Hi there,
We received a large Monstera Deliciosa from our neighbors a while ago. They have had it for around 20 years and left it with us when they moved. He did not like the air roots and kept cutting them, however the plant kept growing and is now probably 5-6 feet tall. We have owned it now for about 2 years and it slowly started growing new leaves these past few months. I have taken cuttings from other Monsteras before and now quite the collection, but this big one always seemed a little too fragile for me to work on.

My question is: the plant is very tall and long, woody stalks snake around the pot a fair bit (I'll attach some photos in the next post). While some stems are now growing new leaves, the wooden sections are taking up a fair bit of space. I was wondering if I could take some cuttings/ shorten the more woody sections without killing the plant?

Please let me know if you need more info, I will add more photos shortly.

Thanks!

Here some images.

Your Monstera is not fragile and can withstand as much pruning back as you are willing to do. Even the woody stems will probably produce new growth at the points that you make the pruning cuts. Green tip cuttings are easiest to propagate whereas woody stem cuttings are difficult to propagate.

If height is a concern, you could start by setting the plant on the floor.

The aerial roots serve no purpose so there was no harm done in removing them.

WillC said:Your Monstera is not fragile and can withstand as much pruning back as you are willing to do. Even the woody stems will probably produce new growth at the points that you make the pruning cuts. Green tip cuttings are easiest to propagate whereas woody stem cuttings are difficult to propagate.

If height is a concern, you could start by setting the plant on the floor.

The aerial roots serve no purpose so there was no harm done in removing them.

Thank you for this info!