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Monstera Epipremnoides (actually Monstera Esqueleto/formerly Epipremnoides) is a unique monstera highly sought after for its impressive leaf fenestration.
Read on to learn how to care for and propagate Monstera Epipremnoides, plus, other important tips you don’t want to miss!
Where can I buy a Monstera Epipremnoides?
You can easily find a Monstera Epipremnoides for sale on Etsy. Check out these Monstera Epipremnoides listings on Etsy!
(Note that this time I’ve linked to the entire search page instead of just one listing since they are rare and sell fast!)
Why is Monstera Esqueleto expensive?
As I mentioned above, Monstera Esqueleto/formerly Epipremnoides is rare! A plant that is both rare and sought after is a recipe for an expensive plant.
Is Monstera Epipremnoides easy to care for?
Monstera Epipremnoides is easy to care for! It requires mostly the same general care as other monsteras and tropical climbing plants. Now, it is a relatively slow grower, but this doesn’t mean it’s difficult to care for.
How do you care for Monstera Epipremnoides?
The basic care requirements of this monstera are:
- Provide it with bright to medium, indirect light
- Keep it lightly moist, so water it when the top inch of the potting mix is dry
- Pot it in a well-draining potting mix
Read on for a full care and propagation guide!
How much light does Monstera Epipremnoides need?
Monstera Epipremnoides likes bright to medium, indirect light. Too much direct light will damage the leaves. Not enough light will prevent the plant from growing well and developing lots of big fenestrations.
If you don’t have enough natural light in your home, you can always use grow lights.
Below is one of my absolute favorite grow lights—its clip and two adjustable gooseneck lights make it so easy to use almost anywhere. Plus, my plants respond so well to this light—and that’s what really matters!
How often should you water Monstera Epipremnoides?
The question is not necessarily “how often” to water your monstera, but “how dry is the potting mix and does my plant need more water?”
As a jungle plant, Monstera Epipremnoides likes to remain lightly moist. So, going back to my point above, feel the potting mix with your finger. If it’s dry about an inch down, then you can water your plant.
Consistently overwatering your plant can cause root rot which is why it’s so important to feel the potting mix for moisture before watering.
Does Monstera Epipremnoides need humidity?
Monstera Epipremnoides is native to the tropical environment of Costa Rica, therefore, it will totally appreciate a humid environment!
There are a few different methods to create humidity for houseplants, but my favorite is to just use a humidifier.
Below is one of my favorite humidifiers because it’s large and can cover a lot of plants, AND it can last up to 96 hours which means less refilling I need to do!
Temperature
Monstera Epipremnoides prefers to remain between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (about 16 to 27 degrees Celsius).
However, don’t worry about the exact temperature. Just don’t let your monstera get too cold, so keep it away from drafty hallways or windowsills in the winter.
What kind of potting mix does Monstera Epipremnoides need?
Monsteras, including this one, are not high maintenance when it comes to their potting mix. All they need is a well-draining mix.
To accomplish this, you can simply use a general houseplant potting mix with some extra perlite thrown in.
Fertilizer
This plant does not need a lot of fertilizer, so it’s important that you don’t overdo it or you could end up hurting your plant. A little bit goes a long way.
You can use a houseplant fertilizer, diluted by half, three times throughout the growing season (the spring and summer).
When should you repot Monstera Epipremnoides?
Monstera Epipremnoides is a slow grower and it doesn’t like to be root bound, so you’ll need to repot this plant every few years when it becomes root bound.
Signs of a root bound plant include:
- Roots coming out of the drainage holes
- Stunted or sad-looking growth
- Lots of roots swirled around the bottom inside of the pot (you’ll need to slip your plant out of its pot to check this)
When repotting, use a pot the next size up and make sure it has drainage holes. Try to save your repotting for the growing season (spring and summer), if possible.
Should you prune Monstera Epipremnoides?
You can prune your monstera to remove legginess and control its size and shape.
A leggy plant means the vines are long and stretched out with fewer leaves due to lack of enough light—the plant is trying to reach out to find more light.
Pruning will also encourage new growth if you want to create a bushier, fuller plant. To encourage new growth, use a pair of clean, sharp scissors to cut off a vine ABOVE a node.
This means if you hold the vine with the end pointing up to the ceiling, you’d cut above that node, leaving the node still on the plant and not on the part you cut off. New growth will sprout from that node on the plant.
