hi hope you're keeping safe and doing super well if we've not met before my name is james and i'm
from sydney australia if you're wondering why my monsters are facing the opposite direction
today we're going to be chatting about whether you should be using a
steak a pole or a trellis for your monstera i'm going to give you some pros and cons and cost of
each method and show you some quick tips on how you can implement it now if you liked today's
video don't forget to give it a thumbs up hit that subscribe button if you haven't already and
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my monstera's are my most prized possessions in this household and one of the reason why
is because they are so fast in growth there's something about a new leaf that emerges from that
stem which gets me so excited every time i see it admittedly i also have a camera roll full of them
let me know if i'm not a crazy person because i feel like i'm the only person who does this
due to its rapid growth the leaves can become very unruly and messy pretty quickly so if you're
thinking about whether you should be supporting your monstera in some shape or form the automatic
answer is yes you should simply because monsters are natural climbers in nature and will do far
better when given a strong support over the past few years i've used so many different solutions
i'm here to share some of my experience to help you decide so to take you on my journey here's
day one of what my monstera used to look like as you can see it's standing pretty well on its own
but this was back in the earlier days so let's chat on the stakes or poles that you can readily
purchase from hardwares or nurseries there are different types of materials this can include wood
bamboo metal plastic or coir in australia i've seen some nurseries already include a coir totem
when packaging up their monsteras for sale my monstera deliciosa originally didn't have a
support so i actually had to go purchase that from bunnings the coir totem is a popular option due to
its thickness and ease of use the other materials that i've listed could be used but on its own
don't provide a strong enough support at least in the long run anyway i've actually staked my
monster a propagation using a wooden stake but eventually it will outgrow this for each
option i'll be chatting through cost some pros and cons and giving you a quick styling tip
a coir totem will set you about five to ten dollars and the obvious pros includes that
it's super easy to use you basically just stake it into your soil and you're ready to rock and roll
extensions of the coir totem can be purchased at least the ones that i've seen anyway
and basically you can just purchase another one to stack on top as your plant matures
and grows taller cons include maintenance can be super finicky with this because the leaves
tend to be unruly and messy and i find that i have to constantly tie them back and also it
outgrows the pole pretty quickly and you'll be out at the store again buying that extension as
for styling your must have product is soft twist rubber ties you have to get this i've used jute
twine in the past and i find that it can damage the leaves when you're trying to tie it back
so if you're in australia at bunnings they have this brand called saxons and it costed me a
dollar ninety-eight so roughly two dollars and there's another brand called whites which costs
about five times the price this one actually looks better because it's a darker green and will blend
better with your foliage as opposed to the other one which is brighter green i snapped a photo
for you guys to have a quick look but basically this is your go-to product it's also good to keep
some jute twine is it it'd also be handy to keep some jute twine in your inventory because you can
use this across other plants i particularly use this from my ficus because the stems are hardier
so here's a photo based on personal experience on the top left hand side quadrant you can see
that this is day one of my monstera and it's got its leaves pointing in all different directions
in the second photo on the top right quadrant this is when the new leaf started to emerge as
you can see from the light green leaf that is appearing in the centre on the bottom left this
is when the leaves started to sporadically move outwards and it was generally starting to look
untidy and unruly and then finally in the bottom right quadrant is when i introduced the coir totem
where i pulled the leaves back and then tied them to the center and that's where you can see i've
achieved a bit more of a bushy and more luscious look you basically just stake the coir totem in
and then grab some soft twist ties and you can cut them to specification so what i would do is
i would then wrap that around the coil totem and the stem and then basically just twist the ends
to allow for that to tie back so you just twist them like that so i'll use my monstera propagation
that i have over here as an example but i've used a wooden stake here where i've staked this
behind the stems here this is to allow the growth to go upwards and that the leaves can grow
outwards to the front i'll grab my soft rubber tie and i'll use that to wrap that around the stem
if i want to elevate the leaf upwards i will then you know kind of pull that a little bit further up
and then basically just twist the ends to then fixate that into the position that i desire
so there you can then cut the ends of these as you desire but i just leave them so let's chat
about the trellis the trellis is by far my most favourite option as soon as my monstera
outgrew the coir totem i immediately went out and purchased a trellis from bunnings i used this one
in particular trellises are great you don't have to worry about bacteria due to its material and
it gives you so much flexibility when it comes to styling there are so many anchor points that you
can use for your ties and essentially you can lift your leaves at different points and give
it the aesthetic that you want this is opposed to one direct vertical pole if you're working with a
totem or a stake so i first purchased this 60 centimetre one but then it did outgrow that in a
couple of months and then i was immediately out at bunnings purchasing the 80 centimetre version so
if you are considering this particular product go out and do yourself a favour and do the 80
centimetre one because you'll be out there again buying the 60 centimetre one like i did if i was
to turn back the clock i would purchase one that is symmetrical because i'm not too sure why this
design has two different heights anyway it is still my favourite because once you set it up
and tie it back you get the desired look that you want so the cost is about eight to twenty dollars
depending on which one you purchase the pros are that it is easy you just stab it into the soil
