Monstera Spruceana Care – The Complete Plant Care Guide

Monstera is a genus of 45 different plant species, out of which a lot of them are considered to be rare houseplants either due to their slow growth rate or not so popular nature.

And one such variety is monstera spruceana, a plant with a completely different look than the rest of the monstera varieties.

If you are planning to add a new rare plant to your collection, this may be a good choice.

And, in this article, I will be going through everything you need to know about the monstera spruceana plant including its physical appearance and care requirements.

The topic includes,

• Monstera Spruceana At A Glance
• Monstera Spruceana Appearance
• Monstera Spruceana Care
• Monstera Spruceana Propagation
• Pruning Monstera Spruceana
• Lot’s more.

Let’s get started.

Monstera Spruceana At A Glance

Monstera spruceana is another unusual monstera variety. Its appearance in early and mature stages is quite different from other monstera plants. This remarkable plant was named after an English botanist Richard Spruce, it’s a tropical climbing plant and is said to be among the rarest members of the Arum Aroid plant family.

Monstera spruceana is native to the following countries; Bolivia, Brasil(Norte), Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyanas, Paramá, Perú, and Venezuela. It has different variants that have interesting features. 

Monstera spruceana is a complex species, so you’ll find some variants with plain green leaves and some others that are dark green or even grayish. Some variants may also have a dark margin around the leaves.

Monstera Spruceana Appearance

This unique tropical plant is one of the few monstera varieties that have been discovered to have leaves with a velvety texture. The leaves with dark green color are velvety and they may have white spots, while monstera spruceana with plain green leaves have a matte to semi-glossy texture.

The leaves of this plant are interestingly pinnated and may shingle in the early stage. In fact, some of the juvenile leaves shingle up to a few feet.  On the other hand, healthy, mature monstera spruceana leaves can grow up to 10 to 16 inches long.  

Monstera spruceana is an awesome addition to any space. It brings in a tropical charm that’ll light up any space. And it is very gorgeous too! 

Monstera Spruceana Care – Ideal Conditions

If you have got a monstera spruceana in your home, then it’s very important to care for it properly. It’ll be really sad to have your precious houseplant die or suffer adverse conditions that could be easily prevented. 

This houseplant is a rare species of monstera, and its requirements are a little different from the regular monstera. 

It prefers much higher humidity levels and it’s much easier to care for, however, this plant can be very sensitive to inappropriate conditions. 

But if you become conversant with the requirements and needs of your monstera spruceana, you are going to have a healthy monstera spruceana in your home for a really long time.

Here, we’ve created an extensive guide that will help you keep your plant fresh and elegant, we’ve also provided a step-by-step guide to propagating monstera spruceana, just in case you’ve been considering growing younger plants.  

Light Requirements

Just like other species of the monstera plant, the monstera spruceana requires bright but indirect sunlight. The light must not be too harsh or too mild. It must be medium if you want your monstera spruceana to grow well.

Harsh light will affect the plant in the sense that it will burn the leaves of your monstera spruceana while too low a light is going to make your monstera spruceana to be leggy and grow sluggishly. 

You may want to grow your monstera spruceana outside but you must ensure that you have a conservatory, an area that is well shaded or you can simply grow it indoors. 

Unlike some other types of tropical monstera, the monstera spruceana can still do perfectly well even if you don’t keep it facing the south, east, or west. 

Just ensure that you place it at a corner where it will receive adequate bright indirect sunlight.

Soil Requirements

Your monstera spruceana needs suitable soil to grow well. Having the ideal soil for your plant will help prevent issues like root rot and also help control watering issues.

You must note that your monstera spruceana loves a moist potting mix. The soil must not be too dry or soggy. I will advise you to grow your monstera spruceana in well-drained soil which must be rich in organic matter. 

If your monstera spruceana must grow healthily, the soil should be well-aerated and scarcely acidic to a neutral level, say PH 5.6 to PH 7.5.

Not to worry, getting this type of soil is not difficult. You can purchase it from the local gardening store close to you as they do sell already prepared potting mix for your monstera spruceana.

You can equally prepare your potting mix with peat moss or coco coir, and then, add some perlite or orchid barks. 

You must however ensure that you avoid heavy or poorly drained potting mix. It’s cause a lot of problems for your plant after all. 

Watering Schedule

The monstera spruceana requires a medium watering condition. 

To properly water your monstera spruceana, soak the soil from the top a few inches, say about 2 to 3 inches, and allow it to dry in between watering. You must continuously do this in summer and spring once a week.

You can practically determine if this plant needs water by sticking a finger up to 2-3 inches into the potting soil. If you notice dryness in the soil, then it’s time to water your plant. 

But if you notice that the soil is still moist, you’ll need to wait a few more days before watering.

You must know that constant watering of your monstera spruceana during winter can affect your plant. In winter, the monstera spruceana is not actively growing and therefore does not require much water.

You can just supply an ample amount of water to it once in two weeks, depending on its requirement. 

You should be careful as anything more than the above can result in the overwatering of your plant in the winter.

Temperature Requirements

If your monstera spruceana must grow healthily, it must be kept in a place with the right degree of temperature. 

Monstera Spruceana needs an average temperature of 60 -80 degrees Fahrenheit to grow well, anything less than this may be massive damage to the plant.

Please also note that any temperatures lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius) will cause temperature stress to your monstera spruceana thereby affecting its growth. 

If you have decided to grow monstera spruceana, keep in mind that it came from a tropical environment and try to adjust the temperature accordingly. 

