How to Propagate Monstera for More of These Classically Cool Houseplants

Monstera has been a trending houseplant for a while. But buying a big Swiss cheese plant can be pricey. That may lead you to wonder how to propagate monstera from a friend’s plant to grow your own for free. Luckily for the plant lovers out there, it’s easy to propagate more monstera to share with family and friends.

While the Swiss cheese plant's long aerial roots can generally take root in soil with ease, propagating monstera by other means is also possible. In fact, you can propagate these plants via seeds, cuttings, or air layering.

I’ll walk you through all the best ways to propagate a monstera, step-by-step. Plus, I’ll share my top tips to grow Swiss cheese plant propagations into strong and healthy new houseplants.

Monstera Propagation Essentials

Best Time to Propagate a Monstera

While most plants should be propagated in the spring, you can propagate houseplants like monstera at any time during the year. That said, during the growing season in spring and summer is optimal for plants to form new growth faster.

Best Methods for Propagating Monstera

You can propagate monstera easily by seed, stem cuttings, or air layering. Propagating plant cuttings is the most common, easiest, and fastest method. But keep in mind, for cuttings you need to include a node (where a leaf develops on a stem).

If cuttings lack a node and axillary bud, they will not produce new growth and instead die. Remember, new growth arises from axillary buds and nodes on the stem.

How to Propagate Monstera Cuttings

You can take monstera cuttings to propagate at any time of the year, though rooting cuttings works best in spring and summer. First, find a node along with an axillary bud. Then cut 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) below the node. Try to get a cutting with at least three to five leaves, which will promote rooting.

Monstera’s vining habit lends itself beautifully for propagating cuttings in water. Just take a cutting as above and place it in a glass of water. Change the water every couple of days to keep it fresh and prevent disease and rotting.

Another option is to root Swiss cheese plant cuttings in water for a few weeks and then transplant monstera plants to a pot of soil or you can plant cuttings directly into the soil.

Moisten your preferred planting medium. Perlite is a good choice for propagating, but you can also use potting soil, or even lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA).

Insert the cuttings into the growing medium. Keep the growing medium moist as roots form. Since monstera root so easily, there's no need for rooting hormone.

Check for roots after a week or so by gently digging around the cuttings. After 2-3 weeks you should have enough root development to transplant the cuttings into new containers filled with moist houseplant potting soil, which you can find on Amazon.

How to Propagate a Monstera by Layering

There are several layering methods you can use, but houseplants generally do well with simple layering or air layering. Air layering consists of wrapping a stem in moistened moss that is then contained in plastic wrap to facilitate rooting. The stem is not severed from the plant until after roots form.

You will need sphagnum moss, which you can get on Amazon, plastic wrap, and twine. Select a healthy stem on your monstera with a node and an aerial root. Wrap the moistened moss around the stem, node, and root, then wrap the plastic wrap around the moss. Secure with twine.

Check to make sure the moss is moist a couple of times per week. Mist with water if it starts to dry out. Roots should appear within 3-4 weeks.

When the roots have formed after about a month, remove the wrap and moss and cut the rooted stem from the parent plant. Pot up the layered cutting in fresh potting soil, along with a bit of the moss .

You can also propagate a Swiss cheese plant by simple layering. Start by taking suckers from the parent plant that are at least 1 foot (0.3 m) long. Gently press them into a new pot full of potting soil or, if the current container is beg enough, into the soil in your pot.

Once the suckers sprout roots, you can cut them off the parent plant and transplant your new plants into their own pots or wherever you would like.

How to Propagate Monstera Seeds

You can propagate monstera plants by seeds, but seedlings are extremely slow to develop. Monstera seeds may also be difficult to come by, as it can take anywhere from a year or more between a monstera flowering and producing a mature fruit.

The small, pale green seeds also have a very short shelf life because they don’t dry or handle cool temperatures well. Therefore, plant them as soon as possible.

Start seeds like you would any other plant. You can sow them directly in the pot you intend to grow the plant in. Try peat pots, pellets, or even a plastic bag with a moist paper towel. Whichever you choose, keep the growing medium consistently moist and in a warm place with indirect light.

Keep seeds moist, but don't worry too much about light. Monstera seedlings have an odd way of growing away from light, instead reaching towards dark areas in search of something to climb on.

Seeds will take 3-4 months to germinate. It is a good idea to start more seeds than you need since some may not germinate, plus transplanting seedlings causes stress that can kill them. If they’re all viable you can always give them to friends and family, because who doesn’t want their own monstera?

Frequently Asked Questions