Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma - 7 Top Tips w/ Propagation Guide
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Rhaphidophora tetrasperma is in huge demand, and for good reason. It's a rapid grower, propagates easily, and is easy to care for with no special requirements. In this post, I highlight 5 basic tips on how to care for this amazing houseplant soo it thrives under you care, along with an illustrated guide on propagation.
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Table of Contents
RHAPHIDOPHORA VS. MONSTERA VS. PHILODENDRON
First of all, I wanted to briefly talk about all the crazy common names that have cropped up for this plant, which has caused a lot of confusion.
Rhaphidophora tetrasperma is sometimes called mini monstera or dwarf monstera because it looks like a miniature version of Monstera deliciosa. Other common names include Monstera 'Ginny' and Philodendron 'Ginny' but these names are all misleading.
I've even seen it advertised as Monstera minima but this is incorrect. Although Monstera, Philodendron and Rhaphidophora are in the aroid plant family (Araceae), each one is a distinct genus.
So to be completely correct, this plant is a Rhaphidophora tetrasperma! (Rhaphidophora is the genus and tetrasperma is the species.) It is not a Monstera and it is not a Philodendron.
According to the International Aroid Society, Rhaphidophora tetrasperma is considered rare in nature. But fortunately for us, the plants grow very rapidly and are easy to grow!
It is native to limited areas in southern Thailand and parts of Malaysia, and was discovered in the late 1800s.
If you like Monstera deliciosa but you don't have enough room, Rhaphidophora tetrasperma is a great option. It has a similar flair but on a smaller scale.
This plant used to be hard to find, but it is becoming much more common. I really believe that they will become very widespread one day, similar to Pilea peperomioides. (They used to be scarce and expensive, and now they are much more common and very inexpensive.) r
RHAPHIDOPHORA TETRASPERMA CARE
1. LIGHT
Give your Rhaphidophora bright indirect light. These plants don't like a lot of direct sun, but some is fine.
I have mine growing in my sunroom and it front of a northern exposure window, but it is also close to an Eastern exposure window and will get a little morning sun.
Be cautious of too much sun, especially if it is afternoon direct sun which can be too much for this plant. You can keep it near Western or Southern exposure windows too, but be sure to diffuse the light, or set them back slightly from the window, as they don't like being in too much direct sun all day.
This is not a low light plant so please give it good light otherwise you will be disappointed with poor growth and small foliage.
2. WATER
Try and keep this plant fairly moist, but not waterlogged.
These plants do not like to go completely dry so pay attention to it if you want the best growth out of your Rhaphidophora! More important tips on moisture requirements in the section below.
I always recommend watering your plants thoroughly, letting water drain out of the drainage hole, and waiting until the top inch or so of the potting mix is dry before watering again.
These plants do NOT like to go completely dry so try not to let this happen. You will notice that the lower leaves will turn yellow if you let this happen.
My own plant's growth slowed down quite a bit during the darker winter months, and the soil took longer to dry out, so be aware of this. Always feel the soil to know when to water your plant. Don't follow a "once a week" watering schedule blindly!
Water when it is needed, and not when your schedule tells you too. In addition, I highly advise against using a moisture meter. Many of my clients have struggled with them, to the point where I wrote a blog post on the dangers of moisture meters.
3. POTTING MIX & POTS
When I first rooted my first cutting of Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, I planted it an all-purpose potting mix that I had on hand and planted it in a small terra cotta pot.
The terra cotta pot was not the ideal pot choice by any means. Sometimes I just use what I have on hand, out of laziness, but I would not recommend using terra cotta pots for this plant.
Perhaps a larger terra cotta pot would have been fine, but small terra cotta pots dry out much too quickly.
Like I mentioned earlier, these plants hate to dry out too much. I would recommend using either a heavier plastic pot, or a nice glazed ceramic pot.
A heavier, sturdy pot is ideal because this plant will need a support post, so you don't want your plant to be toppling over. I'll get into adding a support later in this post.
