How to prune a Monstera (Swiss cheese plant)

To prune a Monstera, cut with clean secateurs just above a node, because that is where the plant grows back from. The best time is spring, when growth picks up again. Yellow or damaged leaves can come off at any time, cut close to the stem.

Why would a Monstera need pruning?

The Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa) is a climber: in the wild it scrambles up tree trunks, holding on with its aerial roots. Indoors, with nothing to climb, it tends to spread sideways and flop. It doesn’t need pruning to stay healthy; pruning does three jobs: removing old or damaged growth, keeping the plant to the size of its spot, and giving it a tidier shape.

If your plant fits its space and looks well, there’s nothing to cut. Quite often a support does a better job than secateurs.

Where should you cut a Monstera?

A node is the point on the stem where a leaf grows from: a slight bump, usually with an aerial root or a little brown stub beside it. That’s where the buds for new stems sit. University of Minnesota Extension explains that a piece without a node (a leaf, or a leaf stalk on its own) won’t grow again and eventually rots.

That gives you the one rule of pruning: new growth comes from the node below your cut. Cut a little above it, without damaging it. A long stub above the node does nothing, and a cut that takes the node away removes the very spot the plant would have grown from.

When is the best time to prune a Monstera?

The Royal Horticultural Society suggests cutting back a Monstera that has outgrown its space in spring, and growing guides broadly agree: that’s when the plant has the light and warmth to respond quickly. In autumn and winter, as now in November, it grows slowly and a big wound sits waiting for a long time.

That applies to cuts for size or shape. A yellow, torn or dried-up leaf can go today: removing it doesn’t ask the plant to grow, it just takes away something it no longer uses.

How to prune a Monstera, step by step

1. Look before you cut. Decide what you’re after: removing old leaves, lowering a runaway stem, or shortening the whole plant.
2. Clean your secateurs (rubbing alcohol is fine). A clean, sharp blade makes a neat cut that heals better.
3. Old or damaged leaves: cut the whole leaf stalk close to the main stem, not just the yellow part.
4. Long stems: follow the stem down to the node you want it to regrow from and cut a little above it.
5. Take a little at a time. A hard prune leaves the plant with few leaves to feed itself; if there’s a lot to remove, spread it over more than one spring.
6. Keep what you cut. A piece with a node and a leaf will make a new plant: our guide to Monstera cuttings shows where to cut for that, which is a different spot (below the node, not above it).

Should you cut off aerial roots?

Here the sources don’t agree. Some people trim them with no trouble; others prefer to leave them, as they help the plant cling on and take up moisture. Removing an aerial root rarely harms the plant, but if they bother you, the simplest fix is to guide them into the compost or onto a support.

The RHS points out that, as a climber, the Swiss cheese plant likes being tied to a moss pole, which it will eventually root into if the moss is kept moist. With a pole, the plant grows upwards rather than outwards, and pruning becomes rare.

What happens after pruning?

A new stem usually appears from the node below the cut, though not overnight, and only with enough light. The RHS warns that after a hard cutback, new leaves tend to be smaller and have fewer holes for a while, until the plant settles. If that worries you, read why a Monstera has no holes: light plays a big part.

With fewer leaves, the plant also drinks less for a few weeks. How often it needs water depends mostly on the light where it lives. The same plant in July:

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

Common pruning mistakes

• Cutting in the wrong place. With no node below the cut, that stem won’t grow back.
• Pruning to fix a care problem. Lots of yellow leaves at once usually point to watering or light, not a need for secateurs; find the cause first.
• Cutting too much at once, especially in winter, when the plant is slow to respond.
• Using dirty or blunt blades, which crush the stem instead of cutting it.

Summary: pruning a Monstera

What you want	When	Where to cut
Remove yellow or damaged leaves	Any time	The leaf stalk, close to the stem
Lower a long stem	Spring	Just above a node
Shorten the whole plant	Spring, gradually	Above nodes, one stem at a time
Take a cutting	Spring or summer	Below a node, with a leaf
Tidy aerial roots	Any time	Ideally, guide them into the compost or onto a pole

Quick questions

Can I prune a Monstera in winter? Damaged leaves, yes. Cuts for size are best left until spring.

Where does it grow back from after cutting? From the node left below the cut. Without a node, that stem won’t sprout.

Does cutting aerial roots hurt the plant? Usually not, though sources differ; guiding them into the compost or onto a pole avoids the question.

Will it look bare after pruning? For a few weeks it may, and the first new leaves can be smaller.

A pruned plant needs less water

After pruning, a Monstera has fewer leaves using water, so the old routine no longer fits. Verdejar takes the pot, the light and the season into account and keeps adjusting to what the plant shows you. For the rest of its care, read how to care for a Monstera and the Monstera plant page.

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.