Cultural needs for Philodendron Species

Discussion in 'Araceae' started by PaAroidLover, Nov 9, 2007.

  1. PaAroidLover

    PaAroidLover Member

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    Location:
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
    I have been fortunate to purchase Philodendron Joepii recently and was wondering if anybody has any growing tips to share.

    I know next to nothing about the cultural needs of this plant.

    Any help at all would be very welcomed and appreciated.

    Regards, John.
     
  2. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    Location:
    Siloam Springs, AR, USA
    Joep Moonen and I trade email almost daily. The very odd Philodendron 'joepii' with it's wide lower lobe tapering upwards into a slender narrow upper body and then topped by outwardly pointing upper lobes was found by Joep in 1991 on the Mataroni River in eastern French Guiana. The plant appeared to be so malformed he thought it had simply been eaten by insects. But when he returned to the site he found it normally grows in that very odd form. That plant existed on an ant's nest.

    When he attempted to recover the ant covered specimen he fell into the boat and thousands of ants covered his body! To save both himself and the plant he towed it behind his boat for an hour! Since then he has found only one additional plant on the river. Yesterday, (November 9, 2007) he informed me many people confuse Philodendron 'joepii' with almost any odd tri-lobed specimen. According to our email conversations, photos of odd specimens are often credited to Joep which he had nothing to do with their discovery.

    The plant is extremely rare and it's leaves grow to approximately 70 cm (27 1/2 inches) in length. One of his personal specimens now produces an inflorescence each year. This plant is still under investigation by Dr. Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden and has not been officially identified. The last time I spoke to Dr. Croat he was leaning towards it being a natural hybrid and not towards giving it scientific status. Joep has also come to the conclusion it is likely a natural hybrid.

    Philodendron 'joepii' is often confused with a plant Dr. Croat calls P69686. P69686 was found at the gardens of Roberto Burle-Marx in Brazil. Joep now feels P. 'joepii' may be a hybrid between Philodendron bipennifolium and Philodendron pedatum. On recurring trips to the sites where both Philodendron 'joepii' specimens occur in nature he has observed each of these species. Both specimens Joep has found were located on the Mataroni River in eastern French Guiana.

    He has told me several times the specimen should be cut only during the natural dry season and not during the normal growth period when it is wet. His personal suggestions to me for my specimen were to give it high humidity, moderately bright light, and keep it very damp in the natural rainy season. He did however caution the plant needs a natural drier period to prosper. He has found it to be fairly touchy if cut during the wrong time of the year and may not survive. the specimen is naturally an epiphyte.

    If anyone is interested, I have pages on my website regarding P. 'joepii', P. pedatum, P. bipennifolium and P69686. You are fortunate to own one.

    The photo attached is the property of Joep Moonen. I have been granted permission to use it for illustrating this specimen.
     

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    Last edited: Nov 9, 2007

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