Monstera Albo
The monstera albo is not too difficult to care for, in fact are very similar in need to their non-variegated relatives, you just need to get their light needs right…
Monstera Albo Care Summary
| Light needs: | Bright and medium indirect sunlight. Be careful about giving them enough light to encourage variegation, but not o much to much the white parts of the leaves. |
| Watering needs: | Water when the top layer is dry. |
| Fertilizer: | Balanced feed, well diluted, once a month in summer. |
| Soil: | Rich, well draining. |
| Humidity: | 70%. Mist them once or twice a week. |
| Temperature: | Normal household temperatures are ok. Move them away from cold windows in the winter. |
| Where to buy: | Try our list of the best rare plant shops. |
| Other names: | Monstera Albo Variegata, Monstera Albo Borsigiana |
| Common issues: | Over and under watering, leaf burn, losing variegation. |
Introduction
Welcome to our article on the Monstera Albo. The variegated monstera albo is a classic, it is a rare houseplant lovers dream plant. They have spread like wildfire over Instagram over the last few years too, and for good reason, they look absolutely immense!
See also: How To Propagate Monstera Albo, Monstera Thai Constellation, Monstera Adansonii Variegated, Monstera Standleyana, Variegated Monstera (Category).
Tip: we recommend Etsy for buying plants. Look for the best rated seller you can, and try to buy as close to your home as possible so the plant does not travel too far.
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Monstera Albo Care
You can care for your monstera albo the same as a normal monsteras, they need indirect sunlight, and water them when the top layer of sail is dry, they do not want to sit in water as this can lead to root rot, but at the same time they do not like to dry fully. They will do well in normal household humidity, but prefer the higher ends of this range, you can mist them every few days if you like.
Monstera Albo Light Needs
Bright indirect sunshine is ideal, but no direct. The main difference in care to a normal monstera is that this plant needs slightly higher light levels as the white variegated parts of the leaves cannot photosynthesize as well as green areas. So it needs a good amount of indirect sunlight, and this can help to encourage and enhance the variegation. A monstera albo can lose it’s variegation if not given enough light.
However be careful as the white leaves can burn if given too much light, so the key to good monstera albo care is to give them enough indirect sunlight to encourage the variegation but not too much so as to burn the white leaves.
For more on monstera deliciosa care see our guide: Monstera Deliciosa Care.
How Often To Water
They can be easy to overwater which can cause root rot, so you want to make suer that they do not sit in waterlogged soil.
Fertilizer
They don’t need to be fed but should grow quicker if you do. You can use a balanced feed every 3 weeks in the spring and summer. Don’t feed them when it is too cold.
Soil
You want to use a light, airy and chunky mix that aids drainage, I would use a mix of equal parts orchid bark, perlite and potting compost. For more on buying or making your own soil, see our guide here: Monstera Soil.
When to Repot
They can grow quickly, so it is a good idea to check the roots once or twice a year and repot them up when they get crowded. You want the plant to have plenty of space to grow.
Humidity
Aim for 60% humidity in th day if you can. They are tropcial plants and thrive in decent levels.
Temperature
Try to keep them in the range 17-25°C (63-737F) during the day and aim for a minimum temperature of 10°C (50°F) at night or in the winter.
Monstera Albo Propagation
Follow these steps to propagate your monstera albo:
- Take a cutting with one node and one leaf.
You want to wait until a leaf has fully unfurled but before it then grows another so you get one leaf only with no new growth. You don’t want the energy going to new growth, you want it going to the roots. So get a leaf a few days after it has unfurled and started to harden off.
- Let the wounds heal
The next step is to let the cutting callous over for 4 or 5 hours so the wound is healed. This really helps to reduce rot as the cut is sealed over.
- Put the cutting in water
Put the cutting in a jar of tap water. I use filtered tap water with a britta jug and use that. I also use a glass jar so I can see the root growth and I can see if the water turns cloudy.
Keep all leaves out of the water as they can rot if let to touch it. And keep an eye out for the water turning cloudy which is a sign of rot. Change the water if this happens. - Give it indirect sun and wait for it to root.
Then keep the plant in indirect sunlight for a month or two and it should produce some roots. You don’t want to leave it for too long in water as it can then get shocked when moving it to soil. I would wait for it to have a few small roots started and then move it on. Keep it humid until it has taken to the soil and started to put out new growth from the top. Then you can treat it as a juvenile plant.
- Once rooted you can move it to soil
You can then move it to soil after a month or so in water. You want to use a good aroid soil that is chunky and well draining (see our guide here: Monstera Soil). If a leaf dies back don’t worry, chop it off and be patient, you should get new growth soon from the node.
For more on propagating your monstera albo see our guide here which covers water, soil, leca, moss and wet stick propagation: How To Propagate Monstera Albo. For different types of monsteras see our monstera category with all our monstera care guides.
