Hello!
I just received two cuttings of this gorgeous monstera deliciosa from a generous friend of mine. I have put them in water and have been impatiently watching them. I noticed however that where they have been cut the stems look like they are turning black. I'm not sure if it's starting to rot. Any advice??? Is there anything I can do to salvage it? I don't know what went wrong. It was literally two days ago they have been cut and put into water. Really want this baby to thrive . Also not sure if we made the correct cuts for it to propagate. We are total newbs to this plant and propagation. Do both plants look ok?

This is just my 2 cents worth, and it is what I would do if this was my cutting. I know others have differing opinions and will come out with them. I grow a lot of these plants, I am not an expert, your mileage may vary with anyone's advice.

Yes I think your cuttings may be showing signs of rot.

Yes you did get cuttings that have the ability to root and grow...you got an internode, and an adventitious root (and a root nub).

I would take these out of water, treat the cut ends (ALL the cut ends) with a fungicide (I use Captan to pretreat all of my cuttings and rhizomes, before planting) and I would place these into very small pots, maybe 6", tied to a slim bamboo pole in a mix of very good potting soil (like Jungle Growth TM), perlite, peat moss, and orchid bark at a ratio of one part each, water them once, then let them lean against a wall next to a very bright light source with good air movement.

I would water once-trice a week because this soil mix is very fast draining. And I would not repot into a larger pot until I saw roots coming out the bottom holes. Then I would step up, using the same soil mix, slowly. Maybe to a one gallon.

Also be aware that some of your lower leaves may not survive, because these cuttings have to have time to establish before they start growing, and they may use energy from a couple of the leaves up as they do that.

Gina1960 said:This is just my 2 cents worth, and it is what I would do if this was my cutting. I know others have differing opinions and will come out with them. I grow a lot of these plants, I am not an expert, your mileage may vary with anyone's advice.

Yes I think your cuttings may be showing signs of rot.

Yes you did get cuttings that have the ability to root and grow...you got an internode, and an adventitious root (and a root nub).

I would take these out of water, treat the cut ends (ALL the cut ends) with a fungicide (I use Captan to pretreat all of my cuttings and rhizomes, before planting) and I would place these into very small pots, maybe 6", tied to a slim bamboo pole in a mix of very good potting soil (like Jungle Growth TM), perlite, peat moss, and orchid bark at a ratio of one part each, water them once, then let them lean against a wall next to a very bright light source with good air movement.

I would water once-trice a week because this soil mix is very fast draining. And I would not repot into a larger pot until I saw roots coming out the bottom holes. Then I would step up, using the same soil mix, slowly. Maybe to a one gallon.

Also be aware that some of your lower leaves may not survive, because these cuttings have to have time to establish before they start growing, and they may use energy from a couple of the leaves up as they do that.

Thank you so much for your response. Should I remake cuts so they are clean? Or just apply the fungicide? Thanks!!!!

Its a shame that the stems below the internodes are so short. An Internode is capable of producing a root, or a new shoot. You want to plant the whole node (with the emergent root) in the soil. You can use a very sharp knife and try to cut back as little as possible. Just until you see green and the black/brown is gone. I would clean my tool with Isopropyl (rubbing ) alcohol first and allow it to dry before making any foray to remove any stem. Then dip in the fungicide powder. If you cannot locate Captan, you can also use a rooting hormone that CONTAINS fungicide.

Captan is the only fungicide I use personally. I do not spray anything like copper fungicide or Funginex (the liquid fungicide used for roses and such). I like to be able to control exactly where the fungicide goes because they are undesirable to broadcast widely. If you use something else, it will probably be ok, just dip do not soak in liquid fungicide.

Thank you! You have been so helpful. What are the differences between playing right into soil or water? From my research, it seems like people are most commonly propagating monsteras into water. Just curious if there's a benefit to either methods. Going to do all your suggestions today. Will keep this post updated to the progress! Thank you again!

