Skeleton Planter Care

Thank you for taking home one of my Skeleton Trellised plants! It’s spooky whimsy and charm will have you considering it a part of the family before long. Care for these plants is not difficult. The species used are all popular house plants for their hardiness and near effortless beauty.

Your skeleton is planted with one of the following species (Possibly with a companion plant.):
• Monstera deliciosa
• Monstera adansonii
• Monstera standleyana

More complete care guides for each species will be available through the side bar in time; for now the general non-carnivorous page has what is essentially the same info. I’m realizing while typing that the guide here is going to be difficult without photos. Hm. Here goes anyway:

Care for your skeleton differs from standard plant care in regards to it’s trellis. Vining aroids grow aerial roots along their stems just under where their leaf connects. These roots will grow in the opposite direction of the leaf in search for a tree to grab onto. Typically, growers will allow their aroids to climb up a moss pole, rot resistant plank, or other highly porous structure. This allows the plant to draw moisture from it’s support, which encourages the aerial root to split and grow into the grooves of the support. The stability of being well rooted on a support encourages larger and more vigorous leaf growth.

Instead of a porous structure, we have skeleton. Your plant will still produce aerial roots, but it will not recognize the plastic skeleton as a support. Without a porous structure to grab onto these roots grow in one continuous line until it finds either a plant-recognized support or hits the soil.



Your goal, as a newly appointed skeleton botanist, is to train your plants aerial roots carefully around the plastic support. Emphasis on carefully, these roots are brittle. Fresh aerial roots are a whiteish, greenish, color and have not developed the dry papery layer more mature roots have. These are malleable and open to repositioning. Wrap the new roots around the part of skeleton you wish to support the vine. Secure both the root, lightly, and the vine, firmly, with twist ties or plant wire. The twist tie is temporary; as the root continues to grow it will strengthen and be able to support the vine. Train the root around bones and downwards, ultimately ending with it burrowing into the soil of the pot.

This is where a photo would be excellent. I have trained monstera roots in all kinds of interesting ways that produced absurdly large leaves off the plants. One planter has roots weaving between ladder rungs, another has a root wrapping around the joint of a skeleton’s hip bone.

Angle your skeleton so that all roots are facing away from the strongest light source with leaves facing the light. This might end up having your skeleton looking out the window at your neighbors. Embrace it. Turn skeleton back around for a better display when you have company.

Water your skeleton when the soil in the center of the pot is dry throughout. New plants paired with skeletons are often undersized for their pots, which calls for longer time between waters. I recommend spraying the vines and aerial roots when you water the soil. I put mine in the shower and let it run for a few minutes to ensure a good soaking. Potting smaller companion plants in with your skeleton can help prevent over watering, but be sure not to choose a companion that will overcrowd your aroid centerpiece. I am experimenting now with misting the aerial roots on my skeletons weekly, in hopes that encourages quicker and more confident root growth.

An optional feature of training your plants roots in this way is that you can give them a water reservoir. Choose a vase, cup, flask, or other water holding vessel that matches the aesthetic you want your skeleton to have, fill it with water, secure it to the pot near the vine, and train one or more aerial roots into the water. The roots will split and fill the vessel, which now can be kept full of water to ensure your plant has a steady supply. Interestingly enough, the roots trained this way do not rot! This method has saved the plants of some of my most forgetful friends.

If your plant outgrows your skeleton, do not be afraid of pruning! A healthy plant will grow better for it. The ‘growth point’ is the end of the vine that new leaves unfurl from. If a plant’s growth point is damaged or cut off, the plant will activate a new one somewhere along the vine at a ‘node’, the space where the aerial roots and leaves connect. The new growth point will become a second vine that can be trained to give your skeleton fuller foliage! Should you remove a full node when you trim, it can be propagated in sphagnum moss!