Last, remove any occasional dying leaves by gently plucking them off (or using clean, sharp scissors if you need to).
Foliage, Fenestrations, and Flowers
Foliage – Monstera Epipremnoides is a climbing vine that has bright green leaves with those famous monstera fenestrations (the holes in the leaves).
Fenestrations – The fenestrations make up a relatively equal amount of surface area as the actual leaf. For reference, the fenestrations are larger than those of a Monstera Adansonii but smaller than those of a Monstera Obliqua.
There is not enough scientific evidence to determine why certain plants develop fenestrations, but researchers believe it helps the plant spread its leaf surface area out further to catch flecks of sunlight that make it through to the forest understory.
Other possible theories I’ve read during my research are that fenestrations allow the plant to withstand strong winds and that they allow more water to make it down to the plant’s roots.
Flowers – Occasionally, Monstera Epipremnoides blooms a spathe and spadix, but this usually only happens in the wild.
Climbing
Plants that climb in the wild will be very happy if allowed to climb in your home, too! Giving your Monstera Epipremnoides a moss pole will help it to grow larger.
I really like the moss pole below because it’s stackable and so easy to add more onto when my plant gets too tall.
Climbing plants use their aerial roots to latch onto the pole and keep growing onward and upward! Don’t forget to water the aerial roots now and then by dripping some water on them or misting them.
Growth rate and size
While some monstera species are very fast growers, this one…is not 😆 Monstera Epipremnoides is a slow grower, but don’t let that deter you from adding this plant to your collection—the wait is worth it!
In optimal conditions, its leaves can grow to be around a foot to a foot and a half long, and half a foot to a foot wide. The entire plant itself can grow nearly 15 feet tall.
Want to add this beautiful, rare Monstera to your collection? Click here to get it!
Common Monstera Epipremnoides Problems
- Yellow leaves – Yellow leaves are a common sign that you’ve overwatered your plant. Remember, you should always check the potting mix with your finger first to make sure it’s not still too wet before watering your plant again.
- Root rot – While yellow leaves can happen after one overwatering session, root rot happens when you’ve consistently overwatered your plant for too long. See my post on root rot for more help.
- Droopy leaves – A common cause of drooping leaves is your plant being too dry. After confirming this by feeling the potting mix, give your plant a thorough watering and it should spring back up within a day or so.
- Brown, crispy leaves or leaf edges – This is a common sign that your plant is too dry. After confirming this by feeling the potting mix, give your plant a thorough watering. In addition, if you live in a very dry climate, try setting a humidifier nearby.
- Pests – While Monstera Epipremnoides is not overly susceptible to pests, there is always a risk of pests when you own houseplants. Potential pests include fungus gnats, spider mites, mealybugs, and scale.
- For general pest prevention and control, I like Bonide Systemic Houseplant Insect Control. I use it on any new plants I bring into my home. Be sure to read the instructions and use caution if you have pets.
How to propagate Monstera Epipremnoides
Monstera Epipremnoides propagation is easy—just about as easy as propagating any other tropical vine. There are a few simple methods:
Water Propagation
- To propagate Monstera Epipremnoides in water, use a pair of clean, sharp scissors to take a healthy cutting with a couple of leaves off the mother plant. You should cut BELOW the node this time (instead of pruning, where we cut ABOVE the node).
- Below the node means the node will be included on the piece you cut off the plant. This is important because the nodes are where the new roots will sprout from.
- Remove any bottom leaves if needed to leave a few inches of bare stem.
- Put the cutting in a glass of water making sure at least one node is under the surface. None of the leaves should be submerged, though.
- Place the jar in a location with bright, indirect light.
- Refill the water as needed and replace it once it starts to get murky.
- When the roots are two to three inches long, you can transfer the cutting to its permanent pot. Once you do this, water your new plant and care for it like you normally would!
Potting Medium Propagation
This follows the same general process as water propagation, but you can use your preferred potting medium for propagation (such as potting mix, sphagnum moss, or perlite) instead of water.
- Use a pair of clean, sharp scissors to take a healthy cutting with a couple of leaves off the mother plant. You should cut BELOW the node this time (instead of pruning, where we cut ABOVE the node).
- Below the node means the node will be included on the piece you cut off the plant. This is important because the nodes are where the new roots will sprout from.
- Now, plant the base of the cutting into your potting medium, making sure at least one node is buried. Don’t bury any leaves, though.
