Monstera Devil Monster Care

About: 

Monstera Devil Monster, originally sold as "Circuit Monstera," Monstera "Devil Monster" is an incredibly striking Monstera Deliciosa sport from Thailand known for it's very dramatic contrast and deep fenestrations. Intense white feathery variegation on deep green leaves gives an almost... otherworldly? Appearance. It's weird. And I'm here for it.

FUN FACT - The fruit of variegated Monstera are also variegated! The smell has been compared to a combination of pineapples and bananas. The fruit is edible (safe for humans) and, I'm told, delicious - hence the name.

Family: 

Araceae

Light Requirements: 

Mine are grown at about 250 PPFD (µmol/m²/s) and seem to be doing quite well. If you notice the green parts of your leaves are going a bit washed out (or in extreme cases, if you're seeing sign of leaf burn) it's likely getting a bit more light than it prefers. If you notice browning on your variegated bits, or if she starts going a bit leggy, then it might not be getting enough. 

Temperature & Humidity: 

60 - 80° F (15.5 - 26.5° C) / 50% + Humidity.
Monstera, in general, are pretty tolerant to most normal household conditions. As with any tropical plant, they'll certainly do better (grow larger, and a bit faster) with higher temperatures and especially humidity, but they have no problem getting on in less ideal conditions either. They're pretty hardy. 

My personal plants are all kept in my house which is generally around 65º F with humidity somewhere in the 30 - 60% range depending on the time of year and whether or not I remember to fill my humidifiers at night.

Watering: 

Allow to get fairly dry between waterings. Keeping them in media that's too damp can pretty easily lead to leaf browning and / or root rot.

I like to keep mine in clear pots so I can easily see when the soil is still moist or getting too dry. The lift test will also work once you've gotten a feel for it. Alternatively, you can check for guttation, or the lack there of. The leaves are another good indicator - If you notice them drooping or feeling a bit thin, it's probably gone too long without a water. 

Important note: If you do suspect your Monstera has gone too long without a water, be careful not to flood it. Instead, give it a little bit of water at a time over the course of the day. When a plant is severely dehydrated (and this is true of any plant, not just Monstera) it's roots can't absorb the water effectively. This can cause the remaining root system and surrounding soil to become overly saturated leading to root rot. 

Grow Media:

Nice and chunky. Mine are grown in this Monstera Mix but any "aroid"-type mix should work fine. For semi-hydro, I'd recommend LECA or Pon XL over traditional Lechuza Pon. (I've just found that one is a bit denser than they seem to prefer.) 

Growth Rate:

Pretty comparable to other variegated Monstera. As long as they're happy, I'd expect them to put about about one leaf per month. If you live somewhere that experiences cooler temps / lower humidity during the winter season, growth will likely slow a bit during that time. 

Propagation: 

I actually find these pretty easy to propagate. I mostly do mine in perlite (treating it like LECA, so in a net pot with a reservoir.) If there's an established enough aerial root I'll sometimes just pop them right into a coir mix and they seem to do fine - Although, I wouldn't recommend that route unless you're growing them in pretty ideal conditions (warmer temps, high humidity.) I've not had great success soil propping in ambient conditions. 

Toxicity: 

Mildly toxic if ingested. Please keep out of reach of children and pets. Like all Monstera, they contain calcium oxalate crystals which can cause oral irritation. In rare cases, it can result in painful swelling, vomiting and difficulty swallowing. It's rarely fatal but can be  extremely uncomfortable.

Additional Information: 

Monstera "Devil Monster" is considered a large form Monstera. Their leaves will size up much faster and their internodal spacing will be much denser than some other variegated Monstera (such as Albo or Aurea.) Even though their growth pattern will originally resembling "crawling"-type plants, like all Monstera, they love to climb and will appreciate some sort of support to help them do so. 

They get absolutely massive, so be prepared to set aside a good amount of space for them as they grow.

If you have any questions, or some advice of your own to offer, please feel free to comment below. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!