It’s my birthday on the 25th of October- so I decided to put up some cuttings on the day of my favourite plant: The Variegated Monstera. There will be 20 of them up for sale at 6pm on the 25th of October 2021 on my site.

The Basics:

Basically. These plants are expensive. There are no two ways about it. If you’d like to read up on why, you can check out this previous blog I wrote over here. Usually these plants are auctioned off, but apart from really hating the process I also think it inflates the prices to even crazier prices. So the prices attached to these cuttings are based on: current market prices, the price I paid for the plant and a host of cosmetic factors in every individual cutting. The cuttings for sale will range between R200-R3000.

These are cuttings, not rooted plants. I am not a grower of Variegated Monsteras and don’t have time to raise 20 odd plants before selling them off. The benefit to this is that they are a lot cheaper than a rooted plant (you can double or triple each price to see what you would be expected to pay for a rooted plant); the disadvantage is that you need to grow this into a rooted plant yourself. I don’t think it’s that hard to do and have done it many times. And I’ll give you personal guidance when you’ve made your purchase. However, if you’re new to plants and/or don’t often spend this kind of money, it’s not advised that you invest in a cutting and rather watch Facebook for other opportunities.

Shipping will cost R150. We will take the upmost care and use the best quality services to get your cutting to you safely. There will be an option for pick up, where you don’t have to pay shipping. Take note, pick up is in Hout Bay, Cape Town and will only be allowed on appointment.

Factors to take into account:

Often the prices of the cuttings are determined by what the cutting can give you/ i.e its potential. The following morphological and cosmetic factors will either raise or lower the price of a cutting.

• Percentage of leaf variegation: the best amount of variegation on a plant is anything higher than 40% and less than 80% – enough for the leaves to produce food but enough white for the cosmetic appeal.
• The pattern of leaf variegation: The half-moon leaf variegation is usually more popular than the marbled variegation and you’re likely to pay more for it.
• Stem variegation: The more variegation on a stem is thought to be a good indicator of a higher chance of future variegated leaves. However, this is has not been scientifically proven.
• Number of nodes: The more nodes a cutting has, the more chance it has to give off roots.
• Evidence of new growth: The more new growth a plant has may indicate that the plant will be a fast grower or that it is a very healthy plant
• Size of the plant: The bigger the plant, the better. You can also cut the plant up for resell if it has more than one node- this may result in a big potential to make your money back as well as an income if you grow your plant long enough.
• Perfect heart-shaped leaves: This is for cosmetic appeal, the fewer the tears the better.
• Top cutting vs lower cutting: Cuttings from the top of plants tend to root easier than lower cuttings.

The Plants

I have divided the plants into different categories for easier decision making on your side. This will also help you get to your chosen plant before anyone else on Monday night.

Lower price, low risk

This is the perfect category for you if you don’t want to spend a lot of money or if you don’t have a lot of experience in rooting cuttings. You might purchase something that doesn’t have a lot of variegation now and it might develop into something with better variegation. Or you might purchase something with awful looking leaves that bounces back and gives you something amazing. Or you may have just purchased what you’ve purchased.

SGV16: One mature leaf with fenestrations, 3% marbled variegation, 3 aerial roots, 2-3 nodes. R250

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SGV17: 3 medium sized leaves in beautiful condition, low 3% marbled variegation, newest leaf no variegation, 1 aerial root, 3 nodes. R250

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SGV23: One large leaf with fenestrations, 5% marbled variegation, 2 aerial roots, 3 nodes. R250

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SGV30: One medium leaf, lots of variegation, old spider mite damage to leaf, good variegation on stem, 2 aerial roots, 1-2 nodes. R200

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SGV31: Environmental damage to leaf, at least 70% marbled and solid variegation, 1 aerial root, 2 nodes, high stem variegation. R300

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SGV34: One medium sized leaf, environmental damage, 70% marbled and solid variegation, stem high variegation, 1 aerial roots, 2-3 nodes R400

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Potential Party

These cuttings are either slightly larger, in better condition or have more variegation than the lower priced monsteras.

SGV15: 3 large leaves, 10% variegation on each leaf, slight variegation on stem, 2 aerial roots, 2 water roots, 3-4 nodes. R800

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SGV18: 3 large mature leaves with fenestrations, 2 leaves have around 20% marbled variegation. slight mechanical damage to leaves, variegation on stem, 2 aerial roots, 4-5 nodes. R900

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SGV20: One medium sized leaf with slight damage, 50% marbled variegation, stem very highly variegated, 2 aerial roots, 4 nodes. R850

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SGV24: 2 highly variegated leaves, 50% marbled variegation, mechanical damage to leaves, high variegation on stem, 3-4 nodes, 2 aerial roots. R900

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SGV26: 2 leaves, mechanical damage to leaves, 60% marbled variegation, 3 stems, highly variegated, 1 aerial root, 4 nodes. R1000

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SGV32: One large leaf, 50% marbled variegation, variegated stem, 2 aerial roots, 3 nodes. R1000

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SGV25: 2 medium leaves, excellent variegation, 1 aerial roots, 2 nodes, slight mechanical damage to leaves, R1200

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SGV28: Beautiful large leaf, 60% marbled variegation, high variegated stem, 2 aerial roots, 2 nodes. R1200

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SGV27: 2 medium leaves, slight mechanical damage to one leaf, 60% variegation, highly variegated stem, 2 aerial roots, 4 nodes. R1300

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Showstoppers

No two ways about it, looking at these guys will take your breath away. These are great specimens, with high variegation and sought after features.

SGV19: One very large mature leaf with fenestrations, beautiful 60% marbled variegation, variegation on stem, 3 aerial roots, 2-3 nodes. R1500

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SGV22: One medium sized leaf. Solid 70% half moon and marbled variegation, very high stem variegation, 2 aerial roots, 2-3 nodes. R1500

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SGV21: 3 medium leaves, Amazing variegation on all 3 leaves, slight mechanical damage to 2 of leaves, 1 leaf shows high signs of half moon variegation, high variegated stem, 1 aerial root, 3 nodes. R2000

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SGV35: Top cutting, 3 very large leaves, perfect condition, highly variegated with 50-70% marbled variegation. high stem variegation, 3 aerial roots, 3-4 nodes R3000

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SGV36: Top cutting, 3 large perfect leaves, 50-80% variegation, high variegation on stem, large leaves, 2 aerial roots, 3-4 nodes. R3000

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If you don’t end up getting a variegated Monstera on 25th because you were too late, please pop me an email ([email protected]) and ask to be put on my variegated monstera mail list where I will make sure you’re in the know about the next drop.

All the best to you! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.