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How to Germinate
Sterilize the soil
I typically try to sterilize my soil when I’m seed starting. I get my soil damp and spread it out over a plate. I then microwave it for about 5 minutes (yeah it will smell funky as can be). I let it cool and then dispense in the containers.

Seed prep
For these seeds, I don’t pre-score, soak them, or provide any special treatment. I simply bury the seed slightly, by just barely covering the seed completely with the sterilized soil.

The waiting game
The first seeds to germinate took about 5 days. Some have taken about 3 weeks. I’d say, on average, healthy monstera seeds will germinate in about 10-14 days under good conditions. That means high humidity, and high heat. Simple enough. While it may feel tempting to put your seeds or seedlings to catch some sun, especially if you’re trying to heat the soil and activate germination, it is never a good idea to introduce direct outdoor sun to your seedlings. At this age, the plants are far too young to experience direct sun. It will burn them to hell. Typically, in nature, they’ll start off growing under the canopy of an adult plant, shielded from the sun’s harshest rays. If you’re trying to get additional heat or growing seeds in the winter, consider a grow mat and artificial lighting.

Humidity
To get the humidity necessary to activate germination, I usually put cling film over the pots, which seals in the moisture needed to sprout. I remove the cling film soon after germination (for cacti, that’s another story and blog post). Just make sure they don’t dry out! They don’t have the moisture reserves that a normal plant would have. Basically treat them like helpless babies. Because they’re not far from it.

2 seeds