Are you among those who have a holey, green and tall Monstera in the living room? Then you are not alone. The plant is among the most popular in Norway. Plantekeda Mester Grønn says that sales have doubled over the past three years. In addition, motifs of plants adorn everything from mobile phone covers to textiles and wallpaper. But few still know what the plant is capable of out in nature. 60 orders in one week The tiny flowers and niche shop “Berre & torg” in Lofoten recently noticed the enormous demand for the green plant. A few weeks ago, daily manager and owner Miriam Berre brought in a couple of plants. They were torn away in just a couple of minutes. Daily manager and owner Miriam Berre at “Berre & torg” in Lofoten discovered a large market for the plant. Photo: Miriam Berre / Privat Then she went to purchase 15 new ones. – Before I suffered, I had 60 names on the list, and I still send people messages, says Berre. In the end, she had received 60 orders in one week, and 50 new ones for the following week. The following week he had to order another 38 new ones. Now shop owner Miriam Berre also has to use the hallway outside the shop to make room for all her plants. There is no more room in her own premises. Photo: Miriam Berre / Private In total, she has now sold 165 plants. She has put several people on the ferry to Bodø, and she has received inquiries from Oslo. – It seems that the plant is in demand throughout Norway. Then it’s extra fun to get it done in wesle Lofoten. A variant of Monstera that has become popular recently is Monstera “Monkey Mask”, says Purchasing Manager at Mester Grønn, Kari Brekke. Photo: Mester Grønn Purchasing manager at Mester Grønn, Kari Brekke, says that the monsters have been among their top sellers in the last five to six years. – Monstera is a very easy-care plant that is easy to succeed with, she says. Care of Monstera/window leaf Good sunlight, but it should preferably not be placed directly in the hot afternoon sun. In other words – sun in the morning and afternoon, but shade in the afternoon. It is not necessary to place the plant directly by the window, 2–3 meters from the window is fine. With some distance, the plant can fit in both shade and sunlight. Monstera ‘Delicosa’ thrives very well if it gets some heat. If you have heated floors in the house, this is optimal. Otherwise, temperatures of 18–23 degrees are generally good. It also likes moisture, so you can advantageously spray the plant’s leaves with water several times a day. A tip is to have a small spray bottle next to the plant, so it is easy to walk by and spray. Source: plantasjen.no But even though the plant is sought after for decorating Norwegian stoves, Tommy Prestø, senior engineer at the Department of Natural History at NTNU, believes that there is a lot people do not know about the plant. Can be twenty meters tall – There is something about the monster that makes it take off completely. They are big for us indoors, but I have seen the really big Monsteras, says Prestø. Purchasing manager at Mester Grønn, Kari Brekke, advises people to cut leaves off the plant and put them in a vase for decoration. Photo: Mester Grønn Out in nature, even the largest houseplants would look pitiful. Naturally, Monstera is 20 meters tall. Is it a climbing plant If you have a monstera at home, you may have discovered that you have to prop it up as it gets bigger. And it’s not so strange. Monstera is actually a climbing plant. Monstera gets bigger and prettier the older she gets. The characteristic flaps also become more prominent with age. Photo: Mester Grønn Naturally, they climb high up on the trunks of trees in the rainforest. – The plants we have at home may be fascinating, but compared to what exists in Central America, they are actually sad things, says Prestø. Has fruit with the taste of pineapple And not enough with the height. Monstera also has edible fruit in the wild. Biologist and university lecturer at the Natural History Museum, Kristina Bjureke, has tasted the fruit herself when she worked in the Azores, an archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. – It’s a sweet plant, it tastes like Cherimoya or pineapple, she explains. Now videos of the monstera fruit abound on social media. But the researchers think few know that it is the fruit of the popular stove plant. Photo: Annon201 / Wikimedia The biologist from NTNU says that Monstera planta is tropical and comes from tropical forests in South and Central America, but Europeans early brought the plant home to Europe. Prestø believes that the fact that people have now learned the name of the plant can make them more curious about where it actually comes from. – It can contribute positively when it is a popular plant that you have now learned the name of. I think it can arouse interest in learning the names of the other plants you have in your living room. Thinks plant names pique interest The biologist from NTNU believes that few retailers know as much about the plant as they sell in bulk. – Where it is found out in nature, Monstera is a plant with a bit of grandeur around it. It is because she has a useful value. But Berre in Lofoten does not agree. She is careful to read up on the plants in order to give good advice to her customers. – I have also seen someone who got fruit on Monstera here in Norway, so I was aware of this, she says. Miriam Berre in the shop “Berre & torg” in Lofoten experiences that more and more people are interested in knowing the names of the plants they buy. Photo: Privat Prestø points out that generations of schoolchildren do not know the names of even the most common Norwegian plants. He hopes the popular stove plant can pique interest. That hope is shared by the shop owner, who has more and more customers who are curious about the name and origin of the plants. – I find that many customers want to know the name of the plant. It is also so that they can find more information themselves, says Berre. – We can hope that it spreads through the age groups.
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Enormous interest in the Monstera plant, but few know that it can bear fruit – news Nordland
