The Swiss Cheese Plant, a popular term for Monstera adansonii and Monstera deliciosa, is a staple of tropical indoor gardening. These plants are celebrated for their vibrant green foliage and the characteristic natural holes, or fenestrations, that give them their common name. As the vines lengthen, owners often wonder if the plant should trail or if it naturally climbs vertically. Understanding the plant’s native behavior is key to maximizing its potential indoors.
The Natural Growth Habit
The Swiss Cheese Plant is naturally a vining plant that seeks vertical support. In the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, these plants are known as hemi-epiphytes. They start life rooted in the ground but quickly climb up larger trees to escape the dim forest floor and reach brighter light. This upward growth is driven by negative phototropism when young, causing the plant to initially grow away from light to find a dark, solid support structure. Once a host tree is found, the plant transitions to positive phototropism, growing toward the light source at the canopy. When grown indoors without support, this natural vining habit results in sprawling or trailing growth.
The Climbing Mechanism
The Swiss Cheese Plant uses specialized structures called aerial roots for climbing, which emerge from the nodes along the stem. These roots are distinct from the plant’s feeder roots, which absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Aerial roots serve multiple purposes, including absorbing moisture from the humid air and providing stability.
Anchor Roots and Thigmotropism
The roots dedicated to climbing are known as anchor roots, designed to seek out and attach firmly to a vertical surface. This behavior is governed by thigmotropism, the plant’s directional growth response to physical contact with a solid object. Anchor roots develop small, fuzzy mechanisms that adhere strongly to a textured support structure, securing the plant as it ascends.
Practical Support Methods for Indoor Climbing
Facilitating the plant’s climbing instinct indoors requires providing a suitable support structure that mimics a tree trunk. The most popular method is using a moss pole, which is effective because the aerial roots can penetrate the moist sphagnum moss. Allowing roots to grow into the pole provides physical support and an additional source of moisture and nutrients.
Trellises offer a broader, flatter surface for the vines to spread out, useful for managing large plants. For smaller specimens, a simple wooden or bamboo stake offers enough initial support. When attaching the vine, use a soft tie or clip to gently secure the stem, guiding the aerial roots to make contact with the pole or trellis so they can attach naturally.
Trailing vs. Climbing: Visual Differences and Leaf Size
The choice between allowing the plant to trail or encouraging it to climb results in noticeable visual differences in the foliage. When a Swiss Cheese Plant climbs a vertical support, it mimics its natural ascent toward the forest canopy and begins to produce mature leaves. This maturity is expressed through a significant increase in leaf size and the prominence of fenestrations.
A supported plant develops larger, more deeply split leaves because it perceives itself as having reached the light-rich upper environment. Conversely, a plant left to trail or sprawl retains its juvenile foliage, characterized by smaller leaves with fewer or no splits. This occurs because the trailing plant senses it is still on the dark forest floor, prioritizing the production of numerous, smaller leaves to search for a climbing host.