering which makes watering is the trickiest part of caring for Monstera Andasonii, and this play a vital role in the plant to thrive effectively and efficiently.
Below are some steps to evaluate over Watering and under Watering of a swiss cheese vine plant.
Test the soil with a finger before you water: On the flip side, make sure you’re not giving it so much water that the top layer of soil remains wet for several days at a time.
Q3: How to get Monstera adansonii to branch?
It is easy to get Monstera adansonii to branch. This can be achieved by the pruning of the vine, thus causing the pruned vine to split and grow new branch off the main vine. We can say pruning plays a vital role in the branching of a Swiss cheese vine plant.
