Monstera deliciosa is one of the most-bought houseplants in Australia and one of the most-misunderstood. The aerial roots in particular generate more bad advice than almost any other aspect of plant care. Walk into any plant group online and the same questions come up weekly. Should I cut them? Should I water them? Should I redirect them into the pot?

Most of the answers floating around are wrong. After years of growing monsteras across a Melbourne apartment and helping plenty of friends fix theirs, here are the three myths that won’t die and what’s actually going on.

Myth one: aerial roots take up water and nutrients

The popular advice is to dunk the aerial roots in a glass of water, or to wrap them in damp moss, or to redirect them into the pot so they can absorb nutrients. The reasoning is that more water and nutrients to the plant must be a good thing.

This is mostly wrong. Aerial roots on a monstera are not primarily water-absorbing organs. In their natural setting, climbing on a tree in a tropical forest, they serve mainly as anchors. The plant clings to the bark with these roots, finding stability and a path upward.

A small amount of moisture absorption does happen, particularly when the aerial roots eventually contact a moist surface — bark, moss, soil. But this is incidental. The plant’s water and nutrient uptake is overwhelmingly through its underground roots in soil. The aerial roots are structural.

What actually happens when you stick aerial roots in water glasses or wrap them in damp moss is mostly nothing useful. Sometimes the root tips do start absorbing some moisture, which is fine. Sometimes the constantly damp condition encourages rot, which is bad. Sometimes the moss arrangement looks aesthetic, which is the actual reason most people do it.

The honest advice: leave the aerial roots alone. They’re doing their job by reaching for something to climb on. They don’t need water glasses.

Myth two: cutting aerial roots harms the plant

The second myth is that aerial roots are essential to the plant’s health and cutting them is some kind of damage. This appears in advice columns regularly and produces a lot of guilt in monstera owners who don’t want a wild forest of roots taking over their living room.

This is also mostly wrong. A monstera will grow many more aerial roots than it strictly needs. Cutting the ones you don’t want doesn’t harm the plant in any meaningful way. The plant produces more if it needs them. The energy invested in any individual aerial root is not large enough that cutting it represents a significant loss.

What you should think about when cutting is plant aesthetics and the plant’s growing strategy. If the plant is climbing a moss pole or a wall, the aerial roots are doing useful structural work and you’d want to keep at least the ones that are actively gripping. If the plant is a free-standing potted plant that you’re keeping below a certain height, the aerial roots aren’t doing structural work and you can cut them freely.

The right tool is sharp, sterilised secateurs. Cut close to the stem. The plant won’t mind.

The aerial roots that grow into the pot are different — those have committed to becoming soil roots and shouldn’t be cut. Distinguishing between aerial roots that are still aerial and aerial roots that have entered the soil is straightforward when you look at them.

Myth three: aerial roots indicate the plant needs to be repotted

The third myth is that vigorous aerial root growth indicates the plant is root-bound and needs a bigger pot. The reasoning is that the plant is sending out aerial roots because it’s running out of soil.

This is wrong in several ways.

First, aerial roots aren’t a substitute for soil roots. The plant doesn’t grow them when it’s running out of soil. It grows them when it’s mature enough to be looking for something to climb. A young monstera with plenty of soil produces few aerial roots. An older monstera with the same soil produces many. The aerial root production correlates with maturity, not with soil constraint.

Second, the actual indicators of needing a bigger pot are different. Roots growing out of the drainage holes. Water running straight through the pot without being absorbed. The plant drying out faster than it used to. The plant becoming top-heavy and falling over. None of these involve aerial roots.

Third, the plant can be in a perfectly appropriate pot and still produce abundant aerial roots. The two issues are independent.

The reason this myth persists is that aerial roots are visible and dramatic in a way that other growth signals aren’t. The plant grows a long aerial root and the owner panics that something is happening. The actual interpretation is much less dramatic — the plant is just doing its thing.

What aerial roots actually tell you

Aerial roots are useful as a signal in several specific ways.

They tell you the plant is mature enough to be considering climbing. Young plants don’t produce many. Older plants produce more.

They tell you the plant has resources to spare. A stressed plant doesn’t waste energy on aerial roots. If your monstera is putting out aerial roots, it’s reasonably healthy.

They tell you about light direction. Aerial roots tend to develop on the side of the plant facing toward where the plant wants to climb — typically the brightest side, though plants in low light sometimes do unexpected things.

What they don’t tell you is whether the plant is happy with its watering, its pot, or its position. Those signals come from leaves, growth rate, and soil condition.

The actual care that matters

Caring for a monstera well in 2026 is mostly the same as it was a decade ago.

Bright indirect light. The plant tolerates lower light but doesn’t thrive there. The leaves get smaller and the new growth gets less varied (less of the characteristic fenestration that monsteras are valued for). A plant in deep shade is alive but not really doing what monsteras do best.

Water when the top few centimetres of soil are dry. Not on a schedule. Most monstera deaths I’ve seen are from overwatering, not underwatering. The plant is more drought-tolerant than the houseplant marketing suggests.

A pot with drainage holes. The myths about decorative pots without drainage are also persistent. They’re wrong. The plant needs drainage. Use a pot with a hole, put a dish under it if you must.

A coarse, well-draining potting mix. Heavy potting mix that compacts and holds water for days produces root rot. A mix with bark, perlite, or other coarse material drains better and produces happier roots.

Repot when the plant is root-bound, not before. Most monsteras are perfectly happy in the same pot for a couple of years. Premature repotting can stress the plant.

That’s most of it. The aerial root mythology distracts from the actual care that matters. Plants whose owners obsess over aerial roots while ignoring drainage are usually unhappier than plants whose owners ignore the aerial roots and pay attention to drainage.

What to do with the aerial roots

If you’re not sure what to do with the aerial roots on your monstera, the simplest answer is: nothing.

If they’re growing toward a moss pole or a wall, let them attach. The plant will be happier climbing than not.

If they’re growing toward your sofa, the floor, or some other place you don’t want them, cut them off when they get long enough to be in the way.

If they’re growing into the pot, leave them — they’ve committed to being soil roots now.

That’s it. The aerial roots are not a problem to solve, a sign of distress, or an opportunity for special care. They’re just one of the things monstera plants do.