Types of Monstera: Every Variety and How to Choose Yours
🌿 Plant of the month: 15% off the Monstera Thai Constellation until 31 October. No code needed.
When someone says "I've got a Monstera", they almost always mean the Deliciosa, the one with the huge split leaves. But more than ten different plants go by that name in our shop, from easy-going classics to true collector's pieces.
Price isn't the only difference. Some Monsteras climb, some stay compact on a shelf, some are splashed with cream or white. This guide sorts them out so you can choose by what the plant actually does, rather than by a photo you liked.
🔍 What is (and isn't) a Monstera
Monstera is a genus of climbing plants from the tropical forests of Central and South America. In the wild they scramble up tree trunks using aerial roots, and their leaves get bigger and more dramatic the higher they climb.
In the plant trade, though, the name "Monstera" is used a little loosely. Monstera Minima, for example, is really Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, a close cousin from Southeast Asia with small, split leaves.
We keep the name you'll find in shops so you can recognise it, but it's worth knowing. The good news: it's cared for in almost exactly the same way.
🪟 Why Monstera leaves have holes
Those splits and holes are called fenestrations, from the Latin word for window. They're the reason the Monstera deliciosa is nicknamed the Swiss cheese plant.
A young Monstera usually has whole, heart-shaped leaves. Fenestrations appear as the plant matures and has enough light and energy to produce bigger leaves. So if your Monstera has no holes yet, it's usually just young, or asking for a brighter spot.
Why do they have them at all? Botanists have several theories. One of the best known is that the holes help the plant make the most of the patchy light on the forest floor, spreading a large leaf over a bigger area with less material. Others suggest they help leaves cope with wind and heavy tropical rain. Whatever the reason, they're what makes a Monstera so recognisable.
🌿 The classics
These are the Monsteras most people start with: forgiving, fast-growing and full of character.
- Monstera Deliciosa is the classic, with big, glossy leaves that split and fenestrate as they grow. Given room and a moss pole, it can easily reach two metres indoors. It's the most tolerant of the family and copes with medium light better than most.
- Monstera Deliciosa Bush is the same species grown with a fuller, bushier habit. It's ideal if you want lots of leaves at once and a lush, rounded shape for a living room corner.
- Monstera Adansonii, often called the Swiss cheese vine, has smaller leaves full of oval holes. It's a vining plant, so you can let it trail from a shelf or train it up a pole.
- Monstera Obliqua Peru, better known among collectors as Monstera 'Peru', has thick, textured, puckered leaves with no holes at all. It stays compact and looks almost sculpted.
✨ Silver and pale-leaved Monsteras
If you love the Monstera shape but want a softer colour, these two bring something different.
- Monstera Adansonii Mint has the familiar adansonii holes in lighter, minty green tones that brighten a shelf.
- Monstera Burle Marx Flame is named after the Brazilian landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx. Its deeply cut leaves look like flickering flames, and it's a favourite with collectors who like a shape nobody else has.
🎨 Variegated Monsteras
Variegation means parts of the leaf have little or no chlorophyll, which shows up as cream, white, mint or lime patterns. Every variegated leaf is unique, and that's exactly why these Monsteras are so sought after.
- Monstera Thai Constellation has cream speckles scattered across deep green leaves, like a starry sky. It's our plant of the month in October.
- Monstera Adansonii Variegated brings white and cream splashes to the familiar holey leaves.
- Monstera Frozen Freckles is covered in fine, frost-like speckles.
- Monstera Albo Variegata has bold white sections and streaks, some leaves half green and half white.
Stable or unstable variegation? This is the most useful thing to know before you buy a variegated Monstera. The Thai Constellation is grown in a laboratory from plants with consistent variegation, so its pattern is stable and carries on with every new leaf. The Albo's variegation, by contrast, is a natural mutation that can shift: a stem may start producing all-green leaves (known as reverting) or mostly white ones. It's part of the Albo's charm, but it means each plant is a little less predictable.
🪴 Compact Monsteras for small homes
No room for a two-metre Deliciosa? These stay far more manageable.
- Monstera Minima has split leaves like a mini Deliciosa and grows quickly up a small pole, taking up very little floor space.
- Monstera Obliqua Peru stays compact and slow-growing, perfect for a shelf or a desk.
- Monstera Adansonii can be kept small by letting it trail from a hanging planter or a high shelf.
💧 Care tips that work for every Monstera
The good news is that all these Monsteras share the same basics.
- Light: bright indirect light is ideal. Avoid strong midday sun in summer, which can scorch the leaves.
- Water: water when the top few centimetres of soil are dry, and empty the saucer afterwards. In autumn and winter they'll need water less often.
- Support: climbing Monsteras grow bigger, better-fenestrated leaves when they have a moss pole or a support to climb.
- Humidity: normal room humidity is fine for most; the rarer varieties appreciate a little extra, especially with the heating on.
One key rule for variegated plants: the more white a leaf has, the more light it needs. White and cream areas can't photosynthesise, so the green parts have to do all the work. Give variegated Monsteras your brightest indirect-light spot.
If you share your home with pets, it's worth knowing that Monsteras aren't marked as pet friendly in our catalogue. Our guide to pet friendly houseplants has plenty of alternatives.
🧭 Which Monstera should you choose?
| If you're… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Buying your first Monstera | Monstera Deliciosa or Monstera Adansonii |
| Looking for a big statement plant | Monstera Deliciosa or Deliciosa Bush |
| Short on space | Monstera Minima, Obliqua Peru or a trailing Adansonii |
| After variegation without the collector's price | Monstera Thai Constellation |
| A collector | Albo Variegata, Frozen Freckles or Burle Marx Flame |
| Working with medium light | Monstera Deliciosa (variegated Monsteras need more light) |
Whichever you choose, a Monstera rewards patience: every new leaf is a little bigger, a little more split and a little more impressive than the last.