As far as potting mix, I was able to find a useful piece of advice from Exotic Rainforest that pointed out a Rhaphidophora tetrasperma enthusiast that used the following potting mix.
No specific ratios were mentioned, but I'm following that one recommendation. Here is my mixture. It is a very well drained soil and I'm using the following components:
To which I've added some orchid potting mix.
And a bit of activated charcoal was added.
The potting mix should be kept constantly damp.
Notice that I said damp and not wet! To be safe though, I would still wait until at least the surface is dry to the touch before watering again. Avoid letting this plant go completely dry at all cost because it will protest.
Please note that if you add chunky material like the orchid bark, the potting mix will be very aerated and you won't have to worry nearly as much about overwatering since much more oxygen will be available at the roots.
As I lived with this plant and continued to propagate and grow it, I've found that just a plain blend of an all-purpose potting mix (3 parts) mixed with perlite (1 part) also works very well. No need to get fancy with potting mixes.
4. FERTILIZER
My taste in fertilizer has continued to evolve and I have switched my all-purpose fertilizer to a product called Dyna-Gro Grow.
This is a very high quality fertilizer for a number of reasons.
It is a complete fertilizer and it supplies all the necessary macro and micro nutrients that plants need. Eventually if you use a fertilizer that is not a complete fertilizer, it may eventually suffer from nutrient deficiencies.
Micronutrients, although needed in very small amounts, are still necessary to plant growth.
None of the ingredients in this fertilizer contain Urea, which can harm plants over time. Many cheaper fertilizers use Urea, and some of them in large quantities.
A good fertilizer will make the difference between a mediocre plant and a spectacular plant (provided your other aspects of care are up to par!)
So although Dyna-Gro Grow may cost a bit more than many of the more commonly available fertilizers, my plants and your plants deserve it! I've experienced amazing growth with consistent use of this fertilizer.
5. CLIMBING SUPPORT
In order to get the best growth possible out of your Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, you must give it a sturdy, climbing support.
I grew my initial plant from a cutting that friend sent me. I will describe how I rooted my Rhaphidophora in the next section.
I initially gave my first plant a support which consisted of a thin bamboo stake, but it quickly outgrew it.
Here are two easy options to support your plant.
BAMBOO TEE-PEE
The easiest, and best way in my opinion, is to make a bamboo tee-pee. Simply insert 3 bamboo canes in your pot and tie them on top. As the plant grows, simply continue to secure the plant with plastic clips, garden twine, or whatever you have handy.
MOSS POST
The second way that I would recommend supporting your plant is using a moss post. This is much more work, but the results can be beautiful.
If you would like to make your own (and I promise you it will be much better and cheaper than anything you can purchase), check out my blog post with step-by-step photos and instructions on making your own moss post.
6. TEMPERATURE
This is a warm growing tropical plant, so keep temperatures on the warm side. If you move your plants outdoors during warmer weather, wait until night time temperatures are consistently 55F (13C) or higher.
Growth will be best in warm temperatures. 55-85F is a good range to keep in mind.
7. HUMIDITY
I always say that if you can keep your potting mix at a good moisture level for your plant, it is much more important than trying to
The most practical way to
If you would like to see my recommendations, check out my top 3 humidifier post to help you make your decision.
RHAPHIDOPHORA PROPAGATION
It helps to have crazy plant friends to send you cuttings of interesting plants! One of my friends sent me a single cutting of Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, and from that cutting,I've propagated and grown more plants than I know what to do with.
After surviving being mailed to me, the cutting grew roots for me very easily in water. I started out with one cutting that had 3 or 4 leaves on it.
If you are trying to propagate Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, just be sure to include at least one node under the surface of the water in your propagation vessel.
The nodes are simply the portion where the leaf meets the stem. There are where the roots will grow from. You can see the aerial roots already along the stem in the photo above.
Just cut below one of these nodes, and place at least one of the nodes under water and wait for them to root.
In general, when I water propagate any plant, I wait until the roots are 1-2 inches long and then I will pot them up in soil.
