Monstera demystified: What are those long roots?
Learn all about the long air roots of Monstera plants! Discover what they do, how to care for them, and tips to make your Monstera thrive. Turn your plant into a stunning part of your home!
If you want to turn your living room into a jungle, Monstera is a must-have plant! They grow quite quickly, are fairly easy to take care of, and have these amazing deep green leaves with holes (fenestrations).
If you've taken care of them for a while, you'll have noticed that Monstera grows really large and long roots from their stem. If you're anything like me, you'll have been wondering what these roots are and if you can safely trim them from your plant.
This guide will bring you all the answers you're looking for! These are the topics we're going to look at in this guide:
Let's get started!
What are those air roots?
Monstera is a climbing plant. It likes to grow against trees or rocks to remain stable. It's stem isn't strong enough to support the weight of all of these large leaves. In fact, if you don't support your Monstera, it tends to grow horizontally rather than straight up. That's where these air roots come in!
These air roots are roots that help to support the growth of your Monstera. If you're using a moss pole to help your Monstera grow up, you'll notice the plant will use these roots to hold onto the moss pole or any other support you might use.
These roots are completely normal and aren't a sign of stress. Your plant is simply trying to remain stable.
What can you do with these air roots?
These air roots give your plant a jungle vibe, but not everyone likes the look of them. So when you see all of these roots appearing on your plant, you might not be that happy about it. So what can you do?
Well, luckily you have options! There are 2 things you can do:
- Prune the roots
- Redirect the roots
Prune them
That's right, if you don't like the look of these air roots, you can prune them. Your Monstera doesn't need these roots to get nutrients from the soil, they're only really there for support. So when you prune them, your Monstera will still get nutrients from the soil and will continue to grow.
Redirect / Train them
If you don't want to prune the roots, you can also redirect them (carefully). These roots are fairly flexible, especially the thinner roots. You can carefully shape them in ways that look good to you.
For example: Do you like the look of trees in mangrove forests? You know, with many roots going down into the water, sort of looking like a tree has many stems? You can get the same effect with your Monstera. Simply redirect the air roots back into the soil and let them grow.
Misconceptions you might have seen on social media
A few years ago, there was a trend on social media where plant owners were placing pots with water around their Monstera and carefully redirected the roots into these pots, so they were submerged by water. This was supposed to help with absorbing more nutrients for the plant, in addition to just absorbing nutrients from the soil. However, this is a bad idea.
Earlier in this guide, I mentioned that these roots are air roots and don't function like normal roots. They're there for support, not for absorbing nutrients.
By submerging these "roots" in water (semi) permanently, it could cause these air roots to start rotting.
To help your Monstera to grow better, make sure to water it properly, fertilize it regularly, and give it enough sunlight. Don't submerge the air roots in water. For more tips on taking care of Monstera, take a look at my plant care guide on the Monstera.
How can you help Monstera grow healthier air roots?
The air roots, as we've discovered, are natural for your Monstera. They're climbing plants, so these roots are a way for them to remain stable when they're growing. Perhaps you're someone that likes the look of these air roots and want to help them grow.
These air roots are there to support the plant while it's growing, so to encourage their growth, you need to make sure your plant is growing well. This means you should make sure you water it enough, fertilize it according to the instructions of the fertilizer you've purchased, and giving it a few hours of indirect sunlight per day.
If the plant is healthy, it'll grow the air roots quickly.
Thank you for reading this post! I hope it helps you to keep your plants healthy and beautiful! If you're looking for more guides on specific plants, you can always request a plant guide to get a guide for the plant you have trouble with.
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