I called a monstera a philodendron and the whole room went quiet

Last month, I went to my first big plant club meeting in the city. I brought my favorite houseplant, a lush green thing with big leaves. When a person next to me asked what kind it was, I said philodendron without thinking. Suddenly, everyone stopped talking and looked at me. A nice lady across the table softly said it was a monstera, not a philodendron. My cheeks got really red, and I wanted to hide. After a minute, people smiled and started sharing their own mix-up stories. It was a funny way to learn more about plants. Has something like this ever happened to you at a plant event?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_coleman1d ago

Got a similar story from a local nursery visit last year. Called a pothos a philodendron and the worker gently told me they're different plants. Monsteras and philodendrons get mixed up a lot because they're in the same plant family. But monsteras have those cool split leaves, while philodendrons usually don't. Felt super embarrassed at the time, but it's a common mistake. Your experience shows how plant folks can be nice about teaching each other.

anthony_murphy1d ago

Yeah I heard a plant podcast say even experts mix them up sometimes. Good point @spencer_coleman, it's all about learning.

janah831d ago

Actually saw this happen at a big box store just last week. They had a huge split-leaf philodendron labeled as a monstera, which honestly is super common. The whole naming thing gets messy because some plants have like three different common names depending on who you ask. Makes it really tough for new plant people to feel sure about what they're buying. In my experience, the big stores are the worst for wrong labels, so it's no wonder we all get mixed up.