Of course sometimes I get lazy and let the cuttings go way too long, like the cuttings below that I took all from a single stem of my plant:
This created more work because then I needed to detangle these cuttings before I potted them up. And WOW, the roots were strong and thick!
The cuttings themselves were starting to grow in the water, as you can see from the buds forming in the photo below. Ideally, just wait until the roots are 1-2 inches long and then pot up in soil if you can!
Now let's take a look at what these cuttings turned into after 1 year.
Right: April 2021
Look at the transformation after just 1 year!
If you enjoy water propagation, be sure not to miss my post on the best houseplants to propagate in water.
COMMON PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS
Why is my Rhaphidophora tetrasperma getting yellow leaves?
There are many reasons why plants can get yellow leaves. The most common reason is imbalances in soil moisture. If your soil has gone completely dry, your plant will develop yellow leaves on the lower part of the plant. On the other hand, if your plant stays soggy for a long time, this can also result in yellow leaves. Feel your potting mix to determine what happened and adjust your care accordingly.
Is Rhaphidophora tetrasperma toxic?
Like any member of the Araceae (aroid) plant family, Rhaphidophora contains insoluble calcium oxalate which is toxic to pets and humans if ingested.
Why does my Rhaphidophora tetrasperma have brown spots?
You could potentially have a bacterial or fungal infection. Isolate your plant and treat with an appropriate fungicide.
Why does my Rhaphidophora tetrasperma have droopy leaves?
This is likely caused by a soil moisture issue. Potting mix that has gone too dry (or even too wet to the point of root rot) will both cause droopy leaves. Try and aim for a good balance in soil moisture.
When will my Rhaphidophora tetrasperma get fenestration?
This is highly dependent on the age of your plant and the quality of your growing conditions.
What is Rhaphidophora tetrasperma growth rate?
This is a rapidly growing plant if you can provide good growing conditions. I've had my plants grow over 6 feet in a single year.
How big does Rhaphidophora tetrasperma get?
This plant can easily get several feet tall even indoors. Plants can get up to 5m tall in the wild.
Why is my Rhaphidophora tetrasperma's leaves curling?
Like many plant woes, there can be multiple reasons why this is occurring. Soil that is too dry or too wet can cause this, as can drafty areas (too cold or too hot), as well as very low humidity.
Have you tried looking for a Rhaphidophora tetrasperma? They seem to be sold out everywhere online! Hopefully in the near future, they will be more abundant, and cheaper as well.
Rhaphidophora tetrasperma is definitely a fantastic houseplant and is surprisingly easy to grow.
And if you follow all the recommendations I've made in this post , you will be shocked at quickly these plants grow!
I recently got one for what I thought was a deal but it turned out to have root rot! What can I do to save it? Everyone says this plant is easy to grow but all of my propagations keep dying! What am I doing wrong?
Hi Keira! You can try and root it again in water and then plant it back into soil. But please tell me what kind of soil you're using, the size pot, what kind of light, your watering routine, etc so I can help you. Are you doing anything differently from what is in my post?
@Raffaele,
Hi!
After reading your post I realized I was letting it dry out too much so I’ve been watering it more often. I will try to reroot what I have left of the plant in water.
When I got the plant it was in water logged all purpose potting soil. I put it in an east facing window and repotted into a chunky/coco coir mix.
When I realized it had root rot I started to take cuttings with 1+ nodes and tried to root them in distilled water. All but 1 of them rotted (holding out hope for the last one). Unfortunately the mother plant is still yellowing.
Now all I have are wet sticks. I put them in a container with moss in a west facing window. Do you think that will work? Some of the stems have black tips from the water propagation fails (should I cut that off?).
Looking forward to hearing your advice! Thank you sooooo much!
Hi Keira. I assume that when you said moss, that you're using sphagnum moss? That is perfectly fine to root them with sphagnum moss. You can send me photos if you'd like and I can take a look. Use the contact form on my website, then when I reply, you can attach photos to the email. Good luck!
Hi! Thank you for this post! Very informative! I was wondering how to get mine to have multiple main shoots/stems? Right now, mine is just one long main vine. Should I just propagate the vine and fill out the pot or is there a way to get multiple vine shoots from this same one? Thanks!
