Monstera

Monstera (Monstera deliciosa) Supplier in the Philippines

Monstera went from familiar houseplant to landscape staple during the plant boom, and then the prices came back to earth. Now landscapers use it outdoors where it actually evolved: shaded beds, courtyard walls, and tropical understorey, the places where most bold-foliage plants sulk and thin out.

The iconic fenestrated leaves, the ones full of splits and holes, are among the most recognisable plant forms in the world.

We supply it at ₱200 to ₱3,000 per plant.

It Is Not a Philodendron

The plant is sold across the Philippines as “split-leaf philodendron.” That name is wrong, and it has been wrong for decades.

Monstera deliciosa is in the genus Monstera. Philodendron is a different genus. They share a family, Araceae, which is where the confusion began, but they are not the same thing.¹

The mistake is not just a nursery habit either. The ASPCA files this plant under “Cutleaf Philodendron”,² so even the safety authority uses the wrong genus. You are not going to win this argument at a nursery counter, and we do not try to. Just know that the label and the plant disagree.

What actually differs on the rack:

• Monstera deliciosa, the landscape one. Large leaves to 90 cm, with both splits and holes once mature.
• Monstera adansonii, smaller leaves with more holes than splits. A trailing or climbing accent, not a landscape-scale plant.
• “Borsigiana”, sold as a distinct thing, is a smaller and faster-growing form of M. deliciosa itself. Nurseries sell the two interchangeably and you will not reliably be able to tell them apart on a young plant.

The Honest Bit: Monstera and Pets

Monstera is toxic to cats and dogs.

The ASPCA lists Monstera deliciosa as toxic to both, with insoluble calcium oxalates as the toxic principle. Ingestion causes oral irritation, intense burning of the mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing.²

The burning starts immediately, which in practice stops most animals from eating very much. But it is genuinely painful, and this is one of the more unpleasant plants on the list to have a curious pet chew.

In a pet household: keep Monstera out of reach, use it as a climbing plant up a wall or trunk rather than as a bed-level plant, or put a confirmed pet-safe plant like santan in the reachable spots. The ASPCA lists Ixora coccinea as non-toxic to both dogs and cats.³

Why It Is Not Pool-Safe (And What To Do Instead)

Most of our shrubs are pool-safe. Monstera is one of the few that is not, and we would rather say so than let a client find out with a skimmer.

The reason is simply leaf size. Monstera leaves get to 90 cm across, and when they drop they are a serious amount of litter to fish out of the water. There is no fruit drop and the roots are non-aggressive, so the plant itself is not a hazard to the pool structure. It is the litter.

What works instead: use Monstera near a pool as a green wall or trellis planting set back from the deck, where the litter falls into a bed rather than into the water. Do not plant it at the deck edge.

Fenestration: Why Your Monstera Has No Holes

This is the single most common Monstera complaint, and the answer is almost never fertilizer.

Monstera produces split leaves only as it climbs. It is a forest-floor plant heading for the canopy, and fenestration is what it does on the way up. A Monstera left flat on the ground, with nothing to grip, will keep producing entire, unsplit leaves indefinitely, no matter how big it gets or how long you wait.

The two causes, in order of likelihood:

1. No climbing support. Give it a moss pole, a trellis, or a tree trunk. This is usually the whole problem.
2. Too little light. Deep shade slows leaf maturation. It wants bright filtered light, not darkness.

Fenestration typically develops after 12 to 18 months of growth on a support. This is also why our pricing tracks leaf count and fenestration rather than height: a tall plant that has never climbed is still an unsplit plant, and it is not the plant the client is picturing.

Growing Requirements

• Sun: partial shade to filtered light. Direct afternoon sun burns the leaves. Morning sun with afternoon shade is ideal.
• Water: moderate. Consistent moisture, never soggy. Let the top layer of soil dry between waterings.
• Soil: rich, well-drained, high in organic matter. Amend with compost or coco peat. It does not tolerate heavy clay.
• Space: allow 1.5-2 m per plant at ground level. On a support, make sure the structure is sturdy, because a mature Monstera gets heavy.
• Containment: it spreads by runners and aerial roots. Without periodic trimming it will climb trees and move into neighbouring beds.

Landscape Uses

• Shaded garden beds, as bold foliage where little else performs
• Wall and fence climbing, with support
• Tropical understorey beneath tall trees
• Container statement plant for covered patios and lobbies
• Courtyard and atrium planting
• Green walls and trellis screening

Size & Pricing

Plant material only:

Pricing tracks leaf count and fenestration, not just height. Variegated forms (Thai Constellation, Albo) are significantly more expensive, sold separately, and not generally used at landscape scale.

Care Tips

• Give it a support. A moss pole, trellis, or tree trunk. Supported plants produce larger, more fenestrated leaves. This is the whole game.
• Prune runners and wayward growth to keep it in bounds.
• Wipe leaves occasionally to remove dust. It improves both appearance and photosynthesis.
• Fertilize monthly during the wet season with a balanced fertilizer.
• Watch for mealybugs on new growth and leaf undersides.
• Large leaf drop is normal. Remove fallen leaves to keep beds tidy, and keep them out of the pool.

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