I have a verigated philodendron which is over a year old. I started it from a slip. I don't know why, but it doesn't seem to want to give any verigated leaves, to grow more than one vine and to grow morw than 4 inches long. I water it when almost dry and use fish emulsion from my recycled betta's water. This is the only plant of its kind that I have in my friendship garden and I don't remember where I clipped it so I don't want to lose it. Please, what do I need to do to save it?
During the active growth period you should be watering it a bit more. Make sure the entire potting mixture is moist at each watering and allow only about the top 1/2 inch to dry out before watering again. Also, what kind of light does it receive? Philodendrons like bright filtered light. Usually not direct sunlight but poor light tends to cause their stems to elongate and they will lose any variegated leaf color.
Hi, am I missing something here? You're in ME, growing friendship garden, and you have a philodendron in there? Please tell me it's an indoor garden... philos won't last 5 mins outside in ME (except in summer, of course).
Hey Rima, Thanks for your interest, well, duh, LOL, of course it is indoors! Yes, my entire friendship garden is inside my home. I try to keep the temperature regulated and the humidity temperate. I have 17 different plant species in my little garden. Thanks again! Woodsprite
Ha ha, I'm just not used to anyone calling their indoor growing area a garden - and while Duh seems like the obvious answer, you wouldn't believe some of the doofuses out there trying to grow things in all the wrong places... so sometimes you have to ask. I'd love it if you could post a pix of your garden though!
Woodsprite: Hi! Clicking through the Threads, I found your note. Here in Florida, it is difficult to believe that anyone , anywhere could have trouble growing a Pothos. I just went out and measured the variegated Pothos that is growing up a 10 foot high tree stump that I left, on purpose, just for the purpose of growing one for an addition to my tropical garden. A typical spathe (leaf stem) is 20 inches long.(3/4 inch in diameter). The leaf I measured is 23 inches long and 17 inches wide. This is undoubtedly due to 'year-round' growing conditions. But, the point I wish to make is that the air roots(hold fasts) are growing with only the acid bark to which they cling as nourishment. I might suggest, if I may, that the growing medium would help your plant if it were on the acid side of the pH scale. Composted bark potting soils have to be available in your location, I'm sure. Fify years ago, in Dayton, Ohio, it was always competitive in my work group to grow Pothos in your kitchen and regularly brag that YOUR Pothos was now fifteen feet long. You would use tacks to run it around the walls. Little three inch leaves, etc., the same thing you are growing. However, here , you stick it in the ground at the base of a tree, and jump back. The sunlight, the rain (acid) the ability to grow year-round creates a monster. A ten foot long 'cutting' will give you a pile of leaves two feet high. Usually, these will be left alongside the street, (we don't have curbs on my Island), and they will be gone in under an hour. Then someone else begins to learn how invasive these plants can be. Also, these guys are tree climbers in their native environment. If you enlarge your pot and add a post of tree fern,(brown,porous, usually two inches square by two feet long) it will naturally cling to the post of its own accord and not have to be tied. Further, growing UP seems to enlarge the leaves. Hanging pot leaves always seem to be smaller, and the tendency of the runner tips to reach up is a clue. Just some musings. They really ARE easy to grow. Think acid soil. Regards, and good luck.
i have many growing in my trees as well.they are quite beautiful growing up int my scrub oaks.make an excellent contrast.being an indoor plant as you have ,i have a freind that is growing them in her bathroom,very well lit area, and they are actually growing around her walls,clinging to the dry wall ,strangest thing i ever saw,but, that will be a nightmare come paint time.was still quite cool though
I agree with everything Chuck said. Also in Florida, I think I would cut back on the fish emulsion. Sometimes too much nitrogen can make leaves green. Other than that, yes, acid your potting mix. I too have 40 foot long plants growing up into my 100+ year old live oaks. They are really lovely, but totally green with all the shade. Let us know how it goes! Would love a pic of your garden too! -Marshgirl
Without knowing the philodendron species it is difficult to give accurate advice. One thing for sure, philodendrons love high humidity and don't like to dry out. I've got a bunch of them in MY INDOOR GARDEN (just had to say that to the one above who had trouble with indoor gardens) which is 600 square feet and in Arkansas! Try repotting the plant in a better soil mixture. The soil mixtures you buy are not made for philodendrons. I use a mixture of about 1/2 good potting soil with a fertilizer already added and the rest is rougly equal mixtures of good quality peat, Perlite and orchid potting media. This mixture tends to produce a lower soil pH which philos love and also holds water well while draining quickly. In the rainforests of the world philos get rained on almost every day and require a lot of moisture but they hate to stay in wet soil. This contradiction can be avoided by keeping the soil evenly moist but not soggy wet. The soil mixture I use helps to accomplish that goal. The lighting is also important. I have Philodendron hederaceum in a lower light area and the leaves and vine stays small all the time. I have Philodendron hederaceum in a very bright area and the leaves are 8 1/2 inches, rich burgundy on the bottom, thicker vines and grows like crazy. The same is true of P. gloriosum and P. mamei. In lower light areas they hardly grow but in bright light areas the leaves get very large. You have to give the plant what it wants and that sometimes requires some experimentation.