Hi Emily! If you want a bushier plant, you'll have to propagate and place several rooted cuttings in the same pot. There really is no way around this 🙂
ah! i just got a tetrasperma last weekend (it was a steal - a 6in, full plant for $20!) & it's so cute! i'm itching to propagate it but i don't want to harm it in any way so i think i might hold off. thanks for sharing!
That is definitely a steal! Get comfortable growing the plant first, and then you can propagate. They're SUPER easy to propagate. 🙂
Hi Raffaele!
I got a r.tetrasperma cutting in water just a few days back and there was new leaf growth on it. I notice that there is some browning on one side of the new leaf and I'm wondering why that happened and what I could do to prevent it. It is still in water-waiting for root growth. Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙂 Thanks.
Siff
I would just leave it alone and let it do its thing. I wouldn't worry about a little browning right now. If your new leaves have this issue after you plant it in soil, then you can revisit it. For now, I wouldn't be concerned.
i have cut off all leaves. only short section of stem with no leaves or aerial roots.
Put it in the soil or water. Now it is new sprouting many. 😀
That's great! Hope you get lots of plants! 🙂
Hello,
I think r. tetrasperma is a gorgeous plant and I’d love to add it to my little plant family but I can’t find any around me. I want to be able to pick out my plant or have someone I trust pick it out for me so I know I’m getting a healthy plant and it will have the best chance of surviving transplant shock. This id Ohio tropics and I live in Ohio, did you order yours online or buy it somewhere local?
A friend sent me cuttings a couple years ago. It is a hard plant to find still in many areas!
Hi- thanks for your article. So i’m very careful with watering. Even though I added orchid soil. I actually let it dry out and then give water. Maybe not the best way but I just dont want it to get root rot. And with this temp. I should actually water every 2 days bc the soil dries out fast. Do you give water every 2-3 days in summer?
Also I realized that every time I water the plant, the leaves release droplets. (Water)
Why does this happen? Is it a bad sign? And how to avoid?
The plant looks healthy and happy to me.
Many thanks!
Hi Dana, I'm glad you enjoyed the post! It's hard to tell you if every 2-3 days is a good frequency because it varies. If after that time, the soil is pretty dry, then yes, go ahead and water! What you're seeing is a phenomenon known as guttation. Here is a link that explains it: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/hpgen/guttation-in-plants.htm
@Raffaele, thank you so much this was extremely helpful!
Thank you for this article. Just what I was looking for.
You're very welcome Donna!
Hi ,
I got a Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma two weeks back from a local seller. Before selling to me , the plant was repotted in a new plant. Within 4 days , I lost two bottom leaves - they became yellow . Post that no more leave drops and even I can see a small new leaf coming out. The original potting came with a stick support covered with Brown Jute Hemp Twine String. The soil is most and I water only when I feel the TOP soil is dry by inserting my finger But overall - I find the leaves droopy and curled up. I am not sure if that is fine or is there something wrong with my plant since most pictures I see the leaves are quite erect. Please advise.
PS. I am unable to attach the picture here - if there is a way to email the pictures of the plant - please let me know.
Thank you in advance for all your help.
Hello there! You can go to the contact form of my blog, and email me that way. Once I reply, you can attach the photos. I'm happy to help.
