You bought a monstera because of the split leaves. Two years later it is throwing out healthy, solid, entirely unsplit foliage and you are wondering what you did wrong.
Usually, nothing. Fenestration, the holes and splits, is a function of maturity and light. In most San Antonio homes it is the light that is missing.
Young plants do not split, and that is normal
A juvenile Monstera deliciosa produces heart-shaped leaves with no holes at all. Splits begin as the plant matures, usually once leaves reach a reasonable size. If yours is a young plant in a 6 inch pot, it is not ready yet, and no amount of care will rush it.
Worth knowing before you buy: Monstera adansonii fenestrates from very young, while deliciosa takes its time. If you want holes immediately, adansonii is the honest answer.
Light is almost always the reason
In the wild these climb trees toward the canopy, and fenestration is thought to let wind and light pass through to leaves below. A plant in dim light has no reason to split. It needs every square centimetre of surface it can get.
Monsteras want bright indirect light, and properly bright. Most people keep them too far from a window, and San Antonio makes that worse than it sounds: the shaded balconies and deep overhangs that keep houses cool in summer also cut indoor light substantially.
Get it within a metre or so of an east window, or a south window with a sheer curtain. Not an unshaded west window in summer, which will scorch it.
Give it something to climb
This is the step people skip. Monsteras are climbers, and a plant sprawling sideways across a shelf stays in juvenile mode more or less indefinitely. Attach it to a moss pole or a plank and let the aerial roots grip.
Climbing triggers the shift to mature growth. It is the single most effective change most people can make, and it costs very little.
Do not cut the aerial roots
They look untidy and people trim them. They are how the plant anchors and takes up moisture as it climbs. Tuck them toward the pole or into the soil instead.
Stop repotting it every year
Monsteras push mature growth more readily when the roots are reasonably snug. A plant bumped into a bigger pot every spring spends its energy filling that pot rather than maturing. Repot when roots come out the drainage holes, not on a calendar.
Texas specifics
- Water: monsteras are moderately sensitive to hard water. Brown crispy edges alongside otherwise good growth usually means mineral build-up, not underwatering. Flush the pot monthly.
- Humidity: they cope with 30 percent far better than a calathea, though higher helps leaf size. Not worth buying a humidifier for.
- Summer: keep it off the AC vent. Cold air blowing on foliage causes yellowing that gets blamed on watering.
- Winter: growth stops from about November to February. No new leaves in January is normal.
A realistic timeline
Bright light plus a pole plus patience generally means first splits within a season or two. There is no trick that produces them in a month, and anyone selling you one is guessing.
Our monsteras are grown on in Boerne until they can handle a move, in the same water and air your house has. See what is ready, or ask us what size makes sense for your light.