Author Topic: Monstera deliciosa training, vertical or horizontal for best fruit production?  (Read 1401 times)

Plantinyum

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I have 2 monteras ,inground in my greenhouse. They are wanting to grow up wright but due to space limitations i would rather train them to grow along the ground. Do they fruit better when grown vertically, towards where theres more light, or do they fruit as well when creeping along the soil?
I would ultimately want to have them as creepers, but if most of you suggest that they fruit better when vertical in the sun, i will have to make some space and trim my other plants so i can fit the monsteras vertically.
Please share your experiences and observation on the species, thanks!

RS

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Around here, they can fruit prolifically in the ground in part shade. I haven't noticed as many fruit on the ones growing vertically up trees, but they're mostly grown as ornamental landscape plants, rather than for fruit production.

GrowerA

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They can fruit well when growing on the ground or climbing up structure. However there more to it, in nature when it wants to grow up, then it means it like to reach for more sunlight. If your greenhouse has frosted panels, then it would limit the right amount of sunlight shine through. As well the age of the plant, the environment, soil nutrients play big roles for it to produce flower and fruits.  Very important ... make sure you grow the right variety if you like to have good fruit.  Would you share photo of your plants please.

This is how to ID the varieties:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBprGjzCSGg

Here are some factors that make Monstera deliciosa blossoming and producing fruits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0tLjzfzC34




Plantinyum

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Thank you both! Here are my plants, i have 2 of them.
This is the first one, it was bought as a rooted cutting from a botanical garden, i recon it was a mature cutting since it wasnt a fragment of a stem, but rather was a terminal cutting, the top leaf with the growing point, with some stem. It has become quite thick now, 2 years ago it was just 1 leaf. I remember the staff at the botanical garden called it monstera deliciosa, the tasty monster. There was one big vine in there that had fruit, there were some cut marks on the stems, some of them were cut out, so i think thats was the same plant that they start the new ones, which they sell.












Here is the younger one, it was bought as a really small and young looking plant.








Both of the plants have the so called distinct curling at the petiole, at the base of the leaf, that deliciosa is said to have.

I think i may go with the vertical way for the bigger one since the plant is awready growing quite vertical, i tried to quide it along the ground but the stem it too thick and i may end up bracking it ,i dont want that since its awready not very fast grower.
The younger and thinner one i may quide on the ground, its not as stiff and that is possible with it.

Tortuga

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For monsteras and other similar vining plants, they naturally grow upwards along a woody structure. In order for monsteras to mature they need to climb. As they climb the leaves will get larger. A monstera will produce its biggest leaves after reaching 4-5ft. Do not allow vinging plants to grow in a hanging basket if you are looking for fruit production or large foliage.

palmcity

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For monsteras and other similar vining plants, they naturally grow upwards along a woody structure. In order for monsteras to mature they need to climb. As they climb the leaves will get larger. A monstera will produce its biggest leaves after reaching 4-5ft. Do not allow vinging plants to grow in a hanging basket if you are looking for fruit production or large foliage.

They need some light and if in darkness they will grow toward light.

I have over 15 years experience of growing Monstera and I have plenty of Monstera proof that you are wrong in the statement: "In order for monsteras to mature they need to climb." That is wrong. They mature just fine and fruit just fine growing in South Florida on sandy ground under oak trees in partial shade without ever having to climb up the Oak Tree.

Plantinyum, you do not have to have it growing upward to fruit as on the ground is fine if they have enough sunlight. Only you by experience can determine how much sunlight will be needed. They typically will not fruit with thin vines thus it usually takes at least 2 years for the vine to thicken enough for it to want to send out fruit bloom.

If you were to buy again, always try to get a thick piece to start the new vine. I would not have to have the tip but if a thick vine and growth tip of course take it.

