Monstera Esqueleto
Monstera Esqueleto
Monstera epipremnoides
❦ ❧ ❦
Difficulty — IntermediateBehold the skeleton leaf! The Esqueleto earns her Spanish name honestly — her mature foliage is so riddled with fenestration that little remains but a green lattice, like the bones of a leaf held up to the light. She is a collector's delight, and rewards the patient grower with foliage that looks more like architecture than botany.
Notes on Cultivation
☀Light
Bright, indirect light is the key to those dramatic holes; in poor light she withholds her fenestration and grows merely ordinary leaves. Filtered sun near an east or north window suits her, but spare her the scorch of harsh midday rays.
❦Water
Water when the top inch or two of soil dries. She likes consistent moisture in growth but loathes wet feet — a pot that drains freely is non-negotiable for this one.
☁Humidity
Here she shows her tropical breeding: she craves humidity above 60 percent, and rewards it with larger, more deeply cut leaves. A humidifier nearby is, to my mind, the single greatest favour you can do her.
✵Temperature
Keep her warm, between 65 and 85 Fahrenheit. She has no tolerance for cold below 55, and a chilly room will stall her growth into a sullen halt.
❧Soil
A chunky aroid mix — bark, perlite, a little coco coir — gives her climbing roots the air and grip they want. She is an epiphyte by nature and resents being smothered in dense soil.
❀Fertilizing
Feed every four to six weeks in the growing season with a balanced fertiliser. Generous but not excessive feeding fuels those magnificent fenestrated leaves.
✿Propagation
Propagate by stem cuttings taken just below a node, ideally with an aerial root attached. I root mine in a clear cup of moist Fluval Stratum, kept warm and humid while she establishes — the roots arrive sturdy and soil-ready. Read the full field method.
Field Observations
Give her something to climb — a moss pole or slab — and her leaves will grow larger and more dramatically holed than they ever would trailing. A climbing Monstera is an ambitious Monstera.
Do not mistake her for the common deliciosa; the Esqueleto's holes reach nearly to the leaf edge, giving that unmistakable skeletal look the collector prizes.
— faithfully recorded by Mr. Phileas Plant
✿Have one of these at home?
Mr. Phileas now travels in coat pockets — both kinds, as of August. The Plantry app identifies your plants from a photo, keeps care notes like these with you, and lets you ask him anything — free, on iPhone and Android. Step into the greenhouse →
