How often should you water a Monstera?

You should water a Monstera, by an east-facing window and in a 16 cm plastic pot, every 6 days in summer and every 8 in winter. Before each watering, check with a finger in the soil: if it’s still damp, wait.

Why does every Monstera need a different rhythm?

The Monstera (Monstera deliciosa) comes from the rainforests of southern Mexico and parts of Central America, where it grows in the shade of bigger trees and climbs their trunks towards the light. It likes soil that dries out a little between waterings — not soil that stays soggy, and not soil that stays dry for weeks.

Horticultural guides don’t agree to the centimetre: some want the compost to dry almost right through before a thorough soak, others are happy once the top two or three centimetres have dried. What they share is the idea of letting it dry before watering again, and that is where the rhythm comes from.

What sets the rhythm is how quickly the soil dries in your pot, and three things change that:

• Light. A brighter spot means a busier plant and a thirstier one. By a south-facing window the soil dries much faster than in a corner with no window.
• The pot. Bigger pots store more water and take longer to dry. The material counts too: terracotta breathes and lets water evaporate through its walls, while plastic and glazed ceramic hold on to it.
• The season. Summer days are long and warm; in winter the plant almost stops, and one watering lasts far longer.

Here’s one plant in one pot, in four different spots around the home:

Where it lives	In July	In January
South- or west-facing window	5 days	7 days
East-facing window	6 days	8 days
North-facing window	9 days	13 days
Hallway or corner with no window	13 days	18 days

Changing the pot shifts the rhythm as much as changing the light. At the same east-facing window, a 25 cm plastic pot needs water every 9 days in July; a 16 cm terracotta one, every 4.

In a corner with no window, a Monstera survives, but it grows slowly and stretches towards the light. That’s also where overwatering does the most damage: the soil takes so long to dry that the roots go days without air. If your home is short on light, there are plants that do better there.

How do I know it’s time to water?

Push a finger into the soil up to the second knuckle — about four or five centimetres. If it’s dry, it’s watering day. If it still feels cool and damp, wait a day or two and check again.

A few other signs help you decide:

• The weight of the pot. Pick it up straight after watering and again a few days on: once the soil is dry, the pot feels clearly lighter.
• Soil shrinking from the pot’s sides. A gap means it has been dry for a while.
• Drooping leaves. A late and ambiguous sign: thirst and overwatering both leave them looking like this.

What’s the right way to water?

• Pour slowly and generously until water drains from the bottom. The whole root ball gets wet and the roots at the base drink too.
• Tip out the saucer after half an hour. Roots left standing in water rot.
• Use room-temperature water. Ice-cold water shocks the roots.
• Use rainwater or filtered water if you can. The plant appreciates it most where tap water is very hard.
• Morning is the usual habit, so the plant has the whole day to use it.
• Skip the daily sips. They wet only the surface and leave the bottom dry — or, worse, soggy without anyone noticing.

Overwatered or underwatered: how can you tell?

Overwatered: lower leaves turning yellow, soil that’s always damp, a musty smell, fungus gnats around the pot, a soft stem, droplets on the leaves (the plant “sweats” when the soil is too wet) and dark roots instead of pale ones. It’s the most common mistake with houseplants, and the one that kills the most of them. If that’s what you’re seeing, read why Monstera leaves turn yellow.

Underwatered: droopy leaves curling at the edges, crispy brown tips, hard soil shrinking away from the pot. To read the signs more closely, see curling leaves.

For the whole picture, read how to care for a Monstera, and browse the Monstera plant page, with watering for every spot at home.

Does a Monstera need less water in winter?

With less light and less warmth, a Monstera grows very little and drinks less: by the east-facing window, its rhythm goes from 6 to 8 days. Central heating dries the air, but not always the soil — so in winter more than ever, check with your finger before you water. Watering the summer way is one of the commonest reasons houseplants are lost in winter. And hold the fertiliser until spring.

Quick questions

Can I water a Monstera from the top? Yes. Pour onto the soil, slowly, rather than onto the leaves, which only need an occasional wipe; leaves that stay wet without airflow invite fungus.

Is tap water okay for a Monstera? In most homes, yes. Let it come to room temperature first. If yours is very hard, rainwater or filtered water stops limescale building up in the soil.

Should I water in the morning or the evening? Morning is the usual habit, since the soil doesn’t then stay wet all night. More than the hour, what matters is that the soil has dried.

What if I’m away for a week? Water thoroughly before you leave and keep the plant somewhere softly lit. A mature Monstera copes better with a little thirst than with too much water.

So who remembers the day?

Knowing you water “when the soil dries” is easy. Remembering the right day, in a busy week, is something else — and with five plants, each on its own rhythm, it’s impossible to keep in your head.

Verdejar does the maths plant by plant, using your light, your pot and the month you’re in, and nudges you when it’s time. After each watering it asks how the soil felt — and with your answers, the rhythm tunes itself to your home.

Sources: Royal Horticultural Society · Missouri Botanical Garden · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension · Penn State Extension · University of Minnesota Extension · University of Illinois Extension · Oregon State University Extension. The days between waterings come from the Verdejar watering engine.