I have been on the hunt for a special plant for a couple years now. It all started back when I was getting into plant care and gardening in the last studio I had with a balcony. I went on Pinterest, I found all these great beautiful picturesque plants and I became attached to them right away.

They were called “monsteras”, or as I discovered later specifically “Monstera Deliciosa”. There are quite a number of Monstera variations out there, but todays covers my favorite.

Discovered possibly back as far as 1693 by Charles Plumier, a French scientist, or later in 1763 by Michel Adanson, either way these plants have been around for a while.

While they have the ability to grow a fruit completely edible to humans, they usually don’t fruit indoors. When given the opportunity to grow and vine up trees they have been known to have fruit smelling like bananas.

Given that they are vining plants, they support their growth with aerial roots, fenestrations and an almost sap like secretion. They thrive in medium indirect sunlight, as they tend to get sunburned in direct sun. They appreciate a heavy pour of water, but allow it to dry out at least the top two inches of soil before rewatering. These plants while being pretty good in water are still susceptible to root rot. Normal room humidity works for them, and they tolerate a range of 65 degrees to 85 degrees just fine.

The leaves have small holes or fenestrations as I mentioned earlier. These help pass sunlight down to the plants or leaves below them to help maximize their ATP load. These holes are also why they are called “split leaf philodendrons” despite not being a philodendron. And they are also called “Swiss Cheese Plants”, how fun is that??

To help with ATP creation and storage, they love a well draining potting soil mix. Perlite, lava rocks, pumice and beyond are all good options to incorporate into your soil. These guys are slightly invasive in Hawaii, which makes sense since they would grow uninhibited in their soil type.

These guys are NOT pet friendly if ingested. I’ve taken great lengths to protect it from Turbo for both his sake and the plants since I adore it so much. Seeing as the cats out of the bag, hehe, I bought one…or two.

Normally priced at $50 for the standard starter plant at Home Depot, I bought both of mine for $25. Let that sink in.

I made sure I got the shipment day from the plant manager at my location Home Depot. I planned before my trip to grab them so I would have them when I got home. I thought about it and sat on it while I waited and let Kyla know I was having a plant pickle. She quickly let me know her local Trader Joe’s in Medford, Oregon had them. I was kinda skeptical just given how the supply has been for most items in the pandemic, but still pocketed the idea in case.

I was running errands at TJ Maxx & such, and I decided to run over just to see what they had. I immediately saw them sitting outside on a rolling rack and moved them around so I could really check them out. I was just looking for one to start since I had a whole plan with them, when I noticed the price.

My eyes just about bugged out of my head when I realized I would be headed home with two starter plants just as I truly wanted. I settled when I went to Home Depot but Trader Joe’s totally made my month.

When I get home from my lake trip I will be repotting my plants and upgrading them. I hope to find or make a moss climbing pole to make watering a bit easier and for looks. One of my two babies leans, I’ve affectionately called her “Pisa” but that can’t last with the right support as she grows.