Monstera deliciosas are a highly popular houseplant, native to parts of Mexico and Panama. It’s popular because of the highly attractive and decorative foliage that the plants develop (see image below). They’ve even become a trending thing on Instagram with #MonsteraMonday akin to #MancrushMonday. Now, of course, I wanted to join the fun, but I couldn’t do it any old way! I decided to purchase some Monstera deliciosa seeds from Amazon! (UPDATE: Since this post was written, I have started offering authentic Monstera deliciosa seeds for purchase from my website.)
I’ll be providing periodic updates as they grow from hatchlings to full grown beasts! I hear they’re quite slow to grow, but I like a challenge. When I’m given a plant that’s fully grown or at least developed, there’s always trial and error to learn what kind of environmental conditions it need.
When I grow a plant from seed, I really learn the growing conditions that a plant thrives in. I encourage my followers to try growing your favorite plants from seed.
You’ll find an enormous pride once the plant grows into adulthood from a simple seed. Of course, if you lose the plant along the way, you’ll be kicking yourself. But that’s why I like to start off with a healthy number of seeds, because I know that I will probably lose a few plants along the way!
How to Germinate
Sterilize the soil
I typically try to sterilize my soil when I’m seed starting. I get my soil damp and spread it out over a plate. I then microwave it for about 5 minutes (yeah it will smell funky as can be). I let it cool and then dispense in the containers.
Seed prep
For these seeds, I don’t pre-score, soak them, or provide any special treatment. I simply bury the seed slightly, by just barely covering the seed completely with the sterilized soil.
The waiting game
The first seeds to germinate took about 5 days. Some have taken about 3 weeks. I’d say, on average, healthy monstera seeds will germinate in about 10-14 days under good conditions. That means high humidity, and high heat. Simple enough. While it may feel tempting to put your seeds or seedlings to catch some sun, especially if you’re trying to heat the soil and activate germination, it is never a good idea to introduce direct outdoor sun to your seedlings. At this age, the plants are far too young to experience direct sun. It will burn them to hell. Typically, in nature, they’ll start off growing under the canopy of an adult plant, shielded from the sun’s harshest rays. If you’re trying to get additional heat or growing seeds in the winter, consider a grow mat and artificial lighting.
Humidity
To get the humidity necessary to activate germination, I usually put cling film over the pots, which seals in the moisture needed to sprout. I remove the cling film soon after germination (for cacti, that’s another story and blog post). Just make sure they don’t dry out! They don’t have the moisture reserves that a normal plant would have. Basically treat them like helpless babies. Because they’re not far from it. Stay tuned as I continue to provide progress shots and commentary below.
Can’t wait for my first hole-y leaf…
Bae•tanical
- 3 Week old seedling about to unfurl.
- 4 Weeks old – same seedling completely unfurled.
- 5 Weeks old – sibling finally sprouting. It shows the variability of time for germination.
- A group photo of those that have germinated.
- A seedling that’s opening up. It looks as though its reaching for light so I may slowly bring it closer and closer to the light. Right now the seedlings are in a shaded part of my yard.
- I planted two seeds in a few of the containers. I’m curious to know if it will help or hurt growth.
42 Comments
Sarah WIlson
July 18, 2018 at 7:10 pmgreat info! i have just ordered some seeds on amazon and cant wait to try to grow my own little monsteras. did you water the seedlings daily while waiting for germination?
james
July 18, 2018 at 7:56 pmHi Sarah!
I don’t think I did give them any additional water while I was waiting for germination. Because I put them in their own little greenhouse (a sealed ziploc baggie or you can try cling film), they didn’t lose any of the moisture they started with so it wasn’t necessary.
James
Elaine
August 17, 2018 at 10:49 pmWhat did the seeds look like? I just got some from eBay (risky I know! Lol) and they are super tiny flecks almost. I am going to try and see what happens. I have mine in an aluminum casserole pan with a plastic lid on top of a warming mat. Can’t wait to see what happens. How long did yours take to sprout above soil?
james
August 19, 2018 at 6:46 pmHi Elaine!
