How and When to Fertilize Monstera Plant? - Grow with Care

Why does my plant stop growing or die, even when I water and fertilize the plant regularly?  This article will answer your question. It usually happens when you fertilize your plant at the wrong time with an inappropriate fertilizer. Every plant comes with its own feeding and nutritional requirements.

How and When to Fertilize Monstera Plant?

Monstera plant is high tropical foliage and has its own specific requirements. Well, it's really sad to see your monstera plant drooping and dying. If you want to rejuvenate the health of your monstera or make it bushy, give it a read. In this guide, I'll share my schedule and the best fertilizer I use to fertilize my Monstera Plants.

What is the Best Time to Fertilize monstera Plants?

Monstera plants have high tropical foliage that grows with its maximum potential in the spring and summer seasons. However, when you bring a new monstera plant home, the soil has maximum nutrients because potting soil is fortified with nutrients. So initially, you should fertilize the plant once a month if it's a growing season or every 50 days in winters.

After 5 to six months, you should follow a strict schedule to feed your plant if you want healthy growth. In the growing season, you should fertilize the plant every ten days or every two weeks, depending upon the size of the plant. In winters, plants become dormant and stop growing, so you should also stop fertilizing to give them a bit of rest.

What is the Best Fertilizer to Fertilize a Monstera Plant?

Monstera plants have specific nutritional requirements in different seasons and stages of life. Here are the three best options you can buy to fertilize monstera plants.

NPK (20-20-20) All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer

20-20-20 NPK All-purpose liquid fertilizer is an ideal choice for healthy and growing monstera plants. This fertilizer contains equal concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and is a well-balanced diet for the growing plant. You should prefer all purpose-liquid fertilizer with this formula to encourage the growth of plants.

Compost

Since potted plants are totally dependent on the potting soil, they don't get anything from the environment. You can mimic the natural environment by feeding your monstera plant with well-drained compost. Compost is an organic fertilizer that provides the plant's essential nutrients and improves the soil structure.

Also, adding compost once a year means there is no need to report the plant every year. Monstera plants grow best in slightly acidic pH(5.5-6.5), so a well-drained peat moss compost is best for them. Add a 1-inch or 1 ⁄ 2-inch layer of compost every year and gently mix it with soil.

3-1-2 Synthetic Fertilizer

This fertilizer ratio is ideal if your monstera plant is turning yellow or brown. Monstera plants have big green foliage and require higher amounts of nitrogen. The leaves start turning yellow or brown when there is a deficiency of nitrogen in the soil. 3-1-2 synthetic fertilizer contains 3 parts of nitrogen, 1 part of phosphorus, and 2 parts of potassium. Monstera plants will be able to recover their foliage if fed with this synthetic fertilizer.

In the case of synthetic fertilizers, you should be very careful because overfertilization can severely damage your plants. Start by feeding with a small amount of fertilizer and gradually increase the quantity. Stop using this fertilizer when the plant has recovered and use an all-purpose organic fertilizer. Also, if you are using liquid fertilizer, dilute the fertilizer with water to make it soft for your plants.

FAQs

Wrapping Up

Monstera plant is one of my favorite houseplants since it has minimal feeding and maintenance requirements. However, if you want your plant to thrive for years to come, it is critical to fertilize it with a well-balanced organic fertilizer.