Monstera deliciosa and monstera borsigiana are two different plants of the same category. The tragedy is many garden stores sell Monstera borsigiana in the name of Monstera Deliciosa. Because both the plants look similar and a normal person cannot differentiate monstera deliciosa from borsigiana.
Today I will show you the difference between Monstera deliciosa and borsigiana. The difference is in their growth rate, leaf size, and price.
Monstera Deliciosa is very expensive than the Borsigiana.
You will also learn how to grow monstera deliciosa and borsigiana. As they are the member of single-family. Therefore, they have the same growing needs. The variety of monstera does not matter, the growing method is the same for all monstera types.
They need the same type of soil, amount of light, humidity, water, fertilizers to grow.
Let’s start:
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Monstera deliciosa vs borsigiana
First, we start from the differences so that we can easily identify each of them. Then we jump on how to grow monstera section of the article?
Below are the key factors that differentiate monstera deliciosa and borsigiana.
Growth Rate
Monstera borsigiana grows faster than the deliciosa. Borsigiana is a short-height plant whereas deliciosa grows up to 9 feet tall. Mostly the plants only reach to their maximum height in their native place. Monstera grows naturally in the forests of Mexico and Panama.
Monstera deliciosa only grow 2 feet in a single year. Whereas borsigiana achieve their full height in a year. So, if the plant you have in your house is growing rapidly then it is Monstera borsigiana.
And
If the plant is growing slowly then it is Monstera deliciosa.
Monstera deliciosa plants grow like a vine in their initial growing stage. If the plant looks a little mess with nesting flower stalks, then it is surely deliciosa.
On the other hand, if the plant is growing clean without making a nest of the stalk, then it is borsigiana.
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Leaf size ( Monstera deliciosa vs borsigiana )
You can identify both plants from their leaf size.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison horticulture research department. Monstera deliciosa leaves are bigger than borsigiana. Deliciosa leaves can grow up to 3 feet wide in the natural habitat.
Whereas the monstera borsigiana leaves grow a maximum of 1.5 feet. But when we grow them at home, they do not produce large size leaves.
The size of the plant depends on various care factors. To identify your monster plants. Give the same amount of light, water, fertilizers to each plant. Then the plant that produces big leaves is surely monstera deliciosa.
Petiole
The petiole is the part of the stem where it gets connected to the leaf. Monstera deliciosa stems have wrinkles where it joints to the leaf. You can see it with naked eyes. Even on touching you can feel the curvy edges of the stem.
This leaf structure is rare in tropical plants. This allows big-size heavy leaves to move freely. Wrinkles increase the flexibility of the plant stem. This saves plant stem and leaves in strong winds.
On the other hand, borsigiana has a normal plan petiole. Because the plant leaves are smaller in size and they do need much flexibility. So, the Mother nature gives them plant stem edges.
Price
The difference between the price tells you the difference between plants. Monstera deliciosa plants are expensive than Borsigiana plants. Depending on the size of the plant and the location of the store. The monstera deliciosa price between $ 23.99 to $98.99.
On the flip side, monstera borsigiana costs you just a few bucks.
Check the current price of Monstera plants on Amazon.
Growing Monstera Borsigiana and Deliciosa
Because of the member of the same family. Monstera plants have the same growing requirements. Follow the below monstera growing guide to grow all varieties of monstera plants.
Light
Monstera plants thrive in low-light conditions. In their native place, they grow on the jungle floor with the big trees. The sun rays fall on the tall plants and only a few of them reach the ground. This means our monstera plants do need direct sun rays but in a limited amount.
Put the plant on the windowsill in its initial growing stage. Make sure it gets 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight. The morning Sunrays are very beneficial for monstera plants. 7 am to 11 am is the best time to put plants in direct sun rays.
When the plant grows old then you need to find a corner in your house. Where it gets direct sunlight at least once a day. Because windowsill is not a perfect place for large plants.
On cloudy days you need to use grow light to fully fill the light requirements of the plants.
