Fertilizing Monstera | The Essential Guide (2022)

As a new plant parent, fertilizing Monstera plants is tricky & you must pay close attention. Because Wrong Fertilizing practices may harm your plant.

None of this stuff is rocket science. But it is helpful information to keep in mind when caring for our Monstera plants.

I am going to be sharing when, how, and why to fertilize your Monstera plant.

In the end, you will have all the knowledge easy tips, and tricks that you’ll need to set you up for success.

We are going to deep dive with the Monstera plant which is my favorite indoor plant.

Why is Fertilizing Monstera plant so important?

We should look at fertilizer as vitamins for our plants to boost healthy growth. And it is very important that we fertilize our plants because they are in a pot. The fertilizers replace the nutrients in the soil that we lose over time.

The General Rule of thumb is to feed your monstera plan in the growing seasons. It is very important that we provide these nutrients so our plants can grow healthy.

Bear in your mind that plant growth has a direct relationship with the nutrients we feed to the plant.

if you recently purchased a plant from a nursery or repotted it, you do not need to immediately fertilize it. This is because most potting soils will have at least some fertilizer and nutrients in the potting soil mix.

But usually, after a couple of months, the nutrition in that soil will run out. At that point, it is a really good idea to consider fertilizing Monstera Plant.

Possible signs of a lack of nutrients in the soil of your Swiss Cheese Plant.

The following signs may mean that your plant is lacking nutrients.

• Slow growth
• Little resistance to pests
• Pale leaves or washed-out appearance – so the color may not be so bright
• yellow spotting on the leaves. Eventually, it causes yellowing leaves.
• No flowers in plants that should be flowering at that moment
• Very small discolored flowers.

It’s always important to know the specific requirements for your plant. Because these signs may mean something else, either under-watering or over-watering.

So always educate yourself before you decide to fertilize your plant. And talking about fertilizing our plants,

What is the best fertilizer for Monstera?

When it comes to Choosing a Perfect fertilizer for your Monstera, It completely depends on the Health & growth stage of the Monstera Plant.

The Fertilizer is not plant food. Plants actually make their own food using light in a process called photosynthesis.

When the sunlight hits the surface of a leaf, then specific cells convert this light into sugars that then the plant can use them.

So, fertilizer is not the plant food, but you can see it as vitamins for the plant.

These vitamins will boost the plant‘s health and they will help it thrive as it grows.

Thus, we need to be careful when choosing the right fertilizer for our Monstera plants.

You may be struggling to pick the right one as you always felt like You didn’t know enough to make the right decision. So you seem nervous to make any decision.

So, I am going to explain it.

What is NPK Ratio?

The main thing I recommend keeping in mind, is there are three main numbers that you see on most fertilizers. These three numbers are called the NPK ratio.

These three numbers are the percentages mixture of each macronutrient in the Fertilizer.

NPK ratio indicates,

• N- Nitrogen
• P – Phosphorus
• K- Potassium

The requirement of the ratio of these three nutrients will vary depending on the type of plant that you are going to fertilize.

Thus it is important to choose a fertilizer that has the correct NPK ratio for indoor plants.

What do each of the three main macronutrients in the MPK ratio do?

01- Nitrogen

Nitrogen is great for leaf development which we definitely need for our beautiful green Monstera plants.

Higher Nitrogen helps to encourage the growth of the Monstera plant. It also helps plants become greener. Because it’s actually an essential part of developing chlorophyll.

if a plant is deficient in nitrogen you might see the yellowing of the leaves start to happen.

02- Phosphorus

Phosphorus is great to encourage flowering, as well as good and healthy root growth.

If you see that your plant is about to flower, a fertilizer that is rich in phosphorus will help the plant bloom & thrive.

03- Potassium

Potassium helps with flowering & disease prevention. Potassium will boost the immune system of your swiss cheese plant.

It is also great for plants that are more prone to pest attacks.

I use fertilizers that are rich in potassium, which can protect the plant against pests & insects such as Spider mites.

Read this article for treatments for pests & spider mites.

What is the best NPK ratio for Monstera plants?

When it comes to deciding which fertilizer is best for your plant, the NPK ratio is one factor to consider. Thus, I always try to stick with a balanced NPK ratio like 6-12-6.

My advice is to look at your plant and see what it needs and then you can decide which fertilizer is best depending on the ratios of the elements.

Is Synthetic or organic fertilizer best for your plant?

It is important to note that plants cannot tell a difference between synthetic fertilizers and organic fertilizers.

Organic fertilizers are less fast-acting than synthetic fertilizers.

Therefore, it takes a little bit longer to release its chemical army. But they do tend to feed your plant for a longer period of time.

The biggest advantage is that Organic fertilizers are far less likely to burn your plant in the event of over-fertilizing.