and then it gives you that great flexibility when it comes to styling although the cons are that it
is difficult to extend as your monstera gets taller and it will i'm actually going through
that issue right now as to whether i should be upgrading my trellis or whether i should do
something makeshift and as your monstera matures the stability can be challenging so here you can
see that my monstera is getting quite heavy and the trellis is starting to tip to a certain angle
and it almost looks as if it's going to tip over as for styling tips again your must-haves
is your soft twist rubber ties and pretty much the same concept you anchor it to the point in
which you want i prefer a more luscious look so then i will pull those leaves in to make
them look a little bit more bushier so here's the photo based on my personal experience on the top
left hand side you can see that this is when it had its coil totem tied back but it was getting
a little bit unruly because you see the leaves starting to chase the light on the right hand
side direction on the top right hand side this is when i remove those rubber ties and as you can see
this is no longer tied back and they started to fall out in all different directions on the bottom
left this is when i removed the coil totem and as you can see it moved a little bit further out
and then finally back on the bottom right is when i introduced the trellis and then i tied
them back again if you want to achieve the same look as i have where it is facing in one direction
keep your monstera facing directly to the light source of where it is sitting in your home
this is generally because monsters will chase the light path finally a sphagnum
moss pole or panel this requires the most effort but it will give you the most results
essentially sphagnum provides a medium for the aerial roots to shoot into and they will produce
more roots more roots equals more growth sphagnum is used extensively in propagation so why not have
that encapsulated as a medium inside your pole now there are myriad of diy videos out there and
i'm actually planning to make one at some point in the future there are small businesses i've
noticed in australia on instagram ebay gumtree that have offered out their own diy ones so if
you wanted to just purchase outright but you will pay a little bit more of a premium price
tag i personally built one for my monstera thai constellation here and i can tell you it loves
it every leaf that it puts out is getting bigger and bigger and it's also putting out fenestration
so as an example my monstera deliciosa it stopped producing those fenestration holes as it started
to grow taller but as a result of the sphagnum moss pole you can see that i've got fenestration
holes as it's growing more mature in general if your monster is producing fenestration it is happy
it is growing in optimum conditions now i'm not saying that my monster delicious is unhappy
but it could be happier but disclaimer it can be trouble in paradise i'm finding the maintenance
for my sphagnum moss pole can be very finicky you have to keep your moss pole moist for it to
reap the best results and i'm finding that it is subject to mould and bacteria as for the cost the
cost that i'm quoting is off a random retailer i found this on ebay for thirty dollars but if
you are building your own diy solution it can cost you up to sixty dollars if you're buying
those materials from scratch do note you can make multiple polls so that is the most cost effective
solution the pros are that it's a no-brainer if growth is your mantra then this is the solution
for you it can provide a very stable support granted that your diy skills are up to scratch
the cons is that it is cost them both time and effort and requires ongoing maintenance
which can be frustrating if you are a lazy plant parent like me again your must have product is
soft rubber ties for styling tips and i just cut them into smaller sections and fold them in half
okay get a really tough pair of scissors okay so that was embarrassing here's a quick demo of
what you actually should do grab your rubber tie after you've cut it and what you want to
do is wrap it around the stem first and then thread it into the grilles then twist the ends
grab your tough pair of scissors and give the ends a snip i'm going to save myself the embarrassment
and not do this in summary the best option is the sphagnum moss panel or pole this is
if growth is your number one priority however you will have to do ongoing maintenance for this
if you're looking for a simple solution opt for the trellis it's easy it's hygienic and
it can give you some great styling options so some closing remarks my monstera deliciosa is
outgrowing this trellis right now and it's starting to tip over as it's starting to get
heavier i've been pondering and sat there for about 15 minutes staring at it the other day
wondering whether i should build a massive moss panel but then i thought about it again and i
was like okay i'm gonna have to keep this panel moist most of the time and it's really heavy and
i'd have to bring it to the shower or the bathtub to soak it every couple of days because moss dries
out very quickly i'm a rather simple guy i just want to enjoy my plants and i don't want to work
too hard for them i have seen some random photos online where people have started to stack these
wooden stakes on top and tape them together i think that's the option i'm gonna go for i think
the key takeaway that i'm trying to relay here is that you have to choose a solution that will suit
your lifestyle if you have time for ongoing maintenance then the sphagnum moss panel or pole
is for you but if you want something simple like me just go for something like a pole or a trellis
so that's it for today's video i hope i've helped you make an informed decision on which option you
should go for if you liked today's video don't forget to give it a thumbs up hit that subscribe
button if you haven't already and tap that bell icon if you want to get notifications so you don't
miss any updates when new videos drop do you like this content do you have any suggestions on what
i could make or you just want to chat feel free to drop me a comment i'd love to hear from you
stay safe because it is a wild wild world out there now on to plant rants and vans welcome to
plant rants and bands where i showcase some cool funny or interesting planned content that i find
online so this was a rather relevant example on today's topic however i noticed someone seeking
out for help on one of the plant facebook groups that i follow with this screenshot
now this is a perfect demonstration this person has their coir totem in front of the main branch
and to correct the placement you would just need to switch it around so the totem is supporting
the stem from behind this allows the stems and leaves to grow to the front and the plant to climb