Does the Swiss cheese plant bloom? The latest answer is here
The Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa) is a sun-loving plant native to Mexico, originally growing in the tropical rainforests of Mexico, evergreen year-round, and often kept as a large potted foliage plant. There is even a folk saying that “the Swiss cheese plant blooming is harder to see than the sago palm,” but is that really true? Let us take a look together below!
Will the Swiss cheese plant bloom?
The Swiss cheese plant does bloom. The flowering period of the Swiss cheese plant is August to September, the flower stalk is 15-30 cm long, the spathe is thick and leathery, the spadix is nearly cylindrical, the staminal filaments are linear, the pollen is yellowish-white, and the pistil is yellow and top-shaped. The fruit ripens after the flowering period of a different year, is pale yellow, has blue-purple spots around the stigma, is 1 cm long and 7.5 mm thick.
Reasons the Swiss cheese plant does not bloom
1. Environment: The Swiss cheese plant generally finds it hard to reach the basic conditions for blooming because of indoor household factors such as temperature and humidity, so it rarely blooms in northern regions, and there is even a folk saying that “the Swiss cheese plant blooming is harder to see than the sago palm.”
2. Flower buds: In household cultivation, the Swiss cheese plant is mostly propagated asexually by division from the mother plant, and division can affect or damage the flower buds of the Swiss cheese plant, which is also one of the reasons it is hard to see the Swiss cheese plant bloom at home.
3. Flowering period: The flowering period of the Swiss cheese plant is relatively long, and blooming even once is not easy; some take several years, or even more than ten years, to bloom. However, if you want it to bloom, try to maintain temperature and humidity conditions similar to those of its place of origin.
How to grow the Swiss cheese plant
1. Light: The Swiss cheese plant likes a warm and humid environment, tolerates drought poorly, and fears direct sunlight, otherwise it easily develops withered leaves. In summer, the Swiss cheese plant should be placed indoors or under a shade shed; it must not be placed on a balcony with overly strong sunlight for exposure, as this can very easily kill it. When the winter temperature drops to 6°C, the Swiss cheese plant should be moved indoors to keep warm.
2. Watering: The Swiss cheese plant needs sufficient moisture, and the potting soil must be kept moist at all times. During the summer growing period, water once each in the morning and evening, and also sprinkle water on the leaves frequently to keep the leaves bright and the air humid. In winter, water evaporates slowly, so water once every 3-4 days; for routine watering, once a day is enough.
3. Fertilizing: The Swiss cheese plant is a plant that fairly likes fertilizer, so be careful to fertilize it appropriately. During the growing period of the Swiss cheese plant, apply a dilute cake fertilizer solution once every half month; with sufficient and appropriate fertilizing, the Swiss cheese plant will grow with pleasing leaf color.
4. Pests and diseases: The Swiss cheese plant is extremely susceptible to damage by scale insects, and the stems and leaves are the most vulnerable to scale insect attack. They can be cleaned with an old toothbrush and then sprayed with a 1000-fold dilution of 40% omethoate. Common diseases of the Swiss cheese plant include leaf spot, gray leaf spot and stem blight, and timely prevention and control should be paid attention to.
5. Repotting: Potted Swiss cheese plants need to be repotted once a year, and the best time for repotting is between March and April. When repotting, remove the old soil, cut off the dead roots of the Swiss cheese plant, and then add decomposed organic fertilizer or phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to the pot as a base fertilizer.