How to Grow a Mini Monstera on a Moss Pole

The Mini Monstera (Rhaphidophora tetrasperma) is a popular house plant that grows stunning fenestrated leaves resembling the larger Monstera deliciosa.

In its natural habitat, the mini Monstera uses aerial roots to climb up trees and branches of other plants. Indoors you can give it a coco coir or moss pole to climb on and mimic the way the plant would grow in nature.

Related reading: Mini Monstera plant care guide.

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Grow your Mini Monstera on a Moss Pole

As your Mini Monstera grows, it naturally tends to climb. A moss pole offers stability, preventing the plant from sprawling or becoming unruly.

The moss or coco coir holds moisture so aerial roots can secure themselves for support. At the same time, the pole is a source of water and humidity for the plant. Growing this way also encourages larger leaves.

Further reading: Grow your indoor climbing plants on a moss pole.

Step 1: Insert the Moss Pole

Before you start, soak the moss pole thoroughly until saturated with water. Squeeze to remove excess water.

Insert the moist pole at the back or center of the plant, depending on how you want the result to look. When adding a moss pole to your plants’ pot, do it very gently. Be careful to damage the roots as little as possible. In case your plant already has a lot of vines you can use two poles in one large pot.

Repotting is a great time to add a moss pole. This minimizes the damage the pole would do to the roots if stuck in the pot straight through the root ball.

Further reading: How to repot your house plants.

Step 2: Attach your Mini Monstera to the Moss Pole

It is easiest to train your plant to climb a moss pole when it is still young and small. But you can add a moss pole to a larger, more mature plant.

Begin with the longest vine. Gently wrap the vine up and around the moss pole. Don’t force the stems to bend in ways they don’t naturally want to. Secure the vines to the moss pole with velcro strips, twine, plant wire, or any other string type. Do not tighten more than necessary. Repeat this step with each vine.

Try to position existing aerial roots and root nodes in such a way that they are touching the moss pole or facing toward it. Mist frequently so the roots can attach themselves more easily.

Step 3: Keep the Moss Pole Moist

It is important to keep the pole moist once your mini Monstera is growing around it. Coco coir totem poles generally last longer than moss poles, but they hold less water.

Whichever type of pole you use, make sure to mist it regularly, about 2-3 times a week. You can also pour water directly onto the pole. This is especially helpful if the humidity is very low in your home, or the moss pole is very dry. You still have to water your plant normally even if it is on a moist moss pole!

There also are self-watering moss poles with water storage tanks on top that water it from the inside. These poles stay moist for 1-2 weeks.

When your Plant Outgrows the Moss Pole

When your mini Monstera outgrows the climbing pole, you don’t need to remove or replace the pole.

You can keep it at the same height by guiding the vines back down the pole, or cut them back and propagate the cuttings. Grow the cuttings into new plants or put them back in the original pot, making the parent plant fuller.

Another option is to make the moss pole longer so your plant has more room to keep growing. Most moss poles and coco coir poles can be extended. This is as simple as putting a second pole on top of the existing pole.