I have never 'water'rooted' anything. I may be in the minority. But I just don't see the point. I think it is a personal preference, but I think it can carry a risk of things rotting. Especially if the cuts to propagate were made with tools that were not cleaned properly. If I want something to GROW in water, I toss it in there--no container--- and let it do its thing (this works well for a surprising variety of plants...hoya, epiphyllum, syngonium, spathiphyllum, alocasia, colocasia, chinese evergreeen, costus ginger....I could post several more that I have found out by accident will grow as hydrophytes.

When a rootless plant (or in your case a plant with the beginning of one root) needs to re-establish itself, rooting in water can work. It requires VERY BRIGHT LIGHT. But the roots a plant produces in response to water rooting are different in their ability to function to support the plant than the roots they would develop in soil. They are thinner, more fragile, and do not uptake nutrients in the same way. When a plant with water roots is placed into soil, these roots function more poorly at the outset than would roots that established themselves in soil in the first place. They have to then develop a whole new set of soil roots. In the meantime, growth can stall, and the plant can drop leaves or look sickly when the plant takes energy from them to try to do this. Then people get freaked out and think their plant is dying. And it may.

There is a proper way to transfer a water root plant to a soil root plant, however, but to me, its a time consumer and I do not have time to mess with such. You take your soil and basically make it into mud and place the water roots in that and gradually 'dry the soil out' over a period of time until the plant has had time to redevelop the root structure it needs to make it in the ground.

I have just never seen the need for this. Captan is a good product to stop rot, it i a wettable powder that can be made into a slurry. When I get new barefoot rhizomes for plants like the Zingiberales from the mail, I soak them in a little Catpan slurry before I pot them up. I don;t do this with plants I get as trades locally because we always leave the plants in pots and just dig a hole and plant them directly. But anything that has been cut, dig and cleaned, had roots removed, I treat to have a better chance against the establishing plant rotting as it red-roots. It is also commonly used to prevent damping off in seedlings of many plants at time of transplant. A slurry of a tiny amount of captan in water brushed onto an orchid leaf that has black spot will stop it. Using it on the end of a broken leaf on an orchid will stop the brow die back and further leaf damage.

I am not a professional. I am just an older lady who has been growing a wide variety of tropical plants since about 1983. I propagate my own variegated monsteras and various anthuria and philodendrons on a regular basis for myself, in order to increase the number that I have growing, and all I do is cut a shoot off and stick it in a container of my tropicals mix. Works well. When I deem it large enough I plant it next the the support I want it to start climbing.

I have rooted many cuttings in water, including Monstera. It is quite common for the dead tissue at the end of the cutting to discolor as yours has. Unless the entire lower stem, including the node, turns soft and mushy, you have nothing to worry about.

Change the water weekly. You can also rinse or wipe away the brown tissue. No chemicals are required.

hello there,
i am in a very similar scenario, I have bought a cutting of variegated monstera, and when it arrived it had black ends so i have cut them off as advised by the owner and dipped them in cinnamon. Then i left it drying for 24 hours and then put back to water . I checked today and black ends seems to grow again which slightly concerns me. I am wondering should i just put it to soil instead?

i would

Afrojazz said:hello there,
i am in a very similar scenario, I have bought a cutting of variegated monstera, and when it arrived it had black ends so i have cut them off as advised by the owner and dipped them in cinnamon. Then i left it drying for 24 hours and then put back to water . I checked today and black ends seems to grow again which slightly concerns me. I am wondering should i just put it to soil instead?

After gina1960 recommendation I put mine directly in soil and it's since doubled in size!

Mapleoaks4 said:

After gina1960 recommendation I put mine directly in soil and it's since doubled in size!

no way, that's amazing! i am nervous to do that tho?

