Two Monstera questions

I have had this monstera outside in it's pot al summer (with the pot in a hole). It has done very, very well and doubled in size. I have two questions. First, it's putting out roots outside the pot that have gone into the ground. Are these actually aerial roots? Can I divide off these portions where the roots have grown to make new plants?

Second, I'm in zone 8b. Has anyone grown this plant in-ground in 8b or colder? It seems so happy where it is, that it'd be nice to take it out of the pot and just put it straight in.

Any suggestions appreciated. I have a pic of the whole plant, and a close-up of how the roots are forming.
Thanks!
Deb

The whole thing - to get an idea of the size. It's about 2.5 ft high.

I think it's a long shot--it's only hardy to zone 10, and plants that are only hardy to zone 10 typically can't tolerate any frost. I guess you could try to protect it, but it would be a shame to lose such a nice plant so if it were mine I don't think I'd take the chance.

Deb, I was reading the comments on this one in plantfiles, and one person says it's easily hardy to zone 9a. You might want to read that entry.....so possibly...maybe? :)

Ecrane: Thanks, you're probably right.
Tropicanna: I'll take a look. Not feeling optimistic. :)

If anyone know about the rooting question, do let me know.
Thanks!!
Deb

I just checked the comments too...I wouldn't necessarily go on the comment from the person that said they're easily hardy to zone 9a without knowing what they're basing that on. They are not located in zone 9a, they're in the Bay Area near me, but a little closer to the ocean where it stays a little warmer in winter, so probably borderline between 9b and 10a. So if they were basing it on experience in that location, then there's not much frost there so it makes sense that the plant would do fine, but maybe they were basing the 9a observation on living somewhere else previously, hard to say! The other comment you might want to follow up on is one from someone in Corpus Christi, TX who claimed they were growing all over the place there and said it was zone 9a. Not being familiar with TX I don't know what zone CC is in, but if they're correct that it's 9a then you'd have a little more hope.

Hi Deb,
From my experience (limited) those are aerial roots. Have a big one growing in my garden, and the plant uses the roots to support it as it grows bigger. I found it tends to make baby plants close to the mother plant, and they can easily be transplanted.

Hope it helps,
Elsa

Deb I cut them off, pot them, and they do root so you can share them. I don't know anything about them but have done it twice and made new plants with the variegated one I have. You would need to do it while the roots are only 2 or 4" though. Don't think I would try it with real long roots. Works on Red Stem and Pink Princess Philodendrums too.

Ecrane: Yes, I still wasn't sure after reading the PF comments either. Don't think I'll risk it.
Elsa and Donna: Thanks very much. The roots it has put out are a good 6" long, so maybe I'll leave them and try it if they start some more. Or I'll watch for movable "babies". :)

Deb

i had a similar ? about that, butphilodendron bipinnatifidum over winters in Columbia, so maybe you (or I) could try one

Diehrd: My philo. selloum (same thing, right?) made it through last winter outside. It died back but came back pretty well, although I don't think it'll ever be able to get very large.
Anyway, I think if I had more than the one monstera I'd risk it. Do you have more than one? (;->, nudge, wink). Since you're technically, a zone warmer, might be worth a try? :-)
Deb

Deb, I have them and they winter fine here but Beaufort is a bit warmer than Summerville.

yeah. i am, and it would be worth a try... especially on Hilton Head, where it is warmer in the winter. yes the two philo's are synonymous

My parents in middle TN (7a or 6b) leave their philo. selloum in the ground with a wire cage filled with leaves and it has been in their garden for the past several years. For a bigger plant I think it would be better to take it indoors though.

here the get sizeable trunks and get taller than a grown man easily. the leaf cage thing may work for Deb if she wants a large plant

Deb, this was a Monstera seedling, just a few inches high, a few years ago.

Ardesia: That's a happy plant. I am SO in the wrong zone.
Diehrd & McDole: That's how I did my selloum last winter - with the leaf cage. Simple. Seems to do the trick.
Deb

I think the Monstera would do fine in a leaf cage also. You could always cover it with a quilt on the really cold nights.

Oh, I'm so tempted. :) Thanks Ardesia.

how much protection did you give yours, ardesia?

None. I may be way off base but I think it's needs are pretty close to the P. Selloum and they are practically weeds around here nowadays. The landscapers are putting the Selloums in full sun and they are thriving. Who knew????

My Monstera is on the SE side of my home and it is under some light tree cover.

i'll try one some time

Mine is in a large pot so I move it to the gh for winter.

