Propagating variegated Monstera from cuttings

[Missi]

I'd like to start a new discussion...

I'm having a difficult time establishing cuttings from my variegated Monstera deliciosa plant  Anyone else experience this? I want to grow it to have huge leaves. It can't climb where it is currently at, however it is nicely established. So instead of relocating the entire plant, I want to take a cutting to allow to climb, but as of yet the cuttings aren't taking. The problem might be that I'm sticking the cutting vertically in a container, not horizontally. Thoughts?

I have no problem establishing cuttings from the normal Monstera deliciosa plants. 

[The Silent Seed]

Interesting. I'll be curious to hear what others have to say. 

Do you have the yellow variegated form? 

[XYZ]

Missi:

First off, if you want a Monstera deliciosa with huge leaves situated low down, you first must either grow or source one with huge leaves, take the top cut, root it, and you're off to the races. They do not develop huge leaves until they are old and well-established. I grew a couple of mine to 12' from cuttings before they had the "right-sized" leaves. BTW, it is only a very specific Oaxacan ecotype and its variegated forms that pushes the huge, swiss-cheese leaves. Most M. deliciosa in nature do not resemble that very carefully-selected plants we grow in cultivation.

I have propagated many dozens of the albo-variegate form and found them very easy from 18"+ cuttings. The clone I had did have a tendency towards push pure white leaves when young, which slowed it down a bit, but once it grew through these it was fine.

I have not propagated the aureo-variegate form but would issue it's also easy.

[Hillizard]

I've always had good results rooting them in a large container of (just) water in a sun/shade location. In fact, one of my cuttings of the most variegated variety has been growing in pure water (for years) and the other division from it is in a pot outside under a lath year-round (picture below). The less variegated variety I have is way under-potted (picture below). I think it's important to include some of the aerial roots with each cutting and stuff them into the potting mixture to encourage the roots to take on a 'new' role in the medium. 

[XYZ]

Hillizard:

Excellent observation on the wisdom of including a few old scaffold roots to speed up rooting. I must be going senile.

I have shown this image in another post, but this shows what an established top cutting with mature leaves grown in dappled shade looks like. Growing pretty much loose in large gravel in the pot on a 40" x 12" treefern plaque. A handful of osmocote thrown at it every six months or so.

[Cindy Adair]

These are very pretty but want to take over where I live!

[Missi]

On 8/18/2017, 9:23:18, santoury said:

Interesting. I'll be curious to hear what others have to say. 

Do you have the yellow variegated form? 

I have the white variegated form. It tends to get many entirely white leaves, sometimes just a perfect half of leaf is entirely white. Each leaf always has moire white that green.

On 8/18/2017, 11:30:28, stone jaguar said:

Missi:

First off, if you want a Monstera deliciosa with huge leaves situated low down, you first must either grow or source one with huge leaves, take the top cut, root it, and you're off to the races. They do not develop huge leaves until they are old and well-established. I grew a couple of mine to 12' from cuttings before they had the "right-sized" leaves. BTW, it is only a very specific Oaxacan ecotype and its variegated forms that pushes the huge, swiss-cheese leaves. Most M. deliciosa in nature do not resemble that very carefully-selected plants we grow in cultivation.

I have propagated many dozens of the albo-variegate form and found them very easy from 18"+ cuttings. The clone I had did have a tendency towards push pure white leaves when young, which slowed it down a bit, but once it grew through these it was fine.

I have not propagated the aureo-variegate form but would issue it's also easy.

This plant started from a cutting a friend mailed me years ago. I do believe her original plant had large leaves, but the cutting she sent me was from a less mature part of it. I thought aroids got larger leaves the taller they climbed up something. Are you suggesting it is age, rather than how tall they grow? This could be why a "normal" Monstera I have continues to grow absolutely massive leaves even though it is just growing horizontal across the ground.

On 8/18/2017, 2:47:25, Hillizard said:

I've always had good results rooting them in a large container of (just) water in a sun/shade location. In fact, one of my cuttings of the most variegated variety has been growing in pure water (for years) and the other division from it is in a pot outside under a lath year-round (picture below). The less variegated variety I have is way under-potted (picture below). I think it's important to include some of the aerial roots with each cutting and stuff them into the potting mixture to encourage the roots to take on a 'new' role in the medium. 

Simply in water?! For years?! I would think that would encourage rot, but I guess not! Do you change out the water, or what is your secret? Are yours from large-leaved cuttings, are they climbing anything?

[Missi]

I think I will try a cutting with aerial roots when I get home this evening. That could be my problem. Also, I'm going to give my original plant something to climb, then take my large-leaved cutting from the top of it.

Thanks friends!

[Hillizard]

2 hours ago, Missi said:

I have the white variegated form. It tends to get many entirely white leaves, sometimes just a perfect half of leaf is entirely white. Each leaf always has moire white that green.