- Place the cutting in a location with bright, indirect light and keep the potting medium moist as the roots develop.
- Keeping the humidity high will also help your cutting along. You can do this by placing a clear plastic bag over the top. Just remove it every few days to let in some fresh air.
- After about a month, you can test if your cutting has developed a root system by giving it a gentle tug and feeling for resistance. If you feel resistance, you can transfer your new plant to its permanent pot (if it’s not already there) and start to take care of it like a normal plant!
Division
If you have a large plant and want to make more plants quickly instead of waiting for cuttings to grow, you can simply divide your plant into a few smaller plants.
This is easy to do while you’re repotting your Monstera Epipremnoides.
- Slip the plant out of its pot and identify some pieces with their own root systems.
- Gently separate the pieces, keeping as much of the roots intact as possible. Use clean, sharp scissors if you can’t do it with your hands.
- Pot the separated plants into appropriately sized pots (not too large, which can lead to overwatering), then water them all and that’s it!
Additional Information
How do you identify Monstera Epipremnoides?
Monstera Epipremnoides is most often confused with the Monstera Adanosnii or the Monstera Obliqua. Here are some easy ways to tell them all apart:
- Monstera Epipremnoides vs. Adansonii
- Epipremnoides’ leaves are thicker while Adansonii’s leaves are a lot more delicate.
- A mature Epipremnoides is much larger than a mature Adansonii.
- Adansonii’s fenestrations are more random in size and placement. Epipremnoides’ fenestrations are more even in size and placement—they typically start in the center and run to the outer edge of the leaf.
- The surface area of Epipremnoides’ fenestrations releatively equals the surface area of actual leaf, whereas the Adansonii has more leaf surface area than fenestrations.
- Check out my Adansonii post if you’re not familiar with what it looks like.
- Monstera Epipremnoides vs. Obliqua
- Similar to above, Epipremnoides’ leaves are thicker while Obliqua’s leaves are extremely delicate.
- Again, Epipremnoides’ fenestrations are more even in size and placement. Obliqua’s fenestrations are not as random as the Adansonii, but still not completely uniform.
- Obliqua’s leaves are majority fenestration—there’s barely any actual leaf there! Meanwhile, the surface area of Epipremnoides’ fenestrations releatively equals the surface area of actual leaf.
- Obliqua’s leaves are more jagged or wavy around the edges while Epipremnoides has a smooth edge.
- Last, Monstera Obliqua cuttings go for thousands of dollars, so if you’re STILL not sure about which plant it is, just look at the price tag!
- This post from House Plant Hobbyist has some nice Obliqua images for reference.
- Monstera Epipremnoides vs. Esqueleto
- Monstera Epipremnoides and Monstera Esqueleto are the same plant! See the next section below this for a more detailed explanation of this plant’s name.
Monstera Epipremnoides new name
Although this monstera is referred to as both Monstera Epipremnoides and Monstera Esqueleto, the most current name is Monstera Esqueleto. Epipremnoides is its former name, and it’s still commonly referred to with its former name.
However, some believe that this plant is NOT the true Esqueleto/former Epipremnoides, and feel it should be called Monstera NOID (NOID meaning not identified).
Is Monstera Epipremnoides toxic?
Monstera Epipremnoides is toxic to pets, so be sure to keep this plant away from your furry friends!
Want to add this beautiful, rare Monstera to your collection? Click here to get it!
Monstera Epipremnoides Care Summary
- Provide it with bright to medium, indirect light
- Keep it lightly moist, so water it when the top inch of the potting mix is dry
- Pot it in a well-draining potting mix
- Use a humidifier or another method to provide higher humidity
- Keep the temperature between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit (about 16 to 27 degrees Celsius)
- Do not overfertilize it—use a houseplant fertilizer, diluted by half, three times throughout the growing season (the spring and summer)
- Repot it every few years when it becomes root bound
- Provide it with a moss pole to help it grow larger and stronger
More Monstera Posts
- Monstera Peru
- Monstera Siltepecana
- Monstera Deliciosa
- Monstera Adansonii
- Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma – This plant is NOT actually a monstera but it’s commonly referred to the “mini monstera” and if you like tropical vines you might be interested in it 🙂
Huge thanks to @visualgardenph and @ohfortheloveofphilos for allowing me to include their awesome Epipremnoides photos in this post!
Natasha says
Where can I purchase seeds.
For a Monstera Esqueleto?