A lot of the mature vines look old thick ugly and yellowish laying on the ground partially covered with sand. Of course that's over 5 foot from the growth tip

Another sign of maturity would be the vine sending out the thick roots along the ground or down from the tree which can reach over 20 foot and almost 1/2 inch diameter sometimes... If you don't have this, it's probably not mature enough to fruit.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2023, 01:47:04 PM by palmcity »

Plantinyum

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Palmcity , the older vine, the ticker one has a circumference of 15 cm to the stem, at the thickest point ,which is at the second leaf from top to bottom, so its fattening up nicely. The stem is probably 20-30 cm long and starts quite thin and gets very fat to the top. This particular plant is sending some thick aerial roots. Ive already decided and will do both ways of growing, the thick stemmed one will be guided up on a cement post, comered with some moss maybe. The stem is too thick to be lowered down on the ground.

The thin one i will manage somehow to lower it and fix it to the ground so it could creep .

As a side note, the fruiting monsteras i saw at the botanical garden were in  a south facing full sun spot, in a glass greenhouse. Thwre were also others that were growing on the trunks of various huge trees like one ginormous ficus elastica, but i dont remember seeing those having fruits. They also had smaller leaves ,compared to the one in the sun...
« Last Edit: February 08, 2023, 03:56:19 PM by Plantinyum »

palmcity

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Anyone taking the time for a greenhouse, definitely wants to keep alive what they are growing; so here is my experience.

As RS said they grow easily on the ground and I have more with small fruit on the ground than in the trees but I just decided a few years ago to send some up the trees. I'm not impressed with production up high as I'm guessing they must send the aerial roots down for extra soil nourishment and thus I assume you will get less fruit up vs. on the ground. I finally found 1 group in the tree on a low limb. But there are many groups of fruit on the ground. Obviously I just let them go and grow and I rarely throw a little fertilizer on them as they just keep on bearing. I do not know if cutting back on fertilizer is or is not needed to get fruiting in this vine crop as we know too much fertilizer tends to make mango trees grow too vegetative. Just something to ponder if they don't start fruiting soon. Also who knows maybe less water might help too in getting bloom, I just have not experimented except let it go to the normal weather in S. Fl.

I even took some pictures for you:::













I believe it's 12:16am there so have a good nights sleep
« Last Edit: February 08, 2023, 05:16:20 PM by palmcity »

Plantinyum

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Palmcity, thanks for the pics! Now you got me thinking that you are most certainly wright about the aerial roots helping with the feed of the plant ,for the fruiting, i see the logic behind this.
I should probably do something more creative as a vertical trellis than just a cement pole, now i think it will be good if i have a pipe, filled with soil, which has some cuts in it to allow the roots to enter. I am just picturing it in my head right now.
I will probably do this trellis those days ,as ive gathered steam on the idea.
Lol I'm a late bird so I'm still awake, good night to you too!

tru

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monstera is an epiphyte, in nature its roots grow inside of holes in tree trunks and on top of/surround bark. Being rootbound or exposed to the elements is of no concern to a monstera, they simply do not care. Only real issue I've heard of is burying the main vine too deep, then you get stem/root rot. A cement pole is more than enough to get the job done but really, the plant will find a way imo
instagram @trumansacco

Plantinyum

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monstera is an epiphyte, in nature its roots grow inside of holes in tree trunks and on top of/surround bark. Being rootbound or exposed to the elements is of no concern to a monstera, they simply do not care. Only real issue I've heard of is burying the main vine too deep, then you get stem/root rot. A cement pole is more than enough to get the job done but really, the plant will find a way imo

Yes ive seen indoor monstera plants with quite long aerial roots, cant see a reason why mine wouldn't grow long ones that apuld reach the soil. I know that just a cement post will be ok, but i really like the idea of having a soil filled pipe, in which i will quide the roots tru holes ,to have them establish in a soil medium at their very beginning. Wont harm to try that and see how it works, i feel that this may be more nutritious environment for the plant.

