The monstera might just be the most iconic houseplant of all time. Those bold, split leaves show up everywhere in logos, restaurant décor, and home goods, making it instantly recognizable. But bringing a monstera home and helping it thrive so it grows big, beautiful, and full of those signature splits takes a little know-how. Today, we’re revisiting one of my very first 20 episodes of Growing Joy in our Best of series with my plant friend Scott Cain, an Australian plant enthusiast with over 200 plants, including an incredible monstera collection. He’s the creator behind Boys With Plants on Instagram and Tropical Loco, and in this episode, we dive into care tips, design ideas, and strategies to help your monstera flourish. If you’ve got a monstera, listen in because your plant is about to get a whole lot happier.
In this episode, we learn:
- How family traditions inspired his current collection
- Scott breaks down the 200 plants that fill his apartment that are featured on his Instagram account, @tropicaloco
- How Scott has turned Instagram friends into #plantfriendsIRL
- His care secrets for dealing with the Australian summer/winter
- Why people who work from home should have plants
- Monstera care 101: light, watering, fertilizing
- Moss poles, what they are and why/if we need them
- Aerial roots, what they are and can we trim them?
- What fenestrations are
- What the difference is in deliciosa/borsigiana/adansonii/obliqua
- Scotts pruning practices for his Monstera collection
- How to take cuttings of your Monstera to make your plant look more full
- Troubleshooting for yellow and brown leaves
- Why the Monstera is such an sought after plant
- What’s up with variegation
- How and why he created @boyswithplants and why he is letting us know that he is the creator
- How to get featured on @boyswithplants
- The scoop on the new Boys with Plants Book!
Mentioned in our conversation:
Want your monstera to grow beautiful leaves?
Check out the full show notes and blog for Scott's top care tips and design ideas!
Follow Scott:
Scott's Graphic Design Company
Follow Maria and Growing Joy:
Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants)by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung
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