Any grow light between 100 watts to 250 watts is ideal for growing monstera plants.
Soil
Monstera deliciosa and borsigiana need well-draining soil to grow. The soil must be rich in organic content. Any good quality peat-based potting soil is good for growing monstera deliciosa and borsigiana.
Use your garden soil as the potting soil. You need to make it ideal for growing monstera. Add 2 parts of perlite, 2 parts of peat moss in it. This makes the normal garden soil perfect for container plants.
If possible, use pre-fertilized potting soil. This type of soil has all the nutrients to grow monstera plants. It has a good percentage of nutrients, organic material, etc. Just buy it from the market and use it for growing houseplants.
Water
Monstera deliciosa and monstera borsigiana do not need much water. Both the varieties are prone to root rot. So, water them carefully. Let the upper 2 inches of the soil completely dry before watering.
This will not kill the plants because the lower part of the root area has the moisture.
For watering monstera deliciosa and borsigiana use filtered clean water. Water the plants until the water starts coming out through the bottom drainage hole.
Then stop watering and leave the plant for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes clean the place and get rid of drained water.
For the next watering session, repeat the same process.
Check the soil conditions and then water.
To check the soil moisture level, use your finger. Insert the finger in the potting soil. If the soil felt moist do not water and check it another day.
Remember that plants need more water on summer days than on winter days. Frequent watering may require on hot summer days.
Humidity
As I said, Monstera plants are native to tropical forests. These forests are also called rain forests. Due to high rainfall, they have high moisture in the air. Plants that live in high moisture environments need the same conditions out of their natural place.
The humidity that we have in our homes is perfect for the monstera plants. The problem comes on hot days and in winter days. You need to maintain the correct balance of humidity on hot summer days. The hot air keeps the soil dry and sucks the moisture from the plant leaves.
You can put the plant in a high humid area if you have such place in your home. Turn ON the plant humidifier if you have one.
Or
You can put the plant pot on the water filled pebble tray. This is the most widely used method for increasing humidity for container plants. Here you need to make sure that the water in the tray should not touch the bottom hole of the pot.
Otherwise, this will result in root rot. Monstera plants are prone to root fungus diseases.
But they have strong leaves so you can mist the water on leaves to help the plant in hard weather conditions.
Temperature
These plants like to thrive in 15 degrees C to 28 degrees C. The best part is we all have our home temperature in this range. Little fluctuations in the temperature do not affect the plants.
The problem comes in winters when we turn on our central heating system. The temperature is not the problem. The hot air dries the potting soil quickly. If possible, put the plant pot away from the heating vents.
Fertilizer
You only need to fertilize your plants once a month. Fertilize monstera deliciosa and borsigiana from spring to summer.
If you are using a pre-fertilized potting mix. Then you don’t need to fertilize them. Because the soil has all the nutrients to grow to help them grow bigger.
If you give them an extra nutrient boost. This will burn them due to over-exposure to the nutrients.
Plant growing in normal potting soil needs nutrients on the side. Use liquid plant fertilizer, dilute it as per the instructions.
Propagation monstera deliciosa vs borsigiana
Propagating monstera plant is quite simple and easy. All you need to do is take the sterile sharp shear and cut the long healthy stem.
Then cut it into small parts, 6 inches each. If the stem has air roots do not worry about them.
Now plant the cutting in the pot that has multipurpose potting soil. Make sure each cutting has some leaves on the top.
Then put the plant on the windowsill. The cuttings only need four hours of direct sunlight. Do not fertilize them this will result in a total loss of cuttings.
In few days they will develop new tiny leaves. At this, you have well-established small plants. now take care of them to have big plants.
Cuttings grow similar to their mother plants.
Conclusion
Now you know the difference between monstera deliciosa vs borsigiana. If you still have doubts or need our help to grow plants. Contact us anytime, our team members will teach you more about the plants.
For quick help, visit our houseplant section to gain enough knowledge about growing and caring for plants.
