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Full Specimen Plate

Monstera obliqua Suriname Form

Suriname Form Obliqua

Medium
LightDeep shade, filtered light
Terrarium
HumidityHigh humidity
Warm
TemperatureWarm tropical
Medium
SizeVariable, can climb significant heights
Slow
Growth RateSlow
Difficult
DifficultyDifficult
Part of the Monstera obliqua familyWild££££ · CollectorLowSuriname; cultivated locality form

Monstera obliqua Miq. Morphology

leaf ShapeAsymmetrical, elongated
leaf LengthVariable
leaf WidthVariable
petiole ColorSlender
venationPronounced primary veins
textureSmooth
variegationN/A (perforations)
growth HabitClimbing

About Monstera obliqua Miq.

This form of Monstera obliqua originates from Suriname and is a cultivated locality form. It is a delicate understory climber found in deep shade within wet tropical forests. Characterized by slender leaves with irregular perforations, it thrives in high humidity and constant moisture, attaching to trees and woody stems. Its leaves are moderately perforated, placing it between the most and least perforated obliqua forms.

Native Range

Suriname

Market Analysis

Monstera obliqua Miq. Price Guide & Auction Value

Historical eBay auction metrics and live retailer listings updated weekly.

No eBay auction history available yet. Data is collected automatically as sales appear on eBay UK.

Before You Buy

Shared checklist for Monstera obliqua and its cultivated forms

  • Genuine Monstera obliqua leaves are extremely fenestrated (70-90% hole coverage) and paper-thin/near-translucent — thicker, less extreme fenestration is almost always Monstera adansonii
  • Look for leafless exploratory stolons on the plant or cutting — true obliqua produces these before leaves; adansonii does not
  • Ask the seller for the specific locality/collection origin — reputable true-obliqua sellers can usually name it, generic 'obliqua' listings with no origin are a red flag
  • Given the price and rarity involved, request close-up photos of an actual leaf held up to light before buying, not just a listing photo

Propagation Guide

How to Propagate Monstera obliqua Miq.

Shared across every form of Monstera obliqua — see this form's own Morphology for variegation-specific propagation notes.

Difficulty
Expert Only
Time to Establish

6-12+ months

True From Cuttings
Yes

Cultivar character is preserved through vegetative cuttings

Notoriously difficult and slow to propagate — single-node cuttings are the norm given how rare source material is, and rot rather than rooting is the most common outcome without near-sterile, high-humidity propagation conditions (sphagnum in a sealed box or in-vitro tissue culture).

Care Guide

Monstera obliqua Miq. Care Guide & Growing Conditions

General care shared across all forms of Monstera obliqua — cultivated forms may need brighter light or higher humidity than the plain species; check this form's Quick Facts above.

Substrate

Very open, chunky epiphytic mix: sphagnum moss, fine orchid bark and perlite — true obliqua roots are fine and easily suffocated or rotted in dense substrate.

Watering

Keep consistently and lightly moist — the paper-thin leaves have almost no water storage capacity and desiccate quickly, but waterlogged roots rot just as fast.

Humidity

75-95% is non-negotiable. This species is essentially impossible to grow well outside a closed, humidity-controlled enclosure or greenhouse in a UK home.

Fertilising

Very dilute liquid fertiliser (quarter strength or less) no more than once a month — this is an extremely slow-growing plant with minimal nutrient demand.

Repotting

Rarely — disturb the root system as little as possible; repot only when the container is genuinely outgrown.

Common Problems

Problem

Leaf desiccation / crisping

Cause

Humidity below the 75%+ this species requires

Fix

Move into a sealed cabinet or greenhouse — open-room humidifiers are rarely sufficient for true obliqua

Problem

Stem/node rot

Cause

Overwatering combined with dense substrate or poor airflow

Fix

Repot into a very open mix, improve airflow, and reduce watering frequency while keeping ambient humidity high

Problem

Mislabelled purchase

Cause

The overwhelming majority of plants sold as 'Monstera obliqua' are actually Monstera adansonii

Fix

Verify fenestration ratio (70-90% hole coverage), leaf translucency, and presence of leafless exploratory stolons before paying true-obliqua prices

Field Notes · Vol. 11 September 2023

Suriname's Obliqua

A locality form of Monstera obliqua from Suriname — another Guiana Shield country, like French Guiana, from a region that has contributed less to the collector obliqua conversation than the Peruvian and Ecuadorian material. Very rare at top tier pricing. Suriname's interior forests remain substantially intact and under-collected botanically, which gives material from Suriname localities genuine scarcity value beyond simple trade rarity. If authentic and correctly georeferenced, Suriname obliqua belongs in a well-curated locality collection.

Written at AroidAtlas research station— Aroid Atlas
Retail Price?The average price across tracked UK retailers (nurseries and specialty stores).
Not tracked
Not currently stocked by tracked UK retailers

How prices are calculated: The AA Price uses online sold listings converted to GBP at current exchange rates, excluding extreme outliers to ensure a fair-value guide. Falls back to UK retail average when auction data is unavailable.

Also in: Fenestrated Grails

The M. obliqua complex — leaves dominated by fenestration rather than solid tissue, the most extreme expression of leaf-splitting in the genus.