Janette’s tiny grocery store monstera became a 1.5-meter giant in two years—here’s how she cares for her pride and joy!

What a stunning monstera! What kind of plant enthusiast are you?

I’ve always liked to have one small living plant at home, but during the pandemic, I became more interested in houseplants. As a professional musician, COVID significantly changed my daily life. Before, I didn’t even know you could propagate plants from cuttings, but with all the extra time during the pandemic, I learned a lot about house plants.

Now, I have plants in almost every corner, 16 in total. They make our home so lively. My favorite is Pate the monstera. It’s the one that thrives best in our house and has a place of honor by the big window. My husband and I have given nicknames to our other plants too, and even our robot vacuum cleaner has a name. It’s fun to name our ‘family’ members.

During the pandemic, Janette became an avid houseplant enthusiast. Now, she has sixteen of them filling her home.

Where and when did you get your monstera?

I bought Pate from K-Market in early 2021. I used to live and study in Tallinn, and there I had gotten a monstera cutting from a friend. Since that cutting grew so well in Tallinn, I wanted to have a monstera in my home in Finland too. As luck would have it, there was a monstera at the grocery store, so I brought it home. At the time, it was quite small, about 30 centimeters tall.

Here’s how tiny Janette’s monstera was at the beginning.

How big is your monstera now?

It’s about 1.5 meters tall and at least over a meter wide.

Did you expect that a plant from the supermarket would grow this big and healthy?

I didn’t! It was such a surprise! It started growing very quickly, and I had to repot it into a larger pot almost immediately. I didn’t know a monstera from a grocery store could even get this big. I thought that monsteras that grow up to two meters were a different variety.

Pate is my pride and joy. In the midst of everyday life, it always makes me smile when it grows new leaves.

Pate the monstera has a cozy spot by the window and under a grow light. Janette has made the plant bushier by taking cuttings and planting them back into the same pot.

How have you cared for Pate?

I give it regular houseplant fertilizer with almost every watering. I used to use fertilizer sticks that I pushed into the soil, but now I add liquid fertilizer to the watering can. Also, during the darker months, there’s a grow light above the monstera. I turn it on every morning when I wake up and turn it off in the evening. In the summertime, the plant relies solely on sunlight.

I’ve repotted Pate a few times. He’s now in his fourth pot, which is a large self-watering one. When repotting, I’ve just added regular houseplant soil; I haven’t replaced the soil completely. It might be a good idea to switch to a larger pot next summer. I’m thinking of giving Pate a slightly more airy growing medium then, perhaps mixing something else into the soil.

I’ve also often taken cuttings from the plant. I’ve planted some back into the same pot to make it bushier and not just a single vine. I’ve also given them to friends—for example, I’ve handed them out at Christmas parties.

The monstera is Janette’s pride and joy.

What tips would you give for growing a monstera?

The biggest factor seems to be light. When the media was talking a lot about rising electricity prices this autum, I wondered if I should even use the grow light. When it started getting darker, I initially didn’t turn on the light, and the very next leaf was much smaller than the previous ones. As soon as I started using the light again, I saw the difference immediately.