Its a normal way to grow this plant. Growing in water is not a normal way to grow this plant. Monstera deliciosa does not grow in water. It grows as an epiphyte on trees and rocks and sends roots down into the soil sometimes from 20+ feet in the air, from where it is growing (this property is called being hemiepiphytic). The roots are adapted to more than one function...they stick to stuff, they can store nutrients, they can uptake water, they can anchor the plant. But they are designed to be either out in the open, where water hits them and runs off, or in the soil where they form softer white roots for the further uptake of water and food.
Yes you can root stuff in water. But is it the best thing for a plant? I don;t believe that it is. The people do.
Maybe its where you live, some people think sticking every cutting in water and setting it on a windowsill is fine. But ones the plant develops those 'water roots', which are fragile and not adapted to going directly into soil, its harder to acclimate the plant to soil. Some people I have heard do it by making a 'mud pot' where they stick the water roots and gradually let them dry out.
So much trouble. Why? Just start the plant out the way it would start out in the natural world.
I have never rooted aroids in water. I have always just taken whatever cutting I was given from friends (Monstera, philodendron, anthurium, epipremnum whatever) and just stuck it into the soil. I haven;t lost anything to date, in over 35 years.
But if it makes you nervous, don't do it.
The key to being able to grow something successfully, no matter what kind of plant it is, is to do research BEFORE you buy it, learn how it grows in nature, learn what it wants, make sure you know how big it will get and make sure you have space, enough light, enough humidity, and if your plant needs low mineral water (pure water) and not chlorinated tap water, THEN make a decision to get it. Don;t get it just because its the latest fad. Make sure you can get it to work for you, and thrive. Not just barely survive.

Gina1960 said:Its a normal way to grow this plant. Growing in water is not a normal way to grow this plant. Monstera deliciosa does not grow in water. It grows as an epiphyte on trees and rocks and sends roots down into the soil sometimes from 20+ feet in the air, from where it is growing (this property is called being hemiepiphytic). The roots are adapted to more than one function...they stick to stuff, they can store nutrients, they can uptake water, they can anchor the plant. But they are designed to be either out in the open, where water hits them and runs off, or in the soil where they form softer white roots for the further uptake of water and food.
Yes you can root stuff in water. But is it the best thing for a plant? I don;t believe that it is. The people do.
Maybe its where you live, some people think sticking every cutting in water and setting it on a windowsill is fine. But ones the plant develops those 'water roots', which are fragile and not adapted to going directly into soil, its harder to acclimate the plant to soil. Some people I have heard do it by making a 'mud pot' where they stick the water roots and gradually let them dry out.
So much trouble. Why? Just start the plant out the way it would start out in the natural world.
I have never rooted aroids in water. I have always just taken whatever cutting I was given from friends (Monstera, philodendron, anthurium, epipremnum whatever) and just stuck it into the soil. I haven;t lost anything to date, in over 35 years.
But if it makes you nervous, don't do it.
The key to being able to grow something successfully, no matter what kind of plant it is, is to do research BEFORE you buy it, learn how it grows in nature, learn what it wants, make sure you know how big it will get and make sure you have space, enough light, enough humidity, and if your plant needs low mineral water (pure water) and not chlorinated tap water, THEN make a decision to get it. Don;t get it just because its the latest fad. Make sure you can get it to work for you, and thrive. Not just barely survive.

Hello Gina I greatly appreciate your support and advice, I am new to this kind of plant. I never thought of plants being something I need to avoid, I love all of them and this one I just thought it is so pretty I wanted to try and grow it for me, in my new home. I keep getting advice from lot of people to do propagation in water but I am having issues with that so I came to here to ask for help. I took the plant out of water today and cut all brown out. I will put it to soil tomorrow when it dries out perhaps, I dipped it in cinamon for now and I did homemade soda mix with water and soap to touch ends so that may help with fungus.
I have a soil mix except regular potting mix so need to get thta tomorrow and elll try, what else do I have to loose. I am sorry if I ofended your expertise. I have seen those plants in London a lot and I fallen I love, so I wanted to have it. I have regular plants at home and this one was just something special... Maybe not all is lost yet, but I hope I can learn more in future

@Afrojazz you didn't offend me in any way! And I am only an expert on MY plants. Because I learn all I can about them before I commit myself to them. But I think what I know translates well to the circumstances of others sometimes. Not all the time. But sometimes.

Many people have different ways of doing the same thing. But, It just seems to me, that from what I see just on THIS garden site (and I am a member of more than one site) about Monstera and Variegated Monstera specifically, more people come here asking for help with these plants than you can count. Why?

