Swiss cheese vine
Monstera adansonii
A separate record from Monstera deliciosa rather than a variant of it, because the plants behave differently: this one is a smaller trailing or climbing vine whose leaves are perforated with holes from the start rather than splitting with age, and it stays a manageable size indefinitely.
- Position
- Bright, out of direct sun
- Water
- moderate demand
- Drainage
- Free-draining
- Grows to
- 30–60 cm × 100–250 cm
- Frost
- Frost tender
- Difficulty
- Straightforward
August
Nothing to do
No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.
Swiss cheese vine’s year
Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.
| Activity | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Take cuttings | April. | May. | June. | July. |
Timing that travels
The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.
Conditions it needs
- Light
- Partial shade, Dappled shade
- Frost
- Frost tender
- Grows best at
- 18–27 °C
- Soil
- Peat-free compost
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7
- Drainage
- Free-draining
- Water needs
- moderate
- Drought
- moderate tolerance
- Waterlogging
- poor tolerance
- Heat
- good tolerance
- Wind and exposure
- poor tolerance
Where these figures come from
- LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera adansonii — position
Checked 2026-08-13
- FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera adansonii — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
- Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera adansonii — temperature
Checked 2026-08-13
- SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera adansonii — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
- Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Monstera adansonii — culture
Checked 2026-08-13
- DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera adansonii — soil
Checked 2026-08-13
- Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
On your soil
Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.
| Soil | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy clay | Works, with one condition | Swiss cheese vine will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse. |
| Sandy | Grows well here | Swiss cheese vine grows perfectly well on sandy without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Chalky and alkaline | Works, with one condition | Swiss cheese vine will crop on chalky and alkaline, but one thing has to be dealt with first. The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5.5 to 7, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5.The pH is the obstacle. Small shifts are achievable and slow; large ones are not. On chalky and alkaline the dependable answer is a container of the right compost rather than an attempt to change the ground. |
| Loam | Prefers this soil | Loam suits Swiss cheese vine as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Silty | Prefers this soil | Silty suits Swiss cheese vine as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Peaty and acid | Works, with one condition | Swiss cheese vine will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse. |
| Shallow over rock | Grows well here | Swiss cheese vine grows perfectly well on shallow over rock without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Made ground and urban soil | Works, with one condition | Swiss cheese vine will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse. |
Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.
Space and spacing
- Mature height
- 30–60 cm
- Mature spread
- 100–250 cm
- Rooting depth
- 20 cm
Where these figures come from
- Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
In a container
- Minimum volume
- 3 litres or more
- Minimum depth
- 15 cm
Where the container figures come from
- Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Where and how you can grow it
Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.
| Method | Suitability | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor pot | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Container | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | Indoors, or outdoors in summer only |
| Windowsill | WorkablesourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Hydroponics | WorkablesourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Open ground | Not suitablesourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | Tender: will not survive a British winter outdoors. |
Growing it
- SupportTrain it up a small moss pole or let it trail. Either works: unlike the larger monstera, it produces its characteristic perforated leaves whether or not it is climbing.
- PruningPinch the tips to keep it dense, and root the cuttings back into the same pot. It goes bare at the base over time otherwise.
- WateringWater thoroughly and let the top two or three centimetres dry — it dries faster than a large monstera because the pot is usually smaller relative to the leaf area, so in summer it may want water twice as often as its bigger relative. That relationship reverses in winter: the plant slows, the room cools, and the same pot can hold water for a fortnight. Water it by the compost rather than by the calendar, and empty the saucer every time, because standing water rots the fine roots quickly.
- FeedingHalf strength, monthly, between April and September and nothing after. Given a moss pole and reasonable light it climbs quickly and will use the feed; left trailing from a shelf it stays juvenile, the leaves stay small, and feeding it harder produces longer stems rather than better ones. The holes in the leaves develop with maturity and light, so a plant making solid leaves needs a brighter position rather than a stronger feed.
Where this guidance comes from
- SupportSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera adansonii — care
Checked 2026-08-13
- PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera — care
Checked 2026-08-13
- WateringSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Monstera adansonii
Checked 2026-08-13
- FeedingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Monstera adansonii
Checked 2026-08-13
Safety and edibility
Listed as harmful to cats or dogs
Swiss cheese vine is listed as harmful if eaten. All parts carry needle-shaped insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which drive into the soft tissue of the mouth on contact. The pain is immediate, which is why an animal rarely takes a second bite and why fatalities are rare — but the drooling and swelling that follow are real and distressing.source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center — toxic and non-toxic plant list — American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Monstera adansonii — toxic plants list
Checked 2026-08-13
Affected parts: all parts.
- Pets and livestockpetschildrenContains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, as all the aroids do. Chewing causes burning and swelling of the mouth.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Monstera — toxicity
Checked 2026-08-13
Keep trailing stems out of reach of pets and small children.
Sources for this page
GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society
Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.
If something is wrong with it
- Lower leaves turning yellow — 2 causes GrowingHQ holds for swiss cheese vine
Something else? Work through it with the diagnostic tool.