Didn't realize air roots on my monstera were actually important

I was trimming back the aerial roots on my monstera for months because I thought they looked messy. Found a video from a guy in Oregon who said those roots help the plant absorb moisture and nutrients from the air, not just anchor to things. Has anyone else accidentally wrecked their plant by cutting stuff they didn't understand?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sam2mo ago

Wait, are those fuzzy brown things actually helping the plant breathe? I always thought they were just for climbing stuff and chopped them off too. Now I'm wondering if my slow growing leaves are because I've been cutting off its air supply this whole time.

-1

olivia_hernandez2mo ago

3 years of chopping those off and wondering why my pothos looked like it was giving up on life. I basically gave my plant a buzzcut every month thinking I was helping it. Guess the real joke is on me while my neighbor's monstera is thriving from neglect. Who knew the ugly fuzzy bits were doing the heavy lifting while I was over here playing hairstylist.

lucasking23d ago

Yeah @olivia_hernandez is right, those little brown aerial roots are actually doing a lot more than just grabbing onto stuff. They absorb moisture and nutrients from the air too, so chopping them off is basically starving your plant for no reason. If your leaves have been growing slow, stop trimming those fuzzy guys and see if it perks up.