How Often To Water Monstera? Beginner’s Guides
Monstera Deliciosa, or split-leaf philodendron, is a large, leafy plant native to Central and South American rainforests. It is also sometimes called the Swiss cheese plant because of the holes that develop on the leaves.
Monstera Deliciosa is prized for its showy foliage and ability to tolerate a wide range of light and humid conditions. While Monstera is a lovely, low-maintenance plant, it will require watering.
Here we will look at how often you should water your Monstera plants and explain what factors affect your water schedule and how much water they need.
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When do your Monstera plants need water?
Monstera Deliciosa plants prefer “moderate” watering. While caring for houseplants, “moderate watering” refers to watering to a depth of one to two inches below the surface of the soil when the soil still feels damp.
The essential thing you can do for your plant is to check on it on a frequent basis and water it when you see dry patches or spots, rather than having a watering schedule.
Maintaining the health of your Monstera includes constantly striking a delicate balance between giving your plant the right amount of water and preventing the soil from becoming waterlogged, which may result in overwatering and cause the roots to rot.
There are many signs that your plant needs water. Take time to observe your plant to know when it needs water. Here are some apparent signs that your Monstera needs water:
Wilting/Drooping leaves
Wilting is a sign of being underwater, which happens when the roots of the plant cannot collect sufficient moisture to maintain the necessary pressure in the plant cells. It does not necessarily mean that your plant only wilts or droops while drying.
If over-watering happens, your Monstera will appear to droop. So, carefully check your soil before watering your plant.
Curling leaves
Curling appears when a plant is dehydrated; its leaves will begin to curl. If you saw any signs of leaves curling, the problem would be solved easily with some watering. Monstera leaves will unfurl as they get enough moisture.
Excessive leaf browning
When your plant has brown spots and edges on its leaves, it is a sign that it has been neglected and developed crispy leaves and falls.
If Monstera has many falling leaves, it’s time for you to take care of them. Water will not solve your problem, but it might help keep other leaves from turning brown.
Dry soil
A crusty appearance and separation from the container’s edges show that the soil has dried up excessively and been compacted. Even if you give your Monstera plant a quick drink, the issue still needs to be resolved.
Soak the soil in water until air bubbles on the soil surface stop moving. There is one approach to fixing soil that has gotten so dry that it has separated from the container it was growing in.
Another tip for you to observe whether your soil needs to drink is that when doing a comprehensive examination of the soil, it is not sufficient to touch the top layer; instead, dig a finger into the soil to determine whether or not it is damp or use a moisture meter to help you.
When compared, the weight of a container filled with moist soil and a container filled with dry soil is somewhat different.
If you make it a habit to check the weight of the pot on a regular basis, you will be able to decide whether or not your plant needs more watering immediately.
Read more:
- Can Monstera Live Outside? Detailed Guides To Acclimatize It
- Helpful Guides On Growing Monstera In Water [Update In 2022]
How should you water your Monstera Deliciosa plant?
Generally, the watering frequency for Monstera should be once every one to two weeks to ensure that the soil has an adequate moisture supply.
This broad estimate is subject to change based on how well the plant grows and other seasonal environmental factors, which will be covered in more detail below.
In Summer
Monstera plants will be active in the summer when both the temperature and the humidity have increased, giving the impression that the plant is in a more tropical environment. In the summer, your Monstera needs more water as opposed to the winter months.
Your Monstera requires a significant amount of water and nutrients over the summer months to sustain the rapid growth that occurs during the summer.
Furthermore, it accelerates the pace at which it transpires, resulting in a greater quantity of water vapor being expelled into the atmosphere and a subsequent rise in the need for water.
As a result, throughout the warmer months, your Monstera plant can need watering once or twice a week.
Therefore, you should also pay attention to the soil, meaning that Monstera plants need to be watered with distilled water once a week on the soil surface or whenever the top two inches of soil are completely dry. And that’s just for the indoors.
If you have your Monstera placed outdoors, for example, on a balcony, it may need watering on a daily basis during periods of extreme heat and dryness.
In Winter
Monstera plants are among the various available tropical houseplants and those that enter a state of hibernation over the winter. The fact that Monstera is a tropical plant is the primary contributor to this dormancy.
These plants need a tropical climate to survive. When the temperature and humidity of their surroundings change, they enter a dormant state in order to preserve their energy.
As a result, throughout the winter, it may take two weeks before your Monstera dries out enough.
However, you may discover that this period of time extends to three weeks if the soil around your plant is hanging on to the moisture that was left over from the most recent watering session.
Therefore, you should make it a goal to water your Monstera every two weeks in winter, given that it may take at least that long for the soil to dry up to the point where it needs further watering.
It is essential to ensure that your Monstera does not get an excessive amount of water throughout the winter months.
Because the plant will absorb less water, the potting soil can become excessively saturated with moisture. Extended periods of soil moisture may cause root rot, which can ultimately be fatal to your Monstera plant.
Your Monstera plant needs watering no more often than once every two to three weeks or if the soil becomes dry.
How much water should Monstera need?
Every time you water a houseplant, you don’t need to use a specific, quantifiable quantity of water for that plant. If you have used the appropriate soil mix, you should water the soil until it is soaked before continuing.
Moreover, Monstera plants are susceptible to the circumstances in which they develop and the environment in which they are kept.
If your plant is in a warmer temperature and you offer it ideal growth conditions, it will need more water than if it were in a cooler climate.
The essential thing you can do for your plant is to keep a close eye on telltale indicators of either overwatering or underwatering.
Signs of overwatering
It may have been overwatered if your Monstera has severe soft brown or black spots, transparent leaf patches, mushy stems, moldy soil, yellow new growth development, or remains wilted when wet.