RS

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They fruit in clumps in the ground here too. There's about 8 fruit in approx 8'x8' area. They also came through 3 consecutive nights of freezing temps in upper 20's/low 30's in Dec, and weren't set back too much. Good luck with your greenhouse growing!

 

Plantinyum

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Rs, those are nice, must be good to have them in nature like that, i really want to try this fruit. On all the taste review videos ive watched ,people just lose words for a secont, they must be so good....


Anyway, here's what i came up as a setup for my monsters haha. A pvc pipe, holles drilled in a spiral fashion from top to bottom. Roots will be guided in those holes into the soil inside the pipe, as they grow.
Fixed the pipe to the greenhouse frame somehow, cant desribe it but it doesnt move and is sturdy enough. Painted the pipe with a brown paint as it was a shitty gray colour.
One problem i will have is with the watering of the soil in the pipe, if i just pour water, it just goes out the holes when its in big enough volume, so i will get a plastic bottle, make a little hole on the bottom and let it seep slowly, whenever i need to water. Soil will surely dry out fast with this much holes.











I decided to keep both of the plants vertical. I may buy one more if they have it at the botanical garden, which i will plant next to the walls and guide it along it, the existing ones arent really planted in the perfect spot that allows space for them to crawl on the ground.

Tortuga

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Not to hijacker the thread but have any of you gotten fruit off of monstera borsigiana? If so please compare the two varieties of fruits!

GrowerA

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1. Monstera deliciosa or the smaller form Monstera borsigiana are not epiphyte. They are not mainly growing on tree like Orchids or air plants. They are mainly growing in the ground. They climb up tree to reach for more sunlight. There are sets of roots growing in the ground to take nutrients, aerial roots help it climb up where it likes to be and then sets of aerial roots run back down to the ground for more nutrients.

2. Monstera deliciosa or the smaller form Monstera borsigiana does not need to climb up trees/ structures to be mature. They can grow in the ground to mature size and fruit well if you have the right environment (right sunlight ...etc )  . Don't be confused them with Monstera dubia . This one is shingling up tree to grow to a mature plant.

 Plantinyum,  Great to have that pole for support them to grow up, because without it in long run your Monstera vine and roots may damage to your greenhouse structure. As I mentioned light shine through frosted panels is not the same as light from a clear panel.

Toruga, "Not to hijacker the thread but have any of you gotten fruit off of monstera borsigiana? If so, please compare the two varieties of fruits! "
Great question actually.  I have both varieties fruited. Yes, I tried all of them. If you grow for fruit, then go with Monstera deliciosa the large form and not the Monstera borsigiana. M. borsigiana  even fully ripen, it has super high calcium oxalate crystals that cause very itchy taste. Besides, it has very small fruit with less flesh than Monstera deliciosa the large form.  I came across a Monstera borsigiana few years ago, when I traded my plant with other person here in California. I saw his plant in person with fruits... He told me that He could not eat it even it fully ripens due to strong itchy taste.  His plant looks very much like  Palmcity plants show in photos from stem, leaf and fruit growth. It is 99.90% a Monstera borsigiana based on the look in photos even though it has larger leaves and stems than my Monstera borsigiana plants in video. There are some people reported the same problem in Hawaii and Florida about the fruit taste, but they did not have photo to show, so I could not take a closer look.   Palmcity photo is very good example. We could ask Palmcity for more information. Here is my Monstera borsigiana fruit when I harvested its seed to grow for further research in video link bellow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHs_M1IqmWs

Plantinyum

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GrowerA, thanks for the info! I think i got the best of both worlds with this setup. They should hardly notice they arent growing in the ground.
One of them had started to take hold on to the wall of the greenhouse, i didnt thought about it but i could have left it growing on it and lead the roots into the ground, but it woudnt be the pwrfect way to grow it in my situation. I doubt that they could do much damage to the foundation of the greenhouse, their roots are soft and nothing like tree roots...