Maybe the original poster was saying they won’t root without a leaf node not realising it’s the leaf node which is important, not the leaf itself. Your cuttings have leaf nodes so they were successful.

Much obliged you posted about it

russ, can you post your temps (day/night) and humidity levels while you were waiting for sprouts? i assume your being in FL in high temps with high humidity had a lot to do with your success. most people that obtain these cuttings (seems to be a current craze) most likely are rooting them indoors under very different conditions.

i've placed some philo stems into moist sphag and they were much slower : sev months to produce a 1st leaf. that's indoors at 75F with bright light in So FL. mine were tented, but my indoor humidity is good too: 55-65.

Petrushka, I'm sure my temps were in the mid to high 90s with very high humidity. I agree that most propagators don't have these near-ideal conditions, which is why I often suggest rooting in water for those doing it in the house or if they're inexperienced in the propagating process. My point wasn't so much instructional but rather to show proof that a leafless node cutting can produce a plant. I'm still searching for the post which said it could not be done.

Floral_uk, this is the comment that prompted me to do my original propagation experiment and post it here. I guess it's possible that the poster meant to say "WITHOUT a node" rather than "with a node", which I've capitalized. Huge difference.

"Also to the girl who bought just a piece of a stem cutting... I’m sorry but that will never be a plant :( PLEASE STOP BUYING STEM CUTTINGS, they will never be a plant. It’ll grow roots, sure. But you’ll never have leaves and that’s where a plant absorbs energy from. Do your own research. A stem only cutting WITH A NODE will not produce leaves. So far no bontanist or cultivators have never been able to. If you’re buying a stem cutting you’re getting ripped off."

he is clearly wrong that stems with node will not produce leaves.

however, this monstera craze is getting tiresome: a lot of people without any experience buy the stems and then cry over a problem...or want results fast in poor growing conditions.

Russ, Thanks for the post. What type of potting mix did you use? If you made your own if you can go into detail of what you used and how much I would appreciate it. Thanks!Like
Save

Azredsand, I used a bark mix I came up with many decades ago, proportions vary a bit depending what I'm potting. Availability of fine ground bark has been inconsistent for many of those years, right now it's from Walmart, 1/4 inch pieces mixed with finer particles.

I don't sift any ingredients, my regular recipe is 4 to 6 parts bark, 1 to 2 parts commercial peat based potting soil, and 1 to 3 parts perlite.

The mix for the monstera cuttings was approximately 5 bark, 1 commercial peat mix, 2 perlite, nothing sifted. This grows excellent aroids and other plants here in central Florida.

Talking soil mixes... I often propagate plants in 1 part commercial peat mix and 1 part (or more) perlte. Back in the 70s I used the peat-lite mixes promoted by Elvin McDonald and invented by agriculture departments of University of California and Cornell University. I preferred the UC which was 1 or 2 parts peat moss, 1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite. Cornell was 1 part each peat and vermiculite. These are still good mixes, especially for gesneriads and begonias. They are nearly sterile so are good for propagating.

First off, that looks more like Epipremnum aureum to me than Monstera. Nevertheless, they are both quite easy to propagate. With Monstera, one just needs a big beefy stem cutting. usually they have aerial roots on them. It does not need leaves. A 6 to 10-inch cutting stuck a few inches into soil over the summer should root just fine.

Here's the progression of a leafless Monstera cutting I did one summer (that last pic could have been a different cutting, but you get the idea):

Dave in NoVa, great advice and pics. The three plants in my pics are the yellow variegated dwarf variety of M. deliciosa, the so-called Borsigiana Aurea type. I see that your example is the full size variegated version of the species, the so-called Thai Constellation.

You grow Monstera very well considering your more northern location, I suppose you have a greenhouse or an excellent location in the house for growing during winter. Do you collect other aroids? I especially like philodendrons and aglaonemas as well as monsteras, but interested in many other genera such as begonias, crotons, ficus, succulents, etc.

Russ1023 (central Fla), OK, I'm not familiar with that variety. Monsteras make easy houseplants up here. Mine overwinter in my dimly lit garage in cool temps. They slow way down in growth until the summer, when they go back outside and grow in leaps and bounds.

Other tropicals/subtropicals I grow include Plumeria, Crotons, Begonias and Citrus.