How to Care for a Swiss Cheese Vine Plant- Monstera adansonii

The Monstera adansonii is a smaller relative of the insta-famous Monstera deliciosa and quite often mislabelled as Monstera obliqua, a much rarer family member.

With the right care, the cheese vine plant makes a great evergreen indoor houseplant. Because it doesn’t grow as fast and as big as the Monstera deliciosa, it is perfect for smaller spaces. Smaller size, but still a big impact.

It can climb or trail, therefore your Monstera adansonii is perfect to keep as an indoor hanging plant or on a shelf where it can cascade down.

Monstera adansonii Care Tips

Know the basics on how to best care for your Monstera adansonii and make it thrive. It’s not hard, but it does require a little attention.

Light

It is good to know where the Monstera adansonii originates from. What is the native habitat? Knowing this you can try and and mimic this for your plant in your home.

The Monstera adansonii comes from the jungles of Central and South America. In the wild, they grow on tree trunks under coverage of the foliage above. This means it is not used to being in the full-blown sun all day.

Therefore, you want to grow it in indirect sunlight. Put your plant near a window, but just out of the direct sun.

Watering

This is where it can get tricky. How often should you water your Monstera?

You can’t just set your alarm. Look at your plant. Are the leaves droopy? Before you do anything, stick your finger into the soil to see how wet or dry it is.

If the top inch of the soil feels just dry, water it. This jungle plant likes its soil to be a bit moist.

That being said, do make sure not to give your plant too much water. Don’t overwater. You’re watering too often if the top layer of soil does not get enough time to dry out and stays wet for several days at a time.

Overall, water and fertilize regularly throughout spring and summer. In winter no more fertilizer and reduce watering.

Humidity

Now we know that the Monstera adansonii comes from deep in the jungle. Therefore it makes sense that it thrives on very high humidity, and high temperatures.

Again, you want to set up the situation. Mimic the plant’s natural conditions. Warm and humid bathrooms or kitchens are a great place to keep your Monstera adansonii plant.

Otherwise, you should mist your plant frequently. Or set it on a humidity tray. You could also get a humidifier and place it near the plant to keep the humidity up.

When to repot a Monstera adansonii

When spring comes along, do a quick root check to see if your Monstera adansonii needs repotting.

Gently remove your plant from the pot, if needed tap the pot to loosen the soil and roots. Support the plant in one hand, and use your other hand to carefully take the pot off.

Look at the roots. Do they have room to grow, or are they circling and really root bound in the pot? If it’s the latter, it is repotting time.

Give your Monstera some well-draining soil mixed with plenty of perlite, and make sure the soil stays moist.

Monstera adansonii Propagation Methods

The Monstera adansonii is very easy to propagate. You can propagate vines and put them back in the pot to make the mother plant fuller. Or propagate and have new plants to share with friends and family!

Rooting in Water

Cut a piece of vine, making sure the cutting has at least one or two nodes (part of the stem where the leaves form).

Take your cuttings and place them in a small vase filled with water. Put it is a spot where it gets indirect light, and regularly refresh the water.

Next, wait patiently. Roots will form within one to three weeks. When your cuttings have grown strong roots it is time to pot them in the soil.

Rooting in Soil

Another way to propagate your Monstera adansonii is to bypass the water rooting and go straight to the soil.

Give your plant rooting superpowers by using a rooting hormone on your cuttings. Dip your cuttings in water first, then dip the bottom 1/4 inch in rooting hormone powder. Fill a small pot with slightly moist, well-draining soil, and stick your cutting in about 1/2 inch deep.

Place it somewhere with indirect light and wait. It can take a couple of weeks for your plant to root and until you will see new growth happening.

Prune your Monstera or let it Climb

How to Prune a Monstera adansonii

When your Monstera adansonii has grown a bit wild and leggy, go right ahead and prune it.

Best time to prune is in spring. Remove leggy growth and any dead or damaged leaves. This will not only make your plant look better, but it will also encourage more new vines to grow.

Of course, don’t throw away the cuttings you prune off. Propagate them!

Let your plant climb or hang

In the jungle, the Monstera adansonii plant grows, or ‘climbs’ up tree trunks and large branches. Holding on to them with its aerial roots.

If you want to make your plant feel at home and grow large and healthy, you have to give it something to climb on.

Train your Monstera adansonii by tying new growth to a stake. Position it in a way that the new node touches the stake. The node will grow aerial roots, which will stick to the stake. Mist your plants frequently to help them climb!

Or just let it all hang loose. Put your Monstera adansonii in a hanging planter or on a pedestal table and let the vines trail down freely.

Common Monstera adansonii Problems

Brown leaf tips and edges

It happens to the best of us. Your plant suddenly has brown leaf tips or crisp edges. There are a few things to check and see what needs fixing.

1 . Brown leaf tips and edges could mean your Monstera adansonii is getting too much direct sunlight.

Easy fix: Move your plant away from the window a bit.

2. The next option is that you are giving your Monstera too much or too little water. Think about it. When was the last time you gave it water? Check the soil. Is it bone dry, or the opposite and isn’t it getting enough time to dry out?

Easy fix: Is the soil completely dry, give your plant a thorough watering. If the soil still feels moist, give it time to dry out a bit more. Make sure your pot has drainage holes and the plant is in well-draining soil. Pace your watering regime going forward.

3. The third possibility is that your plant isn’t getting enough humidity.

Easy fix: Mist more frequently, or put a humidity tray or humidifier near your plant.

Leaves turn yellow

Yellowing leaves is another common issue. Again a sign of over or under-watering. Most of the time it is overwatering.

It is not that you give your plant too much water, but how often you do so. Yes, the Monstera adansonii likes its soil to remain slightly moist, but that’s it. Just a little bit moist. Not wet.

Easy fix: Hold off from watering until the top of the soil is dry. And if your plant is in a plastic pot, repot it in a clay terra cotta pot instead.

Toxic to Pets

Unfortunately, the Monstera adansonii is moderately toxic to cats and dogs. It can cause oral irritation, excessive drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing.

Our cat doesn’t bother with most of my houseplants. I need to keep the grass-type plants out of reach. She will ravage those. So the Spider plants are hanging way up high, and the Ponytail palm is on the top shelf. She has her own pot full of cat grass at all times. All other plants seem to be of no interested to her.

BUT not all pets are alike. Some like to eat on your plants, others don’t bother with them. If you do bring in a toxic plant like the Monstera adansonii and you have a cat or dog, make sure you put it somewhere out of reach.

Where to buy Monstera adansonii plants

Always start at your local plant nursery or garden center to look for plants. It’s best (and most fun!) to pick and choose the specific plant you want to take home.

If you don’t live near a nursery that carries the Monstera adansonii, luckily there are a number of plant growers that sell them on Amazon.