Monstera Siltepecana: Care Tips You Need to Know
The Monstera siltepecana is a Central American and southern Mexican monstera variety with a silvery sheen that requires loving care. I’ll tell you some must-know care tips ahead!
What are some care tips for the Monstera siltepecana? When growing the Monstera siltepecana, be sure to provide bright and indirect light, high humidity over 60%, consistent moisture, temperatures between 55-90°F, and well-draining soil amended with perlite.
In today’s article, I’ll break down the Monstera siltepecana’s care even more so you can grow this beautiful, variegated plant!
Monstera Siltepecana Care Tips to Know
1. The Monstera Siltepecana Is a Fast Grower and Needs Frequent Repotting
Most monstera varieties are considered fairly quick-growing, and it’s no exception for the Monstera siltepecana. If you’re not prepared for its fast rate of growth, you could be caught off-guard!
Siltepecana monsteras can grow up to two feet per year when they’re happy, so that’s something to anticipate when growing the Monstera siltepecana or silver monstera.
Plan to repot the plant at least annually and no more infrequently than every two years.
If you’re not sure whether it’s a good time to repot, just check the root system of your Monstera siltepecana, as it will tell you everything you need to know.
If you can see roots just under the top inches of soil, that means the roots have nowhere to go. So too is that the case if the roots are emerging from the drainage holes of the monstera’s pot.
The Monstera siltepecana can become rootbound just like any houseplant can that goes too long in the same snug pot. At that point, the plant becomes far harder to repot.
Damage to the root system is also likely, as the Monstera siltepecana can even choke off itself with its roots!
2. Provide Even Moisture for the Monstera Siltepecana
The tropical, wet regions that the Monstera siltepecana hails from necessitate similar conditions in its pot. Namely, you want to maintain moist soil around the clock.
Moist soil is moderately wet, but it’s certainly not soggy. If the soil feels soaking, then you’re watering this plant too much.
Most Monstera is sensitive to overwatering, and that’s true of the Monstera siltepecana too.
To keep its conditions just moist enough, allow an inch or two of the topsoil to dry out and water the plant then.
Use the fingertip test as your gauge. When the soil feels dry, only then should you top off the silver monstera’s water supply.
3. The Monstera Siltepecana Needs Specialized Soil
Part of how you maintain moist but not soaking conditions for the Monstera siltepecana besides watching how frequently you water the houseplant is by providing well-draining soil.
Rather than use standard potting soil, I’d recommend an aroid-formulated potting mix instead. The soil will be nice and aerated so water can easily exit the pot.
Even still, you should amend the Monstera siltepecana’s soil to keep the aroid mix in ideal conditions for this monstera.
Here are some soil amendments for your consideration.
- Charcoal: Biochar, a type of charcoal with a fine grain, is an ideal amendment for Monstera siltepecana. Charcoal can increase growth rates, prevent the leaching of nutrients in the soil, enhance the soil structure, stop the soil from becoming too dense, and improve the soil’s capacity to hold onto water.
- Orchid bark: I also highly recommend orchid bark, a common sight in the soil of epiphytic plants like the Monstera siltepecana. The chunky bark’s biggest benefit by far is introducing airiness to the soil and giving water passageways to exit through.
- Pumice: Pumicite or pumice is a type of volcanic rock that’s broken down into smaller chunks. It’s extremely porous and holds onto water for long periods, gradually releasing it. Pumice also limits soil compaction and boosts the soil’s aeration.
- Perlite: Another rock-based soil amendment, perlite prevents waterlogging and maintains a loose soil structure that Monstera siltepecana finds quite preferable.
- Peat moss: To control the pH of the silver monstera’s soil, peat moss is a smart soil amendment to use. The moss can also retain water and slowly let it go, which should reduce your need to water the Monstera siltepecana.
- Coco coir: Coconut coir should also be on your shortlist of soil amendments. The husks are incredibly fibrous, opening up the soil and keeping it loose. Coco coir can also absorb up to 10 times its own weight in water, so it will be excellent at preventing dry conditions for the Monstera siltepecana.
4. Bright, Indirect Light Is Just Right for the Monstera Siltepecana
The Monstera siltepecana is a variegated monstera variety. As a nickname like the silver monstera would suggest, its leaves are subtly dusted with a bright silvery-white hue.
Maintaining that beautiful variegation is as simple as providing bright, indirect light for the houseplant.
In its native environment, the Monstera siltepecana would grow under a dense forest canopy with taller plants and trees providing dappled cover for this monstera variety.
The plant can withstand moderately brighter light than dappled light when grown indoors in a cubicle or condominium, but only indirect light that’s filtered through a curtain.
An east-facing window is a good one to position the Monstera siltepecana in front of, as the light will never get overly harsh. A north-facing window is another great recommendation.
Never expose the Monstera siltepecana to direct sunlight, as its fenestrated, variegated leaves can burn. You’ll have to trim away at its beautiful foliage, and that’s always a shame.