Is It Toxic To Cats?
They are toxic to cats, seek vets advice if your pet eats any.
Monstera Albo USDA Zone
They can grow outdoors in zones 10-11. Do not let them get direct sun though.
Other Names
Monstera Deliciosa Albo Variegata. Variegated Monstera.
Where To Buy
Try our list of Rare Plant Shops or Etsy.
FAQs and Common Problems
Browning leaves is an issue. …
Leaf Browning
A common issue with a monstera albo is leaf browning. The thing is with these variegated plants is that the white areas are really sensitive to any issues. Big all-white areas of the leaves are very likely to brown at the edges even if the plant is healthy. For example, those really nice half-moon (half white, half green ) leaves that you see on Instagram are very likely to brown at the edges of the white part of the leaf and honestly the best thing to do is to cut off that area of the leaf (I know it’s heart breaking!). If you get an all white leaf it will turn brown very uqicly and die off, more stable and mixed variegations are better in the long run.
But there are a few things you can look out for when you get brown leaf leaf edges on your albo:
- Check the humidity is high enough.
- Check the plant is not getting burned from too much sunlight.
- Check that the plant is not under or overwatered.
The best thing to do is to check you’re ok on humidity, sun and water, and then consider trimming off the brown edges.
Technical, Trend and Price Info
Habitat And General Info
Genus/Species: Genus: Monstera. Species: Monstera Deliciosa Variegata (source).
Natural Habitat: Central America (source).
Zones: 9-10 (source).
Max Size and Spread (and time to get to that size): Ultimate height 2.5-4 meters. Ultimate spread 1-1.5 meters. Time to ultimate height 10-20 years (source) .
Are they toxic to pets?: Toxic to dogs and cats (source).
Popularity
Taken September 2021, showing the last 5 years of worldwide Google search traffic.
Price Data
Europe: 80-300 Euros. USA: 250-300 USD.
(Prices taken from Etsy and Ebay sellers, September 2021, for a full plant).
Social Demand
Instagram Trend: 42854 uses of tag #monsteraalbo.
(Count taken September 2021).
Patent
No patent data found.
Please note: Although every effort has been made to provide complete and accurate information, we cannot take responsibility for any error or omissions in the information.
Monstera Albo Pictures
Here’s a few pictures of ours on our Instagram.
Types Of Variegated Monstera
There are a few different types of variegated monstera deliciosa, we run down the four main types here:
Thai constellation: a creamy speckled variegation, rather than big areas of variegation. It has a stable variegation, having been propagated from tissue culture. For more on this see our guide here.
Monstera Albo: this classic has big patches of white. It has less stable variegation than the Thai Constellation, meaning it can revert more easily.
Monstera Aurea: this is rarer than the previous two. It has a yellowy green speckled variegation. These are harder to find and newer.
Mint Monstera: one of the rarest at the moment, it has a light mint green color the the variegated areas instead of white. It looks like the albo from far away, but the minty color is obvious the closer you get, it is a real beauty.
Frequently Asked Questions
These plants can go for up to 5000 US dollars, although some do go for 100 or 200 US dollars /euros on Etsy and Ebay. They are expensive due to huge demand for houseplants as well as monsteras rising in a general trend, as well as the covid lockdown increasing the trend further as people are buying more plants. The supply is fairly limited to a few hundred specialists selling small volumes. The relatively small supply cannot keep up with the huge demand so the price has rocketed.
The aurea is very similar, but does not have white variegation, it has light yellowy green patches on green leaves.
They can get root fairly easily, you want to make sure you only water them when the soil is getting dry and make sure the water can drain off, and the plant pot is not sat in excess water.
A normal monstera can become variegated by freak genetic mutation but it is very rare. A monstera albo is one of these ‘freak’ that has been bred for a more stable variegation.
The variegated parts of an albo can brown easily, normally due to underwatering, it can also be due to too much humidity, so keep an eye on both.
Monstera Albo Variegata
The Monstera Albo (aka the Monstera Albo Variegata aka Monstera Deliciosa Albo Variegata) is a white and green variegated monstera. It goes by quite a few names to be honest! It is similar to the Thai Constellation which is also a variegated monstera but the Albo has bigger white patches in general and less speckles.
Monstera Albo Borsigiana
What is the monstera albo borsigiana and how is it different to the other monstera albo? The borsigiana is a slightly smaller sub-species of monstera deliciosa. Aswell as being smaller it grows slightly faster too.
M. Albo For Sale
These expensive plants can be found for sale on Etsy, which is where I got mine. Specialist rare houseplant stores will have them as well from time to time, see our list here: Rare Plant Shops.
More Info
You might also like our other articles Monstera Adansonii Variegated, Monstera Thai Constellation, How To Clean Monstera Leaves.
