There are so many posts about the topic of Monstera cuttings that I am going to post this in the hopes that it will help some people who may not have experience with propagation of these plants. This is just a general overview of the root system of Monstera, very brief, but hopefully it may help someone who may be contemplating A) buying a cutting B) making a cutting C) trying to grow a cutting they got as a gift, trade or sale.
This information, I might add, is readily available in multiple sources on the World Wide Web LOL. As with any plant you are contemplating getting and growing, it always helps to hedge your bets for success by doing research before you drop a lot of coin.
Monstera in the wild can be epiphytes, meaning that a seed will germinate on the forest floor and the plant will emerge and grow up a tree. But most commonly, they grow as Hemi-epiphytes...a seed falls (discarded by a bird, small mammal, the wind) into a rock crevice or on the branch of a tree or in some nook and cranny of another epiphyte like a bromeliad, germinates, and the roots grow DOWN the support, clinging, until they reach the ground.
Monstera (and almost all other epiphytic/hemi-epiphytic aroids) have basic 3 types of roots.
1. Adventitious roots.
ALL ROOTS of Monstera emerge as adventitious roots. These roots have 2 main functions when they emerge from the stem: They absorb water through HUMIDITY in the air and through rainfall that falls on them, and they attach and start to anchor the plant to the support to assist climbing. These roots are the initial only source of moisture and nutrients for a newly establishing Monstera
2. Adventitious subterranean roots.
These are the 'feeder roots' that branch off of the main adventitious roots after they reach and go down into the soil. They uptake water, uptake nutrients, and help anchor the plant more
3.Adventitious lateral subterranean roots. These are the subsequent roots that emerge as the plant climbs, going into the soil and their main function is support. Keep in mind that in the wild, Monstera can grow upwards 60 or more feet from their point of origin, be it soil or no soil.
So when considering making a cutting, or buying a cutting, you want to make sure you are going to be able to get some adventitious roots with your cutting. Its even better if you get some roots that have already developed feeder roots. You should AVOID at all costs leafless or one leaf, rootless stem cuttings with just a node. Commonly called by the abhorrent name 'wet sticks'. These have an extremely high failure rate, and are usually sold by either people who imported a hundred of them from overseas and they had to come basically rootless to get into the country, by a seller who cannot ship their own rooted propagations into your state (because of prevailing Federal and State agricultural laws) or by sellers who are just greedy and make substandard cuttings.
Cuttings that come rootless whether they have a leaf or not tend to rot before the node produces new roots.
Once you have a nice rooted growing plant, please do not let anyone tell you that watering or misting the adventitious roots is unnecessary. While it may not be totally NECESSARY, it is certainly BENEFICIAL to supply these roots with water in the form of mist, as part of their designated function is to absorb water from the ambient humidity in the air.
