Monstera deliciosa - Swiss cheese plant

With its large, glossy and "holey" leaves, Monstera deliciosa, also known as the Swiss cheese plant or cheese plant, is a classic houseplant. This tropical climber with an exuberant character adds style to a living room, entrance hall or office bathed in light. Placed in a large pot and guided onto a sturdy stake, it fits into all styles of decor. A decorative, robust, XXL green plant, suitable for beginners.

This species from the Araceae family is a semi-epiphytic plant that grows in the tropical forests from southern Mexico to Panama. Today, it is widely cultivated in many tropical and subtropical gardens around the world. In nature, it establishes itself at the base of trees before climbing up trunks using its numerous aerial roots. In an apartment, placed in a large pot, Monstera deliciosa forms a climbing plant that commonly reaches 2 to 3 m in height and 1 to 2 m in spread. Its growth is quite rapid in the first few years.
The young leaves are a bright, shiny green, entire, heart-shaped and modest in size. With age, the plant develops large leaves that can measure up to 50 cm long, deeply lobed, with numerous perforations, all different. Borne on long, fleshy petioles, they emerge from thick stems equipped with aerial roots that serve both as an attachment system and a water reserve. Flowering is very rare indoors and is only observed on mature specimens if conditions are optimal. It takes the form of a creamy-white spike surrounded by a large ivory bract (spathe). When conditions are favourable, the inflorescence produces an elongated fruit called a ceriman, which is edible when fully ripe.
Like many aroids, the plant contains calcium oxalate crystals in its leaves, stems and unripe fruit: it is therefore toxic if ingested by humans or pets.

Indoors, the Swiss cheese plant thrives in bright light, but without direct sunlight, never behind a sunny windowpane. It prefers temperatures between 18 and 28 °C in an atmosphere containing 50 to 60% relative humidity, which is found in most living spaces. It is one of the most accommodating houseplants: very easy to care for, it is suitable for beginners, provided very dark places and overly dry atmospheres are avoided.
It can be placed in the living room, a temperate conservatory, a bright stairwell or a sufficiently spacious office.

In the home, you can choose to make Monstera deliciosa the focal point of a group of green plants. Place it in a large pot with a coco coir stake, slightly set back from a glazed bay window fitted with a sheer curtain, and position lower plants in front of it, such as Epipremnum N'joy, a small Syngonium 'Neon Robusta', a Vriesea 'Christiane' and a Begonia Rex 'Escargot' placed close to the ground. On a mature specimen, you can also hang a basket of rabbit's foot fern (Humata or Davallia tyermanii).