And most people are asking the same question or saying the same thing, having the same problem: I'm trying to root it in water and its rotting.

The answer, to me, is don't root in water.

These variegated monstera are indeed 'special', because the greed of people to profit from them has made these 'special'. 10 years ago, I got mine for $10 each, adult plants in big pots. I have since propagated them many times. I have never sold any, even though I could and could make a huge profit. But I grow for me, not for money.

For the price that people are paying for a small cutting, often without adequate roots, you should get 10 full grown plants!

I have seen photographs of overseas growing operations that are mass producing these plants and wholesaling them out. The buyers then chop them up and sell each little piece at auction for huge money. Its just not right, to me.

Then if someone has problems with the cutting they get, and lose their (often expensive) investment, its really just awful!

Gina1960 said:@Afrojazz you didn't offend me in any way! And I am only an expert on MY plants. Because I learn all I can about them before I commit myself to them. But I think what I know translates well to the circumstances of others sometimes. Not all the time. But sometimes.

Many people have different ways of doing the same thing. But, It just seems to me, that from what I see just on THIS garden site (and I am a member of more than one site) about Monstera and Variegated Monstera specifically, more people come here asking for help with these plants than you can count. Why?

And most people are asking the same question or saying the same thing, having the same problem: I'm trying to root it in water and its rotting.

The answer, to me, is don't root in water.

These variegated monstera are indeed 'special', because the greed of people to profit from them has made these 'special'. 10 years ago, I got mine for $10 each, adult plants in big pots. I have since propagated them many times. I have never sold any, even though I could and could make a huge profit. But I grow for me, not for money.

For the price that people are paying for a small cutting, often without adequate roots, you should get 10 full grown plants!

I have seen photographs of overseas growing operations that are mass producing these plants and wholesaling them out. The buyers then chop them up and sell each little piece at auction for huge money. Its just not right, to me.

Then if someone has problems with the cutting they get, and lose their (often expensive) investment, its really just awful!

I appreciate your advice and I couldn't agree more on the business side, it seems rare to me that plants cost big money but I have seen some sellers mad expensive... which leaves us who love plants in difficult place because of those things happening, none of us seem to be able to get this plant these days and hence we get cuttings. I was fortunate as the seller is extremely helpful, reasonably priced and kind, and has reached out to me to help me... but I can imagine many people may not be lucky. I just wanted it to be my new adventure, something to try and care for.
And yes we don't know all of it, it takes time, but we hear friends talk and advice and then we follow hoping for best . Only some of us join garden forums to learn details, only some of us care about the details. Some of us just buy plant and watch it, some want to do more with it. I probably didn't read enough about monstera to know that water isn't best but I did read a lot and many said water works, it's easy to care for plant once grows etc. Ah well, I keep hopes and see.

I wish you the very best of luck. I have so many plants I'd like to own, but.....I'm short a few thousand dollars

Hello everyone! I want to ask you something. I found this huge beautiful leaf next to a garbage container and I took it home. I am not sure if it has a root node on it but d you think it will root? If the answer is yes, should I put it in soil or in water?

well you have maybe half a node. I won't say its impossible but I might say its improbably. But why not try? You have nothing to lose. I would use sphagnum moss, kept damp

Gina1960 said:well you have maybe half a node. I won't say its impossible but I might say its improbably. But why not try? You have nothing to lose. I would use sphagnum moss, kept damp

Thank you so much. How often should I water the sphagnum moss? Is it a better choice that putting it in just water?

Hi @taylanshn

I agree, that looks like it very well may be a partial stem node, which may produce roots and new stems but rather than trying to root it in water, I'd follow Gina's advice by wrapping it in moist sphagnum moss, being sure to keep the moss moist/damp while watching for roots to appear before potting it in soil. When the time comes to pot it in soil, use a small container with lots of drainage holes and be sure to use a light, porous potting medium, which will allow for good aeration at root level and proper drainage.

For the 50+ years I've been interested in and growing and occasionally propagating plants, I've stuck many cuttings in water and they do indeed produce roots but the thin, watery roots always have difficulty acclimating to soil conditions once the plants are potted up.