Monstera: Best place to keep the houseplant so they 'thrive' and produce 'highly fenestrated' leaves
The Monstera plant needs a lot of light to produce perforations
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Monstera plants, commonly known as cheeseplants, are renowned for producing showy green leaves with beautiful fenestrations.
The jungle plant will add a tropical touch to any interior but needs careful attention to thrive inside a home.
According to Richard from Sheffield Made Plants, the secret to huge leaves with beautiful perforations is lighting.
He recommends placing the plant two metres away from a south-facing window for optimal conditions.
Place the window two metres away from a south-facing window for optimal lighting conditions
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Although it is widely advised to keep the plants away from particularly sunny spots, Richard believes a few hours of direct sunlight does wonders for Monsteras.
“To have a successful plant that your friends will be jealous of you need to give it lots of time and lots of light,” the expert explained on YouTube.
“Monsteras develop perforations with age, the older the monstera is, the more perforations it will have.
“Have a close look at the stems of your monstera, how big are the gaps between the leaves? If the gaps are larger than the width of your hand then your plant is not getting enough light.
“The more light your monstera gets the more it can generate energy through photosynthesis and the quicker it will push out new leaves.”
There is one trick to confirm if your plant's needs are being met, according to Richard.
“A good way to assess how much light any plant in your home is getting is to get on the floor and see the world from their viewpoint and look at how much of the sky they can see,” he said.
“If they have a clear, 180-degree view of the sky they’ll be very happy.”
How much light does the plant need?
Increasing your plant's exposure to natural sunlight is a surefire way to improve the appearance of its foliage, according to Richard.
Sometimes the best results come from breaking the rules, as long as you don't end up giving the plant too much light.
“I know this goes against conventional wisdom for indoor plants, but this plant can absolutely thrive in some direct sunlight, provided we give it time to adjust,” he said.
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The Monstera plant needs a lot of light to produce perforations
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“Set your plant a couple of meters back from your south-facing windowsill and gradually move it closer to the light over a period of a few weeks.
“Keep increasing its hours of exposure to direct light slowly to allow it to become accustomed to it.
“If you see any discolouration in the leaves then simply slow down, you’re probably going at too fast a pace.
“The point with doing all this is that you’ll eventually be rewarded with highly fenestrated monstera with lots of perforation in the leaves.”