I happened upon this free monstera today, got it repotted and supported from ceiling and with moss pole. It has beautiful leaves up top, but pretty much nothing going on from about three feet down. is there any way to get it to fill out lower down? if not that is alright, but i'd love to see it a little fuller
so sorry if this topic has already been covered, i'm new here!

The bare lower stems will not put out any new leaves. New growth only emerges at the top end of each stem. If you take a top stem cutting you can propagate it at the base of the plant and that will help fill out the bottom.

I do wonder if it is getting enough light in that location. Can you post a photo that shows its proximity to the nearest uncovered window?

Is heat coming off that bulb?

That is spectacular. Love how you can sit under the jungle in that chair, near the guitars. Some of my hanging instruments are slowly being surrounded by draping plants too. ;)
Kudos to you for transporting it and shoring it up so well!
At some point when it becomes just too unwieldy you may have to make the decision to 'start over'- and cut the main stems into cuttings and group them in a new pot with new soil to start over. Then you'd have to be patient as they might take a couple months to grow new roots and get established as 'new plants'. Best to group 3-7 such cuttings into a pot so that it can look somewhat full once it gets going.
It's traumatic to make such cuts on a big beautiful plant like that, but at some point it's necessary and you can think of it like renewing the cycle of life.
To me it looks fabulous right now and I'd relax and enjoy it as is for another year or two if you can. Maybe it'll learn to play guitar!

WillC said: The bare lower stems will not put out any new leaves. New growth only emerges at the top end of each stem. If you take a top stem cutting you can propagate it at the base of the plant and that will help fill out the bottom.

I do wonder if it is getting enough light in that location. Can you post a photo that shows its proximity to the nearest uncovered window?

Thankfully the entire back wall of that part of my house is one giant (~13'x8') west facing window, although there is a structure that blocks some of the direct light. the plant is back about 6 feet from that window, so it'll get a small amount of direct light, but very bright indirect light all day. It's also right next to a north facing window.

Tisha said:Is heat coming off that bulb?

Most definitely not.

Omie said:That is spectacular. Love how you can sit under the jungle in that chair, near the guitars. Some of my hanging instruments are slowly being surrounded by draping plants too. ;)
Kudos to you for transporting it and shoring it up so well!
At some point when it becomes just too unwieldy you may have to make the decision to 'start over'- and cut the main stems into cuttings and group them in a new pot with new soil to start over. Then you'd have to be patient as they might take a couple months to grow new roots and get established as 'new plants'. Best to group 3-7 such cuttings into a pot so that it can look somewhat full once it gets going.
It's traumatic to make such cuts on a big beautiful plant like that, but at some point it's necessary and you can think of it like renewing the cycle of life.
To me it looks fabulous right now and I'd relax and enjoy it as is for another year or two if you can. Maybe it'll learn to play guitar!

it was not an easy transport! had a couple of leaf casualties in the process, but what can ya do. i'm sure i've traumatized it enough already, so i'll let it re-establish then do some chopping! I have some cuttings off my other big guy I was thinking about sticking into the soil, but I suppose you're right, for now I'll just enjoy my freebie!

It's like your own private rain forest canopy, right in your house!

Hi & welcome! That's magnificent! That is the only way I would have room for one, if most of its' mass was using air space, not floor or table space. But the top of my windows is just above my head, so the top wouldn't get much light at all. I'm limited to shorter plants until I can find a window stretcher...