Rubble, I'm always fascinated hearing experiences like the one you posted. Swiss Cheese, in the (philodendron/Monstera) family are highly tropical..it's amazing your plant adapted to z8...Toni

Yeah I also thought monstera deliciosa was much more hardy then once thought. There are so many old up to 70 feet long swiss cheese plant vines in Orlando...where we sometimes get into the 20s. If you want to see for yourself check out Leu Gardens! That is amazing rubbleshop how your plants can not only take the frost of england but the downright cold and damp conditions that would kill most tropicals.

Hi Folks,
I just discovered my swiss cheese has got a number of seeds coming . I read somewhere that they take over a year to ripe
but also if you take them off and out them in
a bag the process acelarates. If so how soon could I plant the seeds after colecting. How long will it take for the seeds to become plants? How many seeds would there be in each bulb. I have got this swiss cheese growing up onto an olive tree. The leaves are something huge! I am in the Algarve btw and this is my first post.
I am aware that this doesn't answer rubbleshop's question but I see here people that know about the monstera deliciosa. By the way what zone would I be in if the UK is in the 8th?
Many thanks:)

Johannes I think most of Portugal is in either zone 9 or 10.

Johannes,

the fruit is infact edible and tastes like a cross between a pineapple and a banana! Although, if eaten when unripe, it can be deadly poisonous!

grows ranpantly outdoors in northern new Zealand. Infact in can be quite a nuisance in the garden as it flops all over the place and quickly puts down roots. The plants regularly set fruit, but I dont know of anybody who eats them here. Ive seen then climbing 5 meters + up garden trees. Coastal Auckland is zone 10 and seems to be more than suitable for them.

Here in Sacramento CA, USA,zone 9, there are a few monstera vines in pots left outdoors all winter and they seem to get by, but on the other side of town there is a dentist's office that has giant leaved Monstera deliciosa as foundation plantings. They are in full sun and that is saying something here. They are short stemmed and do not climb. In fact they grow very much like Philodendron selocia. They seem to be impervious to the light frosts we get each winter and I have never seen any damage from sun, wind or frost. I wish I had the room to grow them myself, but like the giant philodendrons, they take up a lot of room that I just don't have.

UK is officially zone 8, but I think it is really 9 where I live in Devon due to the gulf stream. We got 3 frosts last year in the front garden but no frosts in the back garden (more sheltered).

The type I grow hate direct sunlight and go yellow unless grown in shade.

I can't grow cheese plants in pots outside, but can grow them in the soil, where they grow enormous and do climb up into my cherry trees trailing roots several yards long which sometimes reach the ground and root. The leaves are about 1ft or more across and they do have white flowers a bit like arum, usually in January (which is actually our coldest time), but I cut the fruits off before they get a chance to mature because I have dogs and they are toxic until ripe.

I think that although in the UK I am zone 9 though really, though we have cool summers for zone 9, but not cold enough in winter for zone 8.

Hi,
I also live in Devon (Plymouth)! Do you have any pictures of it? I really want to try mine outside, but it's only 3ft high.
James

Hi James,

I posted on your other thread.

All the best