How Much and How Often Should You Water Monstera?

Monstera is a tropical houseplant that thrives indoors. When they are cared for properly, they are low-maintenance plants that add a lot of greenery without a lot of stress. One of the keys to maintaining a healthy monstera plant is watering it appropriately. Monstera can be sensitive to water problems, and getting the water down is over half the battle to a successful monstera.

How much water should you give your monstera? How often do you need to water the plant? These are two common questions that are critical to maintaining a healthy plant. Over or underwatering the monstera will cause issues like fungal growth, rot, browning, and leaf loss.

Here is exactly how much you should water your monstera and how frequently to get the best results for your new houseplant.

How Much Water Does Monstera Need?

The exact amount of water that each individual monstera plant needs will depend on the type of soil mixture you use and the size of your plant and its pot. When you water your monstera, you should soak the soil until water comes out of the bottom of the pot. For this reason, you need to have a pot with drainage holes at the bottom and preferably a tray to catch the water.

Avoid the mistake of simply watering the top layer of soil. Monsteras are tropical plants that are used to living on the floor of wet jungles and rainforests. They get plenty of ambient water in the wild, so you need to make sure that when you do water your monstera, you give it enough water to soak the soil from top to bottom, ensuring that the water reaches the roots.

One effective way to water monstera is to hold it under the tap and let a weak stream of water fill the pot until the water flows out the bottom drainage holes. Once the water reaches the drainage holes, turn off the water and let the pot dry.

If water does collect in the drainage tray, wait a minute to make sure the water has finished flowing, and then empty the tray. You do not want the pot sitting in standing water because that can cause root rot.

How Often Does Monstera Need Water?

A typical monstera plant needs to be watered every one to two weeks. However, there are some factors that could change that timing. During the warm spring and summer months, monstera will need more water than during the winter months. The more sunlight the plant receives, the more water it will need and the more frequently it will need to be watered. That means that in the summer, your monstera will likely need water once a week and sometimes twice a week. During the winter, when the sunlight is low and weak, monstera might not need to be watered more than once every two to three weeks.

If you are unsure about if and when your monstera needs watering, be sure to check the soil.

How To Tell If Monstera Needs Watering

There are two effective methods to check the moisture level of the soil. The first method is the finger method. Simply sink the tip of your finger into the soil so that your tip is completely submerged. Feel for moisture. Good soil should feel like a washcloth that has been wrung out. Damp but not soaking wet. If the top layer of soil is dry or the second layer of soil is dry, it could be time to give the plant a good watering. Monstera prefers for its soil to dry out between waterings, so a little bit of dryness on the surface is fine in between waterings if the second layer is still moist.

The second more accurate method is to buy a moisture meter. Moisture meters are great for people who have finicky plants or are sticklers about details. The meter will read the soil and tell you exactly how much water is contained within. That will give you the most accurate reading of the plant’s moisture level.

Signs of Overwatering

Signs of overwatering include mushy or soft spots on the stem or leaves, black spots, mold growing on the soil, or the inability of the plant to perk up after being watered. Overwatering can cause root rot and soil issues which will cause a plant to degrade.

Be sure that your soil is draining well. Monstera needs well-draining soil in order to thrive. Soil that is not draining can cause excess water to become trapped around the roots leading to over-watering problems that could be soil-related.

Signs of Underwatering

The signs of underwatering in Monstera are simple to spot. If the plant is droopy, developing hard brown edges on its leaves, or fails to grow and thrive, it is likely that the plant is being underwatered. To fix the issue, increase the frequency of the waterings. If you are allowing the pot to soak properly, the amount of water should not be an issue. It is likely the frequency.

The signs of overwatering and underwatering can be easy to mix up. If you fear that your plant is having an issue with its water intake levels, you simply have to change your watering patterns. If you think it is being underwatered, add a watering cycle during the week. If you are afraid, you are overwatering your plant, let the plant dry out for an extra week before resuming. If water is the problem, changing your habits will fix the issues.

Be Consistent

The key to a healthy monstera plant is consistency. Find a schedule that works for your plant and stick to it. If you are watering twice a week, keep watering twice a week. If you are watering once a month during the winter and the plant seems happy, stick to your schedule. Changing your watering schedule or your light levels can throw off your monstera plant. If it is in a good place, stick to a consistent level of water and a routine schedule. Breaking from a schedule can upset the monstera’s sensitive roots, which will cause compounding problems down the road.

Conclusion

Most monstera plants will be happiest getting watered once every couple of weeks. Watering monstera should consist of completely soaking the soil from top to bottom until the water runs out the bottom of the pot. The monstera will then sit and drink the moist soil for the next two weeks until it dries out once more. If you suspect you are having problems with your monstera’s watering cycles, change your habits and adjust until you find a schedule that works for your plant, and then stick to it. Once the watering schedule is locked in, your plant will be very easy to take care of.

See also:

• How Much and How Often to Water Jade Plant
• How Much and How Often to Water Cilantro?

Featured Image Credit: 20750684, Pixabay