A bit about me

My name is Joshua (you can call me Josh, Joshua, or by my last name, Sia!) and I am a plant collector based in the greater Seattle area. I’ve been collecting plants for many years, starting with Phalaenopsis species when I was 11 years old. I was always obsessed with orchids as a young kid, and really enjoyed the challenge of getting the right conditions for them to grow and bloom successively.

I got into aroids right before starting college. I had seen the big Monstera albo craze online and thought that a Monstera was the perfect tropical addition for my future dorm room. I bought my first monstera cutting from a local seller on offer-up for $30 in August 2020. It was a 3-leaf fenestrated top cut with water roots, and I remember nervously driving home with the roots bundled with wet paper towel in a plastic bag.

A lot has happened since then. I slowly got into Philodendron, then got into a big Anthurium kick which got me into growing in cabinets and semi-hydro, and then slowly into Alocasia as well. I bought my first albo in 2022 after returning from studying abroad at Oxford. That was really the moment when my passion for Monstera spiked, especially since that first albo did very well for me. I felt like I could grow any Monstera that I wanted, and now here we are 3 years later with a collection that I am constantly running out of space to grow!

I started working as a Web Developer at an Orchid Nursery in Tacoma called Emerald City Orchids near my college in 2023. I was able to learn a lot from the typical greenhouse processes that took place, and one thing that I took from working there was that many plants are resilient and can gradually be acclimated to many different environments. We grew all kinds of orchids in the nursery from cold to hot and humid to arid environments, and I enjoyed learning about the different strategies that made growing all of these possible under one roof.

Orchids are often seen as difficult plants to grow indoors; however, many people after seeing our operation felt much more comfortable and empowered to grow orchids when given useful information on home growing that they would’ve otherwise faced difficulty in finding.

I keep many of these key points from my work at ECO in mind when growing Monstera. I’ve learned how to acclimate all of my imported plants in full ambient conditions and test out what is possible for indoor home growing. Monstera is such a vigorous plant, and after lots of trial and error, I’ve discovered many growing methods that have been successful for me and allowed me to expand my collection without the fear of killing plants.

I love growing plants. It’s a very cathartic activity to me, and it became a source of relaxation during my college years. I would take breaks from coding and just stare at my plants. There was and still is nothing more fulfilling to me than seeing new leaves and roots emerging and knowing that whatever I was doing with my plants was working. I love being able to look at a plant and see how my care led to its shape or form or color, almost as if every plant I’ve grown is an art piece that I’ve been slowly sculpting.

I’m really glad that I found such a wonderful community from growing plants. I’ve met so many people who share a similar passion for plants, and it is amazing to think that this hobby has provided me many opportunities to forge strong friendships.

Many of these Monsteras and much of the information related to them aren’t easily discoverable. I want to change that. I think everyone should be able to access the resources needed to grow plants successfully and learn about all of the amazing Monsteras out there, which is one of the reasons why I decided to make this website and dedicate time regularly for developing content related to new cultivars and sharing my experience with growing them.