An overwatered Monstera will initially present with symptoms of excess water availability. However, these symptoms will become more apparent as the situation worsens and root rot develops.
Root rot is the most obvious indication that a plant has been overwatered. When the roots rot, they become dark and mushy rather than complex and white.
If your plant’s roots are rotting, more treatment could be required. However, some of these warning indicators can indicate concerns about underwatering.
Sign of underwatering
If a Monstera has limp or yellow leaves, the only symptoms it will show are a lack of water. Thus, it should be much simpler to determine what is causing the problem.
The fact that your plant still requires watering may give you a clue about the issue.
Some indications of under-watering include the margins of the leaves becoming crispy with dark brown spots, the bottom leaves turning yellow or falling off, and regional development.
There are a few other indicators that your plant may have problems with underwatering, including dry soil, a container that feels exceptionally light, excessive death, or browning of older leaves.
What factors affect your watering schedule?
Many variables affect the frequency of your watering Monstera Deliciosa, including the rate at which it is growing and the environment it’s in.
If you understand how these changes happen, you can avoid problems with watering your plants and give them exactly what they need at the right time.
Temperature and humidity
When properly watering a monstera plant, temperature and humidity are critical elements. Monstera plants generally thrive in environments with greater humidity and higher temperatures.
If these values are raised, a monstera will produce greater transpiration, which means it will need more water than under any other circumstances.
The rate at which the soil dries out may be considerably impacted by the temperature of the air and the humidity level immediately around your Monstera plant.
With rising temperatures for an extended period, the soil will dry up rapidly. On the other hand, cold snaps that occur throughout the winter months might reduce the number of times that you need to water to around once a month.
When it comes to moisture level, if there is a lot of humidity around the plant, water evaporates a little slowly and stays in the soil longer.
On the other hand, when humidity is low and temperatures are high, water will be pulled from the ground much more quickly.
Soil
To thrive, Monstera plants need soil that is both rich and well-drained. Additionally, the foundation should include decent Monstera plants or Aroid soil mix.
Tropical plants cannot tolerate the heavy weight of dense soils such as all-purpose potting soil. Heavy soil has poor drainage, which keeps your ground foundation wet for an excessively extended period.
Monstera grown in soil with poor drainage has to be watered less often than one grown in well-draining soil. Monstera is susceptible to severe illnesses, including root rot, which may be caused by over-watering and heavy soil.
If the soil in which your Monstera plant is growing is very heavy or does not drain effectively, it is in your best interest to keep a careful eye on it or repot your Monstera plant using a new potting mix.
Therefore, Monstera plants need a specific soil mixture to recreate the conditions of their natural habitat successfully. The implication is that the plant foundation can’t be compacted in any manner at all.
You should often mix fresh soil with perlite and orchid bark to let excess water drain when growing orchids. The soil mixes heavily influence the plant’s life cycle, including its water needs.
Light levels
The quantity of sunshine your Monstera gets is one of the most important factors determining how often you need to water it.
Bright, indirect light similar to that which Monstera species experience in their native environments is ideal for the optimal growth of all Monstera species. On the other hand, they can handle moderate light and even some direct sunlight, as long as it’s not too bright.
The estimate of one to two weeks depends on the ideal quantity of light. But in locations with less light, evaporation happens considerably more slowly, which means that your Monstera will require water much less often.
In a similar vein, Monsteras grown in brighter settings need to have their soil watered more frequently to prevent it from drying up. After staying in the exact location for a few weeks, you should be able to get an accurate reading of how rapidly the soil dries up.
Pot
When figuring out how frequently you need to water the plant, consider the size of the plant itself and the container it is growing in. Young Monsteras kept in too-small pots may dry up soon and need more frequent watering.
Plants that have become established and are housed in big pots may last many weeks without further watering.
It is important to consider the size of the plant container. It is possible for the soil in a large pot, particularly one that is too large for the plant, to store more water than it can in a tiny pot.
The soil in a big pot needs more time to dry, whereas the soil in a small pot could dry up much more rapidly. Monsteras that are kept in tiny containers need to be watered more often than those observed in big containers.
On the other hand, they do not fare well when kept in huge pots. These plants thrive best when contained in more compact containers that provide enough drainage holes.
Because Monstera roots are so thin, they can’t get deep enough into the soil to access the water that’s been distributed throughout the potting.
At best, this results in wet soil, and at worst, it results in soggy soil. Both of these elements are contributors to the root rot that affects Monstera.
Conclusion
With the summer and winter seasons, you may wonder how frequently you should water Monstera plants. As a houseplant, your Monstera will need to be watered more frequently than you might think.
When it comes to watering your Monstera plant, it’s a good idea to take a look at the plant’s soil. If the soil is dry, then you know it’s time to water.
Monstera plant depends on many factors, such as light, season, or soil, which also affect your watering schedule.
So, when you notice problems in your plant, you should investigate all possible causes. that our topic will assist you in keeping the soil moist and your plant healthy and happy.
FAQs
Many people spray their Monstera every day to increase the relative humidity surrounding the plants. Your plants may benefit from it in some way, but such advantages will only last for a while. Given the moss and aerial roots on your pole, a daily misting might be more effective and require less effort on your part.
Yes, you can water your plant from the bottom. If you are bottom-watering your plants, letting a Monstera remain submerged in water for up to a few hours will not damage the plant. If you wait any longer than this, the plant’s roots may be subjected to hypoxic stress, which might have a deleterious effect on the plant.
The length of time a Monstera plant can go without watering is determined by various elements, including its growth performance, the size of the container, and the season. In the summer, Monstera should be able to go 7–10 days without water; in the winter, it should be able to go 10–14 days without water; however, it may need watering more regularly in other seasons.
