12/06/2026
Your Monstera comes from the rainforest.
So why is overwatering killing it?
Because rainforest plants don't actually grow the way most people think they do.
Plants like Monstera and Philodendron are epiphytes.
In the wild, they spend much of their life climbing trees, rocks and other surfaces rather than growing in deep soil.
As they climb, a large part of their root system becomes aerial roots exposed to fresh air and moisture from wet surfaces at the same time.
Those roots get moisture.
But they also get oxygen.
In cultivation, everything changes.
The roots in the pot are confined and can stay wet for too long. When the water has no where to go or isn't a mass of exposed surface areas to dry it up quickly before the next downpour. When that happens, oxygen levels drop and roots start to struggle.
At the same time, aerial roots whilst resilient can dry out completely and offer the plant nothing if not considered.
That's why I think about them as two separate root environments.
The roots in the pot need a chunky, free-draining mix that gets rid of excess water quickly because that is where the water wants to settle.
The roots on the support need a moisture-retaining environment that stays damp for longer, to create humidity and encourage aerial root development.
That's why supports matter.
A support isn't just there to hold the plant upright. It's part of the root system. That you can feed and help support larger leaves.
The larger media volume inside a Propstick helps retain moisture for aerial roots, while the chunky potting mix below helps expel it.
Get both working together and you've recreated something much closer to what these plants need in cultivation by understanding how they grow in nature.