Another advantage of organic fertilizers is that they tend to come with more micronutrients or other bacteria. These elements are also beneficial for our Swiss cheese plants.

Synthetic fertilizers are made in a lab. So they tend to really concentrate on the element. And they come at a higher MPK rate; so the numbers in synthetic fertilizers will be higher. It comes with 30-30-30, 30-20-40 or something like this. Whereas In organic fertilizers you will tend to see 2-3-2 or the highest 10-10-10 or 9-10-8.

Most of the time, Synthetic fertilizers are produced as liquid fertilizers.

As a plant beginner, this lower ratio in organic fertilizers helped me to prevent over-fertilization.

I can tell you from my experience as a plant beginner, that I love organic fertilizers. This is because it tends to be less concentrated than synthetic fertilizers

But some people like to invest in synthetic fertilizers. Because when you have these percentages in the bottle, the rest is going to be a filler: either water or something that will not affect your plant.

So when you buy synthetic fertilizers you’ll be investing in the elements and not so much in water or fillers.

If you are a newer plant parent, I would suggest choosing an organic fertilizer. Because that limits your chance of over-fertilizing your plant and potentially harming it.

When to fertilize monstera?

A general rule of thumb is that We should fertilize our Monstera plants when they are actively growing. We call this the growing season. But, you may have to start fertilizing Monstera plant outside of the growing season if you notice signs that the plant is missing nutrients.

As a tropical plant, the growing season will depend on where you’re located on this planet.

If you live in the northern hemisphere of the planet, the growing season will generally be between spring and fall.

But if you live in a tropical area of the planet, you may see that your plants grow the whole year. So that will mean that you will fertilize your plant for the whole year.

So what I would recommend is that you always educate yourself on the growing season of your plant.

This is a common fact for all variations of Monstera such as Monstera Deliciosa, Monstera Adansonii, Monstera albo & Variegated Monstera.

In wintertime, do not fertilize at all. Give those plants a chance to rest. But, Depending on where you live and the conditions in your home, you may continue to see growth in your plant depending on the conditions in the winter months.

If you are seeing new growth during the winter months, you can continue fertilizing Monstera plants.

Possible signs of too much fertilizer to Monstera Plant

• Wilted leaves ·
• The white crust on the surface of the potting mix
• Crisp brown edges on the leaves.

Always learn about your plant and the specific requirements for her. just to make sure because some of these signs may mean something else with your specific plant.

This way you make sure that you understand your plant a little bit better and she’s happy.

How do We fertilize Monstera plants?

This of course will depend on the type of fertilizer that you use.

For example, for me, I love fertilizing my plants with liquid fertilizer. What I do is, I use half of a spoon of monstera fertilizer with 1 liter of water.

If you decide to use the time-release pallets (It is also called slow-release fertilizer), all you have to do is to stick them in the soil.

Now, always make sure to read the instructions in the package. Because they will tell you how many pallets you need to stick in the soil depending on the diameter of your pot.

Always observe your indoor plant and see how they’re doing with the fertilizer, so you make sure that they’re happy and healthy.

6 Things to know just before fertilizing Monstera Deliciosa Plant.

1. When you water your plant, flush out the soil a little bit. So the soil can have mineral buildup, minerals, and salt by flushing it out.
2. Try to water a little bit with the hose and then add the fertilizer with the water. Because it’s important that the soil is moist enough in order for the fertilizer to disseminate through the plants while watering.
3. I also recommend flushing out the soil probably once every six months, like at the beginning of the growing season and then at the end of the growing season.
4. It is good practice to measure relative humidity before fertilizing monstera.
5. I also recommend, only fertilizing monstera plants once the roots are hydrated. So they’re ready to receive some of those nutrients.
6. After fertilizing monstera, keep the plant away from Direct sunlight. Instead, keep it with Indirect light.

How often should we fertilize Monstera?

I personally fertilize my Monstera plant every two weeks every or three weeks & typically during the growing season. This strongly depends on the Monster plant that you have & the type of fertilizer that you use.

Some fertilizers may be more concentrated than others and some plants may need more fertilizer than others. So one more time, educating yourself on your indoor plant is very important.

How much do I fertilize my plant?

I always recommend starting with a conservative amount. It may be half the amount of the recommended dosage for your plants in the beginning. Then see how they do, and then up it and ramp it up if you need to.

The amount of fertilizer entirely depends upon the type of fertilizer that you buy from the store and just reading the instructions on the back.

Fertilizing Monstera | The Essential Guide | Summary

This article will be helpful in kind of breaking down the mystery of fertilizing Monstera plants. Some of the things to keep in mind that will set you up for success when it comes to fertilizing Monstera plant.

If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below.