What to Do If Your Monstera Won't Split Its Leaves? Learn a Few Little Secrets and the Leaves Will Split Three Fingers Wide
Monstera deliciosa is a typical foliage plant. Its leaf shape is quite unusual, with irregular splits on the leaves, just like a turtle's shell, giving it high ornamental value. But many gardening friends keep asking me why their monstera won't split its leaves. So below I'll explain to you why monstera doesn't split its leaves.
Young Monstera
The main reason a young monstera doesn't split its leaves is that its root system isn't strong enough. A young monstera basically needs more than 5 leaves before splits appear. So we need to give it plenty of light so the leaves can grow faster. Besides that, a young monstera doesn't need too much water; only with less water can leaf splitting be promoted.
Mature Monstera
If your monstera at home has been growing for several years and still won't split its leaves, then you need to look for the cause in your usual care routine. For example, lighting problems or watering problems, and so on. Below I'll explain in detail:
Light
Summer temperatures are high now. If you put the monstera under strong direct sunlight, its leaves will get scorched and won't be able to grow well, so you need to give it some shade appropriately, or just move it to an environment with indirect light. Apart from summer, the plant needs plenty of light.
Water
A mature monstera needs plenty of water. Summer temperatures are high and water evaporates fairly quickly, so basically watering once a day is enough. You can also spray some clean water around the leaves, which lowers the indoor temperature and increases air humidity, helping the monstera split its leaves better.
Fertilizing
Many people rarely give their monstera any fertilizer all year round, but it has an extremely high demand for fertilizer during its growing season, so you need to apply some decomposed liquid fertilizer every 15 days. Be sure to "apply thin fertilizer frequently", otherwise it's easy to burn the roots.
If you've done all of the above, it's possible you bought a fake monstera, because Alocasia macrorrhizos looks very similar to monstera when young. Also, if a plant that used to split its leaves suddenly stops splitting, that means it's time to repot it.