5. The Monstera Siltepecana Can Survive in Dim Light, But It’s Not Recommended
Have some indoor gardeners gotten away with growing the Monstera siltepecana in dim light? Yes, they have, but it’s still not advisable.
Out in the rainforest, cloudy days are sure to pass through, leaving the silver monstera without sunlight.
The problem is that variegated houseplants need light. If they spend too long in the dark, the silvery sheen that the Monstera siltepecana is so beloved for can fade.
When new leaves grow from this epiphytic houseplant, they too will be greener than they are silver. It’s all so heartbreaking.
Keep in mind too that when grown in less-than-optimal lighting, the normally fast-sprouting Monstera siltepecana will grow its long vines are a reduced rate.
6. The Monstera Siltepecana Prefers a Room-Temperature Environment
How do you like your home or office? Probably not too cold and not too warm either, right?
If so, then you and the Monstera siltepecana will get along just fine. This plant also prefers a nice room-temperature environment to stretch out its vines and grow.
Temperatures on the lower end of 55 to 60 are fine for this plant, and the silver monstera is good in temperatures up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit too.
The real risk is if the temperatures go any lower than 55 degrees.
I don’t think that would happen when growing this houseplant indoors, even in an office where you don’t have dominion over the thermostat, but just in case, it’s good information to know.
If your Monstera siltepecana is too cold, its leaves may begin wilting, and you could see some unfortunate discoloration too. All growth will stop, but it can be days or weeks before you realize that.
The best way to save a houseplant from cold shock is to move it to a warmer locale, water it, and closely monitor it.
7. High Humidity Is a Must for the Monstera Siltepecana
Temperature is only one part of the equation when growing an indoor plant. You also need to supplement the plant with humidity.
At the very least, the Monstera siltepecana should have the humidity surrounding the plant at 60 percent. Remember, this plant grows in moist environments natively, so dry conditions can cause unwanted issues with your plant.
The silver monstera likes humidity up to 90 percent, but I recognize this might be a little too balmy for most people.
Anything over 60 percent suffices, so you don’t have to make your home into a greenhouse to accommodate the Monstera siltepecana.
How do you know how humid your home or office is? If you don’t already own one, I can’t recommend enough that you buy a hygrometer.
It’s a simple-to-use, inexpensive tool that makes such a big difference in maintaining the humidity needs of your indoor garden. All your plants can benefit, not only the Monstera siltepecana.
More than likely, your home won’t be humid enough on its own. That’s because while buildings do have humidity, it’s usually not higher than 50 percent.
I don’t recommend misting your indoor garden to make conditions moist enough for the Monstera siltepecana. That’s such a time-consuming venture, especially for a plant that needs as much humidity as the silver monstera.
Since I’m sure you have better things to do with your time than mist your plant nearly 24/7, buy a humidifier to do it for you.
8. Fertilize the Monstera Siltepecana During the Active Growing Season
Like most monsteras, the Monstera siltepecana grows in the spring through the fall. Those are perfect months for augmenting the houseplant’s growth with a healthy dosage of fertilizer.
If you already have liquid houseplant fertilizer handy, you can feed that to the silver monstera. Make sure you dilute the fertilizer to half-strength before each application.
The Monstera siltepecana only needs a fertilizer feeding once a month. Anything more frequent than that can introduce too many salts into the soil, which almost no plants like.
If you don’t have any liquid fertilizer handy, then you can always feed the Monstera siltepecana slow-release fertilizer.
Make sure you read the fertilizer instructions to gauge just how slow the slow-release properties are.
You won’t need to fertilize the silver monstera every month if you use a slow-release fertilizer, but maybe every several months instead.
9. The Monstera Siltepecana Needs a Climbing Pole
As an epiphyte, the Monstera siltepecana will grow, grow, and grow some more.
Whether you’ve planted yours in a pot or in a hanging basket, to control its vines, a climbing pole will be a big difference-maker.
You can control where the silver monstera grows, and more so, it might have larger leaf growth compared to an untamed Monstera siltepecana.
If your silver monstera doesn’t have any fenestrations or holes for a while, don’t panic. The plant has to mature first, and that can take upwards of three years to happen.
10. Don’t Expect Flowering from an Indoor Monstera Siltepecana
Is the Monstera siltepecana capable of producing flowers? Yes, indeed. These blooms resemble the faux white leaf that the peace lily has become so beloved for, so the flowers are truly a sight to behold.
That being said, you should not expect to see any of these flowers when growing the Monstera siltepecana indoors.
Its conditions are slightly more favorable outdoors than indoors, even if you’re doing everything right, so it flowers more readily outdoors.
Instead of tracking flowering as a gauge of how well you’re caring for the Monstera siltepecana, I would recommend measuring its growth instead. A well-growing plant is a happy plant, after all!