This plant started from a cutting a friend mailed me years ago. I do believe her original plant had large leaves, but the cutting she sent me was from a less mature part of it. I thought aroids got larger leaves the taller they climbed up something. Are you suggesting it is age, rather than how tall they grow? This could be why a "normal" Monstera I have continues to grow absolutely massive leaves even though it is just growing horizontal across the ground.

Simply in water?! For years?! I would think that would encourage rot, but I guess not! Do you change out the water, or what is your secret? Are yours from large-leaved cuttings, are they climbing anything?

Missi: Yes, I've kept one in water for years and top off the vase with water each week. Not an ideal situation as both of the varieties pictured do better in potting soil. Both have developed larger leaves now. The speckled one came as a 'mature' cutting from http://www.nsetropicals.com/index.html . The more variegated one just developed split leaves over a decade. I've moved several times and it had the largest leaves when I lived 3 blocks from the Pacific Ocean in SoCal (higher humidity). My quandary now is to create a tall support system in a large pot and grow the two of them together intertwined. 

[Missi]

1 hour ago, Hillizard said:

Missi: Yes, I've kept one in water for years and top off the vase with water each week. Not an ideal situation as both of the varieties pictured do better in potting soil. Both have developed larger leaves now. The speckled one came as a 'mature' cutting from http://www.nsetropicals.com/index.html . The more variegated one just developed split leaves over a decade. I've moved several times and it had the largest leaves when I lived 3 blocks from the Pacific Ocean in SoCal (higher humidity). My quandary now is to create a tall support system in a large pot and grow the two of them together intertwined. 

I adore NSE Tropicals!  That's where I got my Dracaena goldieana from! I'm obsessed with that plant.

I'm looking forward to seeing how your quandary turns out!  Sounds amazing! What are you thinking? Like, wood lattice covered in coir? 

[Hillizard]

2 hours ago, Missi said:

I adore NSE Tropicals!  That's where I got my Dracaena goldieana from! I'm obsessed with that plant.

I'm looking forward to seeing how your quandary turns out!  Sounds amazing! What are you thinking? Like, wood lattice covered in coir? 

Glad to know your D. goldieana is doing well. Mine declined for a year and finally went to humus heaven.    I may try one again in the future. 

Yes, I've already got sheets of coir and bags of compressed Sphagnum moss  on hand, but haven't yet decided on the material for the support scaffolding for my Monstera monument. When I do I'll post a picture here. 

[Missi]

13 hours ago, Hillizard said:

Glad to know your D. goldieana is doing well. Mine declined for a year and finally went to humus heaven.    I may try one again in the future. 

Yes, I've already got sheets of coir and bags of compressed Sphagnum moss  on hand, but haven't yet decided on the material for the support scaffolding for my Monstera monument. When I do I'll post a picture here. 

Well actually, since you mention it...my D. goldieana is doing something strange. The beginning of the year it popped out this small leaf, then did nothing for months. In those months I repotted it from its original little seedling pot into a 1 gallon. Finally this month it popped out these 3 growths that I can only assume are the start of it going into flower...it's so small and young, though. I'm totally confused.

Do you know what did yours in? You HAVE to try another! I can't find a whole lot of info on the plant.

[Missi]

The above pic was from last week. Here's a pic from March of this year, when it was still in its seedling pot and just starting to push out that smaller leaf.

[Hillizard]

5 hours ago, Missi said:

Well actually, since you mention it...my D. goldieana is doing something strange. The beginning of the year it popped out this small leaf, then did nothing for months. In those months I repotted it from its original little seedling pot into a 1 gallon. Finally this month it popped out these 3 growths that I can only assume are the start of it going into flower...it's so small and young, though. I'm totally confused.

Do you know what did yours in? You HAVE to try another! I can't find a whole lot of info on the plant.

Missi: I suspect mine declined due to a combination of low humidity and low temps in my sunroom over the winter. That's the 'test' for most of my plants... if I can't overwinter them in that space, I won't try them again... usually. Yours looks great and might be initiating blooming or maybe just branching. Good luck with whatever it does! 

[Missi]

54 minutes ago, Hillizard said:

Missi: I suspect mine declined due to a combination of low humidity and low temps in my sunroom over the winter. That's the 'test' for most of my plants... if I can't overwinter them in that space, I won't try them again... usually. Yours looks great and might be initiating blooming or maybe just branching. Good luck with whatever it does! 

Thanks for the input! I hope it is doing well. I'll let you know what it does, when it decides to let me know! 

[fastfeat]

I have rooted dozens of the white-variegated Monstera over the years. I had best success with 3-5 node cuttings where the stem variegation was about 50/50 white to green. Too much white-- not enough chlorophyll to root well. Too much green and the resultant growth is mostly green with low chances of reverting back. Retain any prop roots but trim so they'll easily fit in a 1gal container of loose, fast-draining mix. Orient vertically, trim leaves in half to reduce evapotranspiration, and put in bright shade. I typically had 80-90% success at least. Good luck.