Kind of off subject sorry please forgive me but what part of Maine are you from? My Husbands Whole Family Lives in Madison. But On the subject I found a really rich acidic fertilizer called VF 11 and It really rich in Nitrogen and all that good plant food, I haven't really used much yet I just got it not to long ago and have mostly Draceanas, and My Philodendron is in a medium/low light area. but My Boston fern loves it. Good luck.
Not sure if you were asking that of me but my tropical atrium is in NW Arkansas. As to ferlizers, most serious philodenron growers prefer to begin with a more acidic soil mixture and use a very mild fertilizer in liquid form. The moto seems to be among many "Fertilize weakly, weekly". That's what I try to do and if you look at the photos of my atrium on the Views o the Rainforest page of our Exotic Rainforest website you'll see it appears to work.
Photopro Could you send some pics of your philoden. It sounds to me like you have a pretty impressive collection going. Do you think I should fertilize mine? Its in my bathroom in that has a east faceing window, but I think gets more low light then medium.
I've got a bunch of them, probably 40 or more species some very rare. You can find many of them easily by looking up our website the Exotic Rainforest. You can find it on any search engine. Click on the Plants Collection link on the homepage and then go down the list of plants to the philodendrons. Many are posted with large photos and descriptions of where they live in nature and information about their care. If you've got one or more you really like and would like them posted here let me know and I'll gladly post one or two. If you'd like to get an overview of what a rainforest "under glass" can look like then click on the photos on the homepage or go to the Views of the Rainforest and take the tour. Many philos will live in lower light so there is likely nothing wrong with where you have your plant. I just love to get the maxium growth possible from mine, especially the rare ones. As a result I give most of them brighter light although as the sun drops into the southern sky the light level diminishes naturally. I'm not a botanist, I'm just an overly obsessed "plant nut" who loves to see philos that can get big get really big! As for fertilizer, there is an old rule among rare plant growers, "fertilize weakly weekly". I prefer that method and use diluted liquid fertilizers but give it to the plants often. That is natures way of doing it. In South America the dust storms from Africa blow clear across the Atlantic before settling on the rainforest in the rain. The rain then fertilizes the plants "weakly weekly", actually daily. I try my best to duplicate nature.
Ok Im officially jelouse of you. You make my house look like a desert : ( If anybody wants to see beautifull Philod. go to their website. So Im really bad with Liquid fertilizers the scare me. I over fertilized my Ivy that was in the same pot and spot that my Philod. is now in and shortly after that it gave up on me. I have heard not to fertilize plants growing in low light, so How should I mix my fertlizer. I have a one gallon watering bucket but thinking Im going to need another,(for my other plants) the directions say 1 bottle cap to a quart of water. so should I dilute that ? but I also have a golden Pothos growing in really good light, so Im lost. Maybe you can help. Thank you.
When we lived in Miami I knew several "plant nuts" and their trick was to put about 1/4 teaspoon of Miracle Grow (or the acidic form if your soil pH is high) into a gallon of water. I use one of those adjustable sprayers which are often used for insecticides and set it for 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. I try to use it every week and the plants seem to like it. But since you are mixing your's manually it should be very easy. I'm glad you liked my atrium as well. I had a yard full of tropicals when we lived in Florida and was determined to still have as many as possible when my wife elected to move to Arkansas. I brought a large Ryder Truck completely full! Some of my philos prefer lower light (not many) and I fertilize them all the same.
well Thank you for the helpfull advice. Im pretty new to plants so I look for a lot of help. They seem to love my house I have 4 west windows and 4 south facing windows. I recently perchased a Kentia Palm and I think thats about it for my living room : ) I have 23 all together, but like I say your collection makes mine look like a desert. keep in touch and I would love to hear some more tips about plants in general.
Answering questions as best I can is great fun for me. Being retired I spend a great deal of time researching these critters and often get emails asking for help. If I can give you a good answer I'll certainly try. If you've got questions I may be able to try to answer post a new thread and drop me a note. I'll do my best but sometimes my responses cut across accepted notions because my responses will be based on botany which sometimes differs from general gardening beliefs. But I don't consider myself an expert, just a student. Sounds to me like you're doing just fine.
Oh thats cool, Thank you. Im a stay at home mom who is indoors to much! So my spare time is taking care of my plants and 3 Horses. I enjoy different thoughts and ideas, sometimes what works for some dosen't always work for others. Thats whats nice about this little forum. well thank you again, and I'll get in touch if there's anything that happens to come up.