The seeds look like little brown peas from what I can remember. I bought mine off Amazon so sometimes you just have to take a risk and buy from a random dealer. Usually it works (I’ve had times when it doesn’t, of course). It sounds like your seeds might be a bit small, but just try them out and see! Your setup sounds perfect. Mine sprouted in about 1-2 weeks. Please keep me updated!!
James
Sara
October 3, 2018 at 3:49 amThe seeds are about the size of a large baked bean, light green in colour when fresh – they do tend to turn brown as they get older. On a heat mat in a mini greenhouse with good humidity levels (or pot covered with plastic kitchen wrap) with fresh seeds you would expect to see germination starting within 1-3 weeks. There are unfortunately a lot of dodgy seed sellers on Amazon and eBay. We have a small nursery and have not been let down yet by a seller on eBay called ‘The Seed Vine’.
Hope that helps!
james
October 16, 2018 at 1:17 amThis is wonderful information, Sara. Thank you for sharing!
Leeanne
October 24, 2020 at 10:05 pmHi Sara,
I am one of the co-owners of The Seed Vine in Victoria. We were all very humbled to see this comment and wanted to say THANK YOU! It is that time of year and we have just received a fresh harvest of Monstera deliciosa again. Please get in touch at theseedvine@gmail.com and we will supply some complimentary seeds to say thanks for your kind words.
All the best
Leeanne
Lis
September 20, 2018 at 9:53 pmHi! Any new updates on the plants? Does it have to be special soil?
Thanks, can’t wait to try 🙂
james
September 26, 2018 at 3:04 pmHi Lis!
I’m working on an update right now 🙂 I’ll have it up in the next couple of day and will cover soil. Good luck!
James
james
October 16, 2018 at 1:16 amHi Lis, I’ve posted a new Monstera deliciosa blog. Please take a look at it here. Happy gardening!
Susan Siracusa
February 19, 2020 at 1:40 pmI collected some seeds from a delicious fruit in Madeira and planted them back home. One of them has sprouted and now has two leaves and growing well. But it is white in colour, no green at all. Is this right and it turns green later? Confused.
fightingCora
October 10, 2018 at 10:51 pmFound your blog by looking for someone who grew theirs from seeds. Mine arrived today and I am ready to get them started. Thanks for sharing!
james
October 16, 2018 at 1:15 amAnytime! I just wrote an update on my monsteras. Take a look at it here. Happy gardening!
Carla
April 6, 2020 at 10:24 pmSusan, the same thing happened to me!!! I don’t know what to think. Mine is completely white…even the stem. What ended up happening with yours?
Brandon and Harley
October 4, 2020 at 7:04 pmWe have some from a fruit as well we planted 13 all came up but 2 completely white, we’re not sure why would you be willing to send us some pictures to compare ours to yours, it would be greatly appreciated. Look forward to hearing from you,
Zoe
October 13, 2018 at 5:48 amHello
I brought some seeds off Etsy and they were black and flat. Does this sound right?
Also, I’ve sprouted some and there are no leaves. They have like a white pointy end. I could send a pic. It’s very odd
Zoe benjamin
October 13, 2018 at 5:48 amHello
I brought some seeds off Etsy and they were black and flat. Does this sound right?
Also, I’ve sprouted some and there are no leaves. They have like a white pointy end. I could send a pic. It’s very odd
james
October 16, 2018 at 1:13 amHi Zoe! Those sadly do not sound like Monstera deliciosa seeds to me. I’ve added a description of what the seeds look like in my newest blog. You can see it here.
Amin Hussain
November 3, 2018 at 3:15 amOh wow….6 days and I can see little shoots just poking through. I put 2 seeds in each pot, covered in cling film and then put them on top of the central heating.
james
November 4, 2018 at 10:39 pmAwesome! Can’t wait to hear how they develop.
James
Sarah
November 5, 2018 at 4:34 pmAmin, where did you find seeds to purchase??
james
November 26, 2018 at 4:23 pmHi Sarah,
I am now offering Monstera deliciosa seeds for purchase.
https://baetanical.com/product/monstera-deliciosa-seeds/
Sarah
November 26, 2018 at 4:56 pmOmg! Yay!!!! Thank you!
