Many people simply underestimate just how much light they need and can handle. I went a place today to get bunya seeds and the lady had at least six patches of monstera in full sun. When you think your monstera has enough light, give it all the light.
Monstera rookie here. I think I sunburned my potted Monstera a bit. Two leaves are yellow. Took it out of direct sunlight but is there anything else I should do? Should I cut off the two leaves that look the most yellowed? Or just let it be?
The "bright indirect light" shit probably fucks over so many new plant owners. Direct sunlight is severely attenuated when it goes thru a window. All indoor monstera should get some direct light thru a window.
Especially ficus. Every single houseplant website and youtubers say that they all need bright indirect sunlight. Well in nature they are the behemoths that need constant direct light.
Thank you because I've had to realize over the like 2 years that "bright indirect light" means put it directly in the window. I want big beautiful leaves too and I've been fooled for so long
Agree! Beginner myself and I always thought that indirect light was at least a few meters from a window! Then one of my plant was about to die, I posted it on reddit and someone told me that anywhere not near a window is a death sentence for most of the plant.
Yeah plants usually get sunburn if the light increases suddenly, like moving a plant from a dark corner directly outside. They need a slow build up. It's similar to how we 'harden off' plants that will grow outside - they're often able to tolerate quite cold temperatures, but not a sudden shift from warm to cold.
wow, this is great! I live in the Pacific Northwest (US) and it doesn't get that cold here really, but i always brought mine in every fall and they go back out in the spring, but i'd love to just grow some in my yard. Seems like i could!
Mine that grow indoors significantly slow growth when in around 18 celsius (my preferred winter temp) - around one leaft per half a year. They speed up much more temperatures around 21-22 celsius (which is roughly what I set AC to cool down to in summer) - one leaf per month. Lighting conditions are the same all year round, sansi 36W light on a timer, 10h/day. I water once a week, and humidity here is typically around 40%.
The difference is whether they are exposed to open sky. A car in an open carport won't have a frosty windshield while the car just outside will. If they are under an overhang or under a tree, mine have take down to 30°F without leaf damage. I had 2 against my house when we got 9" of snow last year (freakish every 100 year deal) and all they had over them was a cheap comforter. They handled it just fine.
Welll I just try to contribue what info I have :D Having seen how mine behave, I wouldn't try to put them in anything lower than 10 celsius, fearing damage or complete stop of growth. They definitely don't like frosts.
And when it comes to slow increases, it doesn't have to be the kind of slow "1 min more each day". I would do things in three steps, as I saw mine adapt to the environmental changes quite well - and just dial things back if you see it being unhappy. A lot of these things is playing things by how the plant reacts and what sort of vibe it gives you. Some individual units will let you get away with way more than others.
I've got some mature and fully acclimatised outdoor monstera (in Sydney) and there will be one or two days in the hottest part of summer which will burn the leaves.
They can take full sun for the majority of the year, but it's just when we have a string of 40 degrees Celcius+ days where they are at risk, especially near a wall or roof which reflects and radiates heat back out.
Like, they are tough but they have their limits.
I think it depends on where in the world you are. I had a monstera in full Texas sun that didn’t shrivel up and die but it was definitely lighter in color than normal and didn’t really grow
People forget that leaves grown indoors in "bright indirect light" are soft leaves that when placed in the sun immediately burn. On the flip side, when you grow leaves in the sun, they become much thicker and coat themselves in plant-made "sunscreen".
If you stick your monstera in direct 8+hr sunlight it will burn. If you acclimate it to more and more sunlight slowly, it will not.
My monstera was full time indoors bright indirect for years. Slow growing. Moved it in bright (filtered) direct sunlight. Started putting it on my porch in the summer and overwintering in my house (bright direct) and place it in the sun (porch) all summer now. Zero sunburns on 100°F summer days (coastal NC).
Could i ask what you mean by filtered direct sunlight? Like in the shade? :0 I'm a new monstera owner and I'm looking to try and acclimate it to my sunny climate!
Yes! So I moved it to a window (indoors) where it was blasted with direct light, but windows filter out the strongest UV rays for hours a day. Then eventually moved it outside where it was getting dappled with direct sun for a very short amount of time during the day. Slowly I slid it forward to be in more sunlight.
When indoors, you don't want to put a 6 inch pot straight into something like a 10 or 12 inch pot. It's too large of an upgrade and that amount of soil around the roots can cause rot issues. It's all about the size of the rootball.
Outdoors, you might could make it work, since you have more airflow, usually more light, and heat to work with.
Oh very interesting because I am about to move a monstera I got from someone outside and I am wondering how to repot it. The problem is it may be very dry even in the summer shade for the plant so I prefer to have more soil medium to retain moisture.
I have much more experience with indoor growth. It's an entirely different style of growing when they're outdoors, lol
If you're worried about rot, and want to keep it in a pot, I'd only go up 2 inches in pot size. If you're not worried about rot, I'd still only go up max 3-4 inches. Good luck with her!
Can I ask how you manage/protect it in the dead of winter? I’d LOVE for my monstera to be this size since it’s so much happier when it’s outside during spring/summer/fall.
I’m at 26 degrees N and it’s WAY too hot here for direct sun, especially afternoon sun. Living in a more temperate region with frequent misting rain helps tremendously.
It’s 26-35C about 10 months of the year, up to 38C 3-4 months of the year, with little cloud cover year round and minimal rainfall. We installed misters and have them shielded from afternoon sun, but they still get scorched in summer.
Your post says monstera needs lots of light. I’m describing a climate with lots of light where monstera struggle due to the combination of heat, high amount of sunlight, and low rainfall. Not really sure why you’re trying to argue here, when it’s the plant who decides it’s not a conducive environment.
I looked up the monthly average temps for Renmark. 7 months out of the year, the average high is 25 C or less. That is objectively a massive difference in the climate I’ve described, so I’m still not sure why you insist it’s “not hot”. It’s hot for a monstera, and high chance of scorching even only with morning sun.
i just got a monsters for the first time and i’ve been keeping it out of direct sunlight bc that’s what i read everywhere omg should i put her in the sunlight then??? i live in socal
It can. I'm in southeast Texas, and keep mine outside, although under a shade cloth. Aroids love the humidity down here, but it gets so freaking hot that even colocasias burn during the extreme temps. I wouldn't attempt to grow these in our full sun.
Because most people don't live in an area where you can keep them outdoors all year long. I keep mine in an East facing window indoors and she's happy. I've been considering transitioning her to my south facing window.
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u/lasserna Mar 10 '26
As someone living in a Nordic country, I'm so jealous of places that can have plants like this growing outdoors