Deb, I cut off the piece with 2 or 3 leaves and if the long root is real long I cut that to a bout 6 inches and put in water. In a few weeks you'll have loads of roots and can pot it up. Mine went out as a trade.

L

Linda: Thanks for the suggestion. Think I'll try it since it has put out roots in 3 diff. places.
Deb

Here's the one I rooted

Thanks Linda. I'm going to give it a try this weekend.
Deb

I'm in zone 9a and my monsteras die to the ground but reappear in late spring/early summer when soil temps are warm enough. If the winter is very mild, I will only get leaf damage and I will remove those accordingly. In Feb. 2007 we got a 1-2 day freeze and my monsteras disappeared but finally returned.

Deb in SC, I don't know if I would chance it, if I were you. Also, your ID box says zone8a, but in your initial posting you refer to zone8b. Not a big deal, just thought I'd point it out. Either way, I still think it would be too riskly for you.

And finally, while I do not protect my monsteras, they grow underneath huge philo. selloum and I suppose they get additional shelter that way.

i'm technically 8b... but not from my experience! at the beach i'd say we have a bit of 10a... not kidding. we are warmer than we are given credit for!

some days it's so dan hot I'd SWEAR that I live in zone14 (if there's such a thing)!

It's the marsh Diehrd, it really holds the heat and keeps us toasty. My son lives in Jacksonville, 3 hours south of here and it is cooler at his home than it is here.

thank goodness for the marsh!... what about the ocean... that has gotta count for something too!

I live in zone 9a in East Central Florida. I have lots of large Philo selloum in the ground and when we get frost or hard freezes they have really gotten mushy, died back but always come back in spring and get huge again! I have a large Monstera deliciosa but it's in a pot on my deck. I cover it with a blanket when we get temp's below 40. I had no idea they would grow like the selloum and come back after freezing temp's! I don't think I can bear to put it in the ground though ... hate to take that chance. I have a couple of small ones, maybe I will use one of them as a guinea pig and plant it in the ground tomorrow! My large plant gets tons of long aerial roots growing out searching for more soil and something to climb on. I had to pull a few up that had grown down between the boards on the wood deck into the ground below! I never thought about pruning them to keep them in bounds!

Diehrd, no question the ocean helps but remember Plantladylin is also right on the ocean and she gets colder than we do. I was in Daytona a few years ago on Thanksgiving and they had a hard freeze. When I got home I found out it had never even dropped below 40 here although the same cold front had come through. What we have that Florida doesn't is marsh, miles and miles of oozy black plough mud that surrounds us and keeps us warm and humid by radiating heat, especially at night. I am at least 15 miles from the ocean and you are probably pretty far also but we both have marshy spots all around.

Vossner: Yes, I'm in 8a but my garden seems to have 8b qualities. :) So, if something's hardy to 8b, it usually works for me, which is why I put that in my original question. (Though I see I actually said I'm in 8b - must've been fantasizing.)
Having said that....I'm not going to chance it. Chickening out big time. :) I am going to try to start a baby from one of the rooted parts, though.

I'm curious, though. How big do your monstera's get during the growing season? My selloum, for example comes back but only gets about maybe 2 ft tall and wide at best.

Deb

Here's a photo of my Selloum growing in one area of the yard. These things actually get totally flattened in a hard freeze, but come back to their normal size in spring. They seem to grow very fast down here.

mine is about as big as plantladylin and monstera is underneath. but I also have monstera in another corner and it gets pretty wide, not tall, but wide. will try to take a pic later.

OK, here is one location. The monstera is half as big as the philo, but the philo completely hides it. There are three philos in that corner. This April I cut every branch except the top two in each plant, and look how it's grown this rainy season.

Another location, where you can better see the monsteras. The died to the ground in Feb, and what is shown is this season's growth.

third location. Illustris and monstera canopies provide shelter for a few precious ferns. Both Illustris and monstera disappeared after our unexpected freeze last Feb. but rebounded w/ unbridled vigor w/ all the rains we've had.

Plantladylin: I love the way they sort of spill down the hillside. Cool birdhouses, too. :)
Vossner: I'm amazed at the size! They're beautiful. Oh to be just one zone warmer. :)

I have an illustris that froze down and came back gigantic but I doubt the monstera would do the same. Perhaps my philo would be larger if we hadn't had an unusual very late freeze (April!) combined with a 3-month drought.

Thanks for the photos. Wow.
Deb
PS/Here's my illustris, twice as big as last year this time.