Bringing My Monstera in a 27-Liter Grow Container Back Indoors — From Winter Failure to Rescue

November 2025

The Monstera planted in a 27-liter grow container is quite heavy, so this year, though I felt a bit guilty about it, I decided to leave it outside on the balcony to overwinter there. However, the tips of its leaves suddenly turned yellow, and it clearly started looking unwell, which worried me. After all the effort it took to grow this big, letting it wither away felt far too sad, so in the end I dragged it back indoors again this year, just like before.

A few days earlier, on a dry, clear autumn day, I checked the soil moisture of two Monstera pots by inserting bamboo chopsticks into the soil, and then watered them for the first time in a while. That turned out to be a mistake. The Monstera in the 10-go pot, which I had already brought indoors a few days prior, didn’t get any more yellow, but its stem suddenly bent nearly 30 degrees, and the leaves shifted direction as if peering toward the window.

Around the same time, the Monstera in the 27-liter grow container was still out on the balcony. It, too, immediately showed the same kind of negative reaction described above. The speed at which Monsteras react to water is truly remarkable. In other words, once the weather turns cold, it seems best to be careful with watering — perhaps an occasional light misting is enough. Since the stems had become rough and firm to the touch, I had mistakenly assumed they could withstand at least some cold. If you live in a region where temperatures stay warm year-round, overwintering outdoors is probably fine. Otherwise, letting the soil dry out completely and keeping the plant in a dormant state might make outdoor overwintering possible. Watering when temperatures aren’t as high as in summer can easily lead to root rot.

As for how I actually got the large pot in from the balcony: I tilted the pot and rolled it to change its orientation, then dragged it while still tilted toward the window. I placed it on a folded piece of cardboard near the window, then held the edge of the cardboard to drag it across the floor indoors. I also tilted the pot again to slide a wooden slatted platform underneath it, placing the pot on top to help with drainage. In any case, I never once lifted the pot off the ground — I completed the entire move either by tilting it or by dragging it on cardboard. Since the soil still seemed to be holding water, I figured the pot had gotten even heavier, so I didn’t attempt to lift it at all. So far, the yellowed parts of the leaves haven’t spread any further, so I’ve managed to keep things stable for now.

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