Swiss Cheese Monestera Care Guide

Monstera adansonii commonly known as the Swiss Cheese Plant is a popular indoor plant that grows relatively fast with small to medium sized heart shaped leaves that develop holes in a process called fenestration. Swiss Cheese plants love to climb, they develop aerial roots that grab onto surfaces, you can add a trellis to your pot to give this plant something to climb on.

Choose a location for your Monstera Adansonii that gets bright indirect sunlight. They are native to the rainforests of central america and grow under the canopy of the trees. A few hours of direct sunlight in the morning is alright if direct sunlight is unavoidable.

A peat moss based soil is preferred for monestra, make sure the container is well draining and do not allow the plant to sit in water for prolonged periods. Monestera plants like to remain consistently moist but not water logged. We recommend using a soil moisture meter and inserting it into the first 2 inches of the soil, when this reads dry begin watering. Make sure that the plant is well drained and not staying too wet for too long, if you think this is the case you can insert your soil moisture meter into the bottom, if it reads wet do not water until it reads moist again.

Monestera like very high humidity and warm temperatures, if you are going to move your monestera outdoors make sure that it is in a shady spot and that the night time temperatures do not go below 50°F. Indoors a warm well-lit bathroom is the best possible spot for your monestera. Swiss cheese plants like humidity levels above 50%, you can mist the plant to increase the humidity around them.

Some things to look out for are yellowing leaves, a common sign of over watering, if you see yellow leaves check your plant with your soil moisture meter. Another common issue is black spots on the leaves, this is a sign of too musch sunlight, move your swiss cheese plant away from the light source.

Other varieties of monestera that go by the common name of Swiss Cheese Plant are Monstera deliciosa (a larger leafed cousin of the Monstera adansonii), Monstera borsigiana (A smaller leafed version of the Deliciosa), and Monstera obliqua (similiar in shape and size to the Monstera Adansonii but with more holes in their leaves).

Monestera plants are very toxic, they contain calcium oxalate crystals in their leaves and stems. If rubbed on the skin the crystals can burn and irritate the area, almost like fiber glass. If ingested complications can be very serious, do not keep Swiss Cheese Monestera if you have curious pets or children.