One plant, twelve apartments, zero deaths

I bought the monstera in my first flat, from a market stall, for the price of a sandwich. It had three leaves. It now has twenty-two, and it has lived in twelve different homes across three cities. It has survived removal vans, a heatwave, a cold winter with a broken radiator and a flatmate who watered it with leftover tea.

People ask me how. The honest answer is that monsteras are tough. But I have also learned a few things about keeping one plant alive through a life that keeps changing.

The plant does not care where you live. It cares where the window is.

What actually matters

• Light first. Find the brightest spot that does not get harsh midday sun, and put it there on moving day, before the boxes.

• Water less than you think. Once a week in summer, every two weeks in winter, when the top of the soil is dry.

• Wipe the leaves. Dust blocks light, and a monthly wipe with a damp cloth is the best thing you can do.

• Never move it and repot it in the same month. One shock at a time.

Moving day

On moving day the plant travels with me, never in the van. I wrap the pot in a bag so the soil stays put, tie the leaves loosely with soft string and wedge it into the footwell of whatever car or taxi I am in. It gets carried in first, and it gets the good window.

After a move it usually sulks for two or three weeks. A leaf might yellow. That is fine. Do not panic and overwater it. It is just getting used to new light, the way you get used to a new street.

Twelve homes, one plant. Some of the flats I barely remember. The plant remembers all of them, in the shape of its leaves, which lean toward windows that are no longer there.