The Monstera Cutting Saga: Finally Moving to Soil

If you've been following along, you already know about the Monstera cutting I took back in June 2025 and mentioned again in my propagation station post. The roots had been growing in water for so long that they coiled around the entire bottom of the vase. I kept putting off moving it because I knew it was going to be a bit of an operation.

Well, last weekend I finally did it.

The Problem with Waiting Too Long

When a cutting has spent months in water, the roots fully adapt to that environment. They become long, thin, and optimized for pulling oxygen and nutrients from water rather than soil. The moment you put them into a dense growing medium, they can struggle to breathe and sometimes just rot off entirely while the plant grows a new set of "soil roots."

The longer you wait, the more dramatic this transition can be. Ideally, you move a cutting to soil when the roots are about 3–5 cm — mine were closer to 30 cm. So I was setting myself up for some drama.

What I Did

I made a very airy soil mix — heavier on orchid bark and perlite than usual, following my aroid soil recipe, but even chunkier. The goal was to make the transition as easy as possible on the water roots by giving them as much airflow as a soil mix can provide.

I gently untangled the roots from the vase (they really had coiled into a tight spiral), nestled them loosely into the pot, and filled in around them with the mix without compacting it at all. No pressing down. I want as many air pockets as possible in there.

Aftercare

For the first couple of weeks, I'm watering more frequently than I normally would. The idea is to bridge the gap between the water environment the roots are used to and the eventually drier conditions of a normal watering schedule. I'll slowly stretch the time between waterings as the plant settles in and develops proper soil roots.

There's a good chance it will drop a leaf or look a bit sad for a while. That's normal. The plant is putting all its energy into adapting the root system rather than pushing out new leaves. I've put it in a spot with bright indirect light and I'm trying my best to just leave it alone and not check it every five minutes.