Hi there my name is Brenda I'm finally going to get one of my wishlist plants at a local Greenhouse only one that I have found that carries this plant it will be one cutting fully rooted in a 4-6 inch pot with about four leaves on it and I just wanted to ask you if taking cuttings on this plant say like this growing season I will be getting it tomorrow which here is at the end of February and I'm just wondering will I be able to have me a full pot from taking cuttings by the end of the growing season or would it be best to just let it grow out and then next year take my cuttings to fill my pot up and make it a thicker plant I've heard that they grow like weeds so I was thinking that I could be able to like give it a month maybe cut it back give it another month and maybe take a cutting and so on and so forth any advice would be helpful like I said it is a wishlist plan I've never owned one I have many monasteries the big guys and philodendrons so I'm thinking that I can do well with this plant because I was7 told the care for them is a lot like. The others I have been growing for like 30 yrs but just wondering when I get this plant tomorrow I know I need to give it at least a month to acclimate to my home and get used to its new place and I just want to make sure if I take in a month or two if it grows as least as I was told would it be okay to start taking cuttings because it is a fully rooted pot of only one plant and I'm so much wanted a nice full pot but can't afford it and kinda hard to find one like that as of now..I would appreciate any advice you could give and would be very much appreciated...thank you
Hi Brenda. I would let your plant be at home for 2-3 months or so before doing anything. Live with the plant, start to get used to the care of the plant, and let it adjust to its new environment and grow a bit. After you feel comfortable with its care, then you can worry about taking cuttings. They are very easy to grow plants, but it is a good idea to get used to the care first, and then I would recommend propagating it. They grow quickly, so you can take multiple cuttings. If you take the cuttings by about May or June, they will root quickly, you can pot them up, and they will get a chance to become established before the winter. Just my two cents...good luck!
Thank you so much for replying back to me and for all ur care tips on this awesome plant... I truly appreciate it.. I got two 4" pots with two young vines per pots full of leaves also both pots are putting out 2 to 3 new shoots.. I'm so happy with both and got so much more then i thought because she Said 1 per pot but I guess in the few weeks it took me to get out to her greenhouse they had already started to grow new shoots... then when I brought them home they have already put out lots of new leaves on all 4 vins and a few new shoots in each pot.. I've only had them here for almost a week so yes they do grow very fast when happy.. I for sure don't think I will be adding them together to make 1 full pot because it looks like there gonna full there own pot out nice an full on there on... Looks like I'm gonna get to have 2 full pots, yay? if all goes well.. But so far they seem to be happy growing and doin well for me so far and and yes sir absolutely I would wait a few two or three months before I go messing with the plant as far as doing anything to it like cuttings, repotting or anything like that.. I'm gonna wait until May to be on the safe side... well I probably would have waited a month or two but I'm like you three months is good timing for something like this that you don't want to lose... again thank you so much for all ur help and I do truly appreciate ur time?
Do you have any updates on growing from seed? Method you used and successes? What books can I look into for resources on houseplants?
Hi Virginia! I don't think the ones I got were viable unfortunately. 🙁 . What kind of books are you looking for? Houseplant care in general? Or more specific topics?
Is this species at risk of over-harvesting due to it's popularity?
I don't believe so. I would think that they are continually propagated in cultivation, versus collecting them in the wild. They are essentially tropical weeds though 🙂
Yes, the node is under water. I did not trim the cutting after I received it in the mail, just stuck it straight in water with Superthrive. The tip has turned black... should I recut it?
Checkout my videos on water propagation on Instagram @satori.rd I demonstrate step by step
How long should I expect to wait to see roots from my cutting? It's been in water for at least 2 weeks and nothing yet.
It all depends. As long as your cutting still looks good, give it more time. Change the water frequently to keep it fresh. Do you have at least one node under water?
There is a seller online selling seeds for this plant, is it possible to grow this plant from seed? I really want to add this plant to my collection and figured seeds are much more afordable if they are a legitimate way to start a Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma. Any advice would appreciated.
Yes I've seen the seeds as well and just obtained some. It is possible, yes, but I've read that any aroid seeds are only viable for a short time. As long as the seeds are fresh and you sow them on a timely basis, you should be able to grow them from seed! I am actually in the process myself of experimenting with this.
Hi there.
Thank you for posting this helpful info.
I do have a question. My Rhapidofora leaf is somewhat droopy. I am careful not to over water it. Not sure to what's wrong with it. And it still hasn't sprouted any new leaf since I received this cutting.
Any idea to how to make my rhaphidophora happy? ????
Hi Sharon! Can you tell me a little bit more so I can help you out? How many leaves does the cutting have? Has the cutting rooted yet? How long have you had the cutting?