Monstera spruceana does not grow well with fluctuating or extreme temperatures. It’ll be happier with more consistent temperatures. 

Humidity Requirements

This is another important requirement you shouldn’t take lightly. Monstera spruceana will survive with average air moisture. Anything greater than 40% will help this plant. 

If you want to keep this tropical plant healthy, provide it with a humidity level of around 70%. With this, you will notice air roots grow vigorously. 

Plus, it will make it easier for your Monstera spruceana to attach to a surface and grow more mature leaves.

You can go the extra mile if you live in a dry climate by misting the foliage or investing in a humidifier for your tropical monstera Spruceana plant. Humidifiers are a bit pricey. There is an expensive method of boosting plant humidity but they are highly effective.

Misting is a more convenient way to boost the humidity level of your plant. 

Misting your monstera spruceana will also keep your Monstera spruceana leaves dust-free and help to maximize light absorption of your plant. But you should know that this method should only be done for the leaves. 

Monstera Spruceana Propagation

Sometimes your monstera spruceana may outgrow its potting soil and if not taken care of can lead to the death of the plant. 

So if this happens what do you do? You can save the plant by propagating it!

It’s recommended to wait until early spring to propagate this lovely monstera variety, it’ll need enough growing time to establish new roots. 

The summer season is equally appropriate for monstera spruceana propagation.

And it is quite simple to propagate this plant, you can use either of the two methods discussed below to do that. There’s root division and stem cutting. Here, we’ll discuss these two methods:

Root Division Propagation

To properly propagate your monstera spruceana using the root division method, you will need to carefully follow the described three steps below:

Step 1

First, try removing the mature plant from the potting soil. You must do this gently so you don’t damage or injure the plant. It may be a bit difficult to take it out, so you’ll need to make effort. 

Turn the pot/container over and then gently tap the base and side of your monstera spruceana’s container. You’ll need to do all these to loosen and remove the root balls.

If your monstera spruceana is root bound, the only alternative would be to break the pot and take the plant out.

Step 2

At this time you must have removed monstera spruceana from its pot. Hence, the next thing is to position it on an ideal surface and try using your fingers to loosen the root ball.

Using a sharp garden knife, cut the mature plant into divisions. Make sure that each division has a healthy sucker or root fragment and a few leaves at least.

Step 3

Finally, replant monstera spruceana divisions in a fresh, well-draining potting soil mix, it’s important that the soil is moist, but not soggy. 

Make sure to water the divisions and place them in a location that has bright indirect sunlight. 

You don’t want to plant the divisions too deeply in the soil or very shallow, strike a balance, allow a few leaves above the soil.

Stem Cutting Propagation

Monstera spruceana stem cuttings can be propagated easily in potting soil mix or water, but there’s a tricky step most plant owners miss. We’ll discuss both procedures together in this article.  

Step 1

Pick out a healthy branch of your plant and make a cutting just below two or three nodes using a pair of garden scissors or pruning shear. 

You also want to make sure the stem you cut out has a few leaves. 

Step 2

If you’ll be using soil, put your potting soil mix into your pot and water it thoroughly as we’ve discussed above. 

Add water to a glass jar if you’ll love to propagate your plant in water. Some growers even prefer using just peat moss, if this is your case, you should soak the soil mix and wring it.

Step 3

The next step is removing the leaves at the lower end of the stem cutting, so you can plant them. But just before planting, dip the lower end of the stem cutting (the part that you’ll place in the soil) into the rooting hormone. 

Step 4

Now make a hole with your finger in the soil, plant your stem cutting, making sure the soil covers the nodes on the lower end. 

If you’re propagating monstera spruceana in water, place your stem cutting properly in the already prepared jar of water. Then take it to a warm spot where it’ll get an ideal lighting condition.

Your monstera spruceana stem cuttings should put out new roots and leaves in a space of 3 or 4 weeks. 

Always check out the plant, and water when necessary. If you propagated it in water, change the water at least once every 4-5 days. You may also need to change the plant’s container when the plant matures, you’ll want to go for something much bigger. 

Pruning Monstera Spruceana

Pruning your monstera spruceana becomes necessary when you notice that some leaves are starting to dry, change color or begin to curl or wilt. 

You can also prune if pests and diseases have affected the leaves of your monstera spruceana. There are many methods of pruning available for you. 

However, you may want to start by cutting any old or diseased leaves at the base of the stem. To encourage newer growth, you will need to cut exactly where you want the plant to grow. 

If the reason for pruning your monstera spruceana is to make it grow more rapidly, simply cut it at the top. 

Monstera Spruceana Care – Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

Wrapping Up

So far so good, I’m sure you can now properly care for your monstera spruceana. All it requires is dedication and the decision to properly care for it. Remember this species of tropical plant is rare, so why don’t you properly care for the one you have got already?

Monstera Spruceana gives you an exciting gardening experience, you can get the unique colors and texture of the variants of this plant. This article has extensively discussed how you can care for your monstera spruceana, keep the information in this article handy and apply them, so you’ll enjoy your gorgeous monstera spruceana plant. 

Monstera spruceana is not pet-friendly, so you want to keep this plant in a secluded area of your home if you’ve got pets indoors. Make sure to refer to this article anytime you need to recall a few care tips for your monstera spruceana.

Sources

To back up the information we provide in our articles, the Plantials team only uses high-quality sources published in peer-reviewed university or scientific research journals.

1. New Records Of Araceae For Costa Rica And Panama, University Of Costa Rica
2. A Revision Of Monstera, Harvard University Herbaria