monster Monstera flower
 

My sister has this Jurassic park plant in her back yard and i noticed it was in bloom....the beer can is so you can appreciate the magnitude of the plant and the flower


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4e1bf777_c.jpgVandas throwing spikes by J Solo, on Flickr

Holy crap! Things grow bigger in Florida.

The local orchid nursery has one of those, which is, incidentally, also referred to as "Monster Monstera".

They said a customer forgot it 15 years ago, and it's living here until he comes pick it up.

I've discovered it grows extremely happily here in Phoenix outdoors, and tolerates temperatures all the way down to just above freezing. It hasn't minded daytime temperatures up to 116 F / 47C and humidity in the single digits so long as it's well watered and in the shade. I suspect it would be just fine with much higher temperatures. So those of you who thought you need a greenhouse to grow it... you don't.

Oh, and be sure to eat the fruits. The individual berries ripen one by one.

Tell your sister she needs to start growing adansonii. Or YOU start growing it! I could have a big plant in about six months!

ES- i juuust learned why it is called deliciousa!!! such a treat!

I'm a little jelly here :) Awesome, I hope you share what it tastes like, if you get a chance to!

I wanted one of these early in the year, mostly because it has a tasty fruit and it can grow in low light. They didn't seem to be in season, only super expensive everywhere since they were only sold in large containers. Thought it might be fun to try growing it in SH, too. One day I happened to be in a nursery that had much younger plants, but they were unlabelled and mixed up - upon questioning, a worker pulled out a specimen and told me it was the swiss cheese plant I was looking for.. when asked why it had no holes, he said, "it's still young, it'll happen as it matures". Can anyone tell whether this a monstera deliciosa? Or did I end up with a philadendron of sorts? I've been too lazy to find a suitable, larger SH container.

A few months later, home despot had some nice ones on sale for less than the small one I purchased, but I didn't get it. Hmmm.

The plant you have appears to not be a monstera. The Swiss cheese plant is typically monstera adansonii as the holes are closed and the edge of the leaves are continuous. On Monstera deliciousa, the holes extend to the edges and the leaf looks a lot more like a Pom Pom than a fan. I’ll get pics on my little one later so you can see the difference

Monstera deliciosa always has large petioles in proportion to the leaf, and they are channeled toward the center of the plant. They do have entire, non-perforated leaves when smaller. Your plant is some other wonderful aroid. Please show us what it grows into.

Earlier this year Steve's Leaves had seedlings in stock but they're gone now. Maybe you could put your name on the wait list.

If you know somebody with an older plant, they are very easy from cuttings. Even small pieces of stem grow. Plants in pots branch much earlier than plants in the ground.

I will probably divide mine in the next year. I started with a 4" / 10cm piece of thin stem from a friend's old plant. I water and fertilize more, so it took off. The rhizome grows horizontally above the potting media in an 18" / 45cm pot, standing on root stilts. I'm going to cut the old, leafless rhizome between nodes but leave the roots in place. I expect each piece will sprout a new growth.

Looks like probably Monstera deliciosa to me. When they're a young plant, not a cutting, there aren't any splits in the leaves. That comes as the plant matures. Don't need to be as patient as with orchids, but still takes awhile with a new seedling.

Swiss cheese plant is the common name for it. M.adansonii is commonly called Swiss cheese vine. That's where sometimes those annoying long, hard to spell names, comes in handy. :biggrin:

Yes, I've read about that! They also seem to grow fairly quickly once established, and like to be trained since they are somewhat like a vine. Right?

I was researching differences between adansonii and deliciosa, and it seems the all-knowing interwebs gets them a little jumbled up and confused. I'll take what you all say here with more credibility. It's not clear based on what I've read whether the a. variety can also produce fruit?

Yes, adansonii can produce fruit.

Thanks! I should have clarified, sorry. Fruit that's edible more than once? :biggrin:

There are plenty of plants that produce fruit, and all fruit is edible at least once... :shock:

Yes, safely edible.

That is HUGE!!!

I have a baby Monstera deliciosa that I've grown from a cutting, and it's not 2 feet tall yet. I'll show it this picture and tell it that's what it's got to aim for!

Like a poster on its wall of its hero! Lol

Today I tasted my first fruit - amazing! Mix of banana and pineapple. I'd forgotten all about the fruit until I started trying to tame the jungle area that plant is in!

https://i.imgur.com/aED29kH.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ox4kgcS.jpg

How cool is that?!?

Mmmmmmm

Plant the seeds, if any. Clean off all flesh, potting soil, just bury, keep warm and moist.

Thanks ES. Didn't find any seeds yesterday.
But, today I sawed off a big chunk, to allow my gate to open, and it's got a nice set of roots growing so I'm starting another 'jungle' tomorrow! :rofl:

https://i.imgur.com/PMVMZB8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/umf8lNd.jpg

I discarded the newish fruits on this section and 2 large leaves.

Found a Red Admiral butterfly supping on the spilt fruit juice this morning!

https://i.imgur.com/scIe6s5.jpg

Hi all: a little update, the plant I asked about in 2020 does appear to be a monstera :)

However, I need to get rid of it for various reasons beyond the scope here. It seems I have some options:
1. Plant it in the ground in spot that gets full shade (under outdoor steps), but some wind

2. Break it up into 5-6 smaller plants and sell/give them away.

#1 is appealing because there's a hydrangea that's been completely failing there since 2019 (powdery mildew kills the leaves no matter how much I try to baby it, but it somehow it sporuts new growth each year) and I've been too lazy to replace it. I'm coastal so cal, I think zone 10a? Occasional winter temps get to the upper 30s F (2-3C), once or twice in the last several years we got to just around freezing. Would it survive?

#2 is not appealing because I am lazy and don't want to go buy more soils and pots.

EDIT: I did read ES's earlier comment in this thread that they can grow in Arizona and tolerate the near freezing occasional temps.. hmmm.

That will easily grow in your garden outside if you can put it someplace it won't stand in water during wet winters. Consider a large pot against a tree trunk up which it can climb.

I'm still not convinced it's deliciosa....

Interesting, still not convinced? I can take some closer photos. Some family of mine has a few shady places with large canary date palms and can surround them with pots. Don't really like the idea of pots because then it implies more care later.

The spot in the ground I have drains very fast, I'd probably have to increase the drip watering schedule. Here's what it looks like.. can't really climb, or maybe can up the stair supports but then it'll get in the way. Hmm.