Niki
January 3, 2019 at 8:36 amHello! This blog is the best info on growing Monstera on the entire internet!! Any suggestion on temperature? I tried out some seeds following your instructions, but maybe didn’t have enough heat. I’ve got some more, so wanted to check in before planting. Thanks for your help!
james
January 4, 2019 at 6:51 pmHi Niki! It seems like between 70 and 76 degrees fahrenheit is the sweet spot. I use this heat mat during germination and it works excellent.
https://amzn.to/2qQY1Sr
niki
January 4, 2019 at 8:54 pmThanks so much James! I’ve got a heat mat under my little propagation station, so hopefully it works!
Stan
January 9, 2019 at 2:11 amI have the variegated and it has one fruit on it..variegated. About when is it ripe and any photos of the seeds in the fruit? Any idea if M.borsigiana fruit are fertile?
james
January 10, 2019 at 9:22 pmHey Stan,
I’m actually not sure! Can anyone else help him out with his question?
James
Majka
April 27, 2019 at 5:53 pmHi,
I would like to order seeds of Monstera Variegata.
Could you maybe send me a link where you’ve bought them?
I see on your side are sold out.
Thanks:)
james
April 30, 2019 at 3:19 pmHi there! Most (if not all?) Monstera variegatas are propagated from cuttings. I don’t know if seeds breed true with the variegation or if they revert back to their typical non-variegated form once they’re crossed.
I should have normal Monstera deliciosa seeds available for purchase again in July!
George
April 30, 2019 at 2:16 pmWould a jar with a lid work to seal in humidity? thanks!
james
April 30, 2019 at 3:16 pmI hadn’t thought about it before, but I think that would work. I would actually plant your seed in a typical plastic pot, then put the whole thing in the jar with the lid. I would not plant the soil directly in the jar because it wouldn’t have drainage in the future. Just want to clarify 🙂
James
How to propagate a Monstera. It's easy! - House Raccoon
May 7, 2019 at 10:08 am[…] Monstera sapling, three weeks after planting – Baetanical […]
Marlene
July 31, 2019 at 8:15 pmI have a monstera seed pod. How do i know when they are ready to plant.
Erik
October 8, 2019 at 8:07 pmHi James!
Question, when you plant your seed slightly below a thin layer of soil, is there a certain direction that one should position the seed? Laying down? With one end pointing up? Thank you!
james
October 8, 2019 at 9:57 pmI put them on their side to ensure that they’re not upside down. I think there’s technically a top and a bottom, but putting them on their side seems to do the trick.
James
Gabrielle
January 11, 2020 at 12:29 amHi! I just ordered some seeds and I am going to give this thing a try. I am wondering, how much water did you give them after putting soil on top? How many hours should I have a grow light on? I have heard they develop strong and large roots systems, so I was thinking of planting 4 seeds in a small terra cotta pot. Thoughts on that? Any additional advice for success would be so appreciated. Thanks 🙂
james
January 13, 2020 at 5:37 pmHi Gabrielle!
I just make sure the soil remains pretty moist until they germinate. The amount of time you have your grow light will depend on how powerful your grow light is, as well as how close you have it to your pots. You may need to experiment to see, but maybe start small at around 5 or 6 hours a day and slowly increase the amount of time. You don’t want to burn them or stress them out, so less light is better than more in this situation. Yes they do well when planted together, just make sure they don’t dry out until they’re older seedlings.
Best of luck! It can take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks to germinate FYI!
James
Gabrielle
January 15, 2020 at 5:40 pmThank you so much for taking the time to respond. I truly appreciate it.
Gabrielle
Aggelos
January 21, 2020 at 1:25 amHey, can you please tell me where did you ordered your seeds from coz i have a hard time finding true monstera seeds…
Patrick
August 28, 2020 at 11:30 pmThanks for this, exactly what I needed and so easy to follow
Shekina
September 24, 2020 at 5:22 amHow many seeds can should I put in a 6-inch pot? And how much space between the seeds should there be? Thank you in advance!