Sprouting philodendron

This is the philodendron I took cuttings from in the fall. Unfortunately, none of the cuttings formed roots. I recently took them out of their pots, where the stems were rotting off somewhat, and put them in a jar with water. Perhaps they will want to root there, considering that spring is appraoaching and spring is supposed to be the best time for rooting philos. The mother plant, however, is sprouting healthy buds - one on each stem - from both its stems right below where I cut their tops off to propagate it.

The pics are a bit blurry because the bright sun I enjoyed this morning is already gone..

larger sprout

larger sprout again


smaller sprout


both sprouting stems

A scary philodendron

Dealing with another philodendron today, repotting. I bought it as the variety Imperial Green. The size of this plant is beginning to scare me. I photographed it on a chair to give you an idea - it's almost as tall as I am when it sits there. The leaves are the size of two human hands, and that's not counting the stalks. With stalks, the ones at the bottom are as long as my arm.

I am having problems placing it because it needs both lots of indirect light and space. The leaf blades are quite fragile, it's easy to tear them so they shouldn't be touched when you pass by the plant. They also shouldn't touch other plants, especially thorny ones. I initially kept it next to a tall euphorbia and the leaves got permanently scarred. Once you tear or pierce a leaf, it's not going to heal but go dry and ugly around the wound.

But even though my plant is scarred, it still makes a strong statement. If it grows some more it might actually drop the lowest, most damaged leaves. It's my second largest philodendron (after monstera deliciosa) and I plan to grow it as long as it fits inside my apartment. It looks like it's going to share a west facing window with the monstera because they will have best light there. I hope I'll fit in the room with them.

Philodendron cuttings

I took cuttings of my kitchen philodendron, which has totally outgrown its window. In place of one pot I now have five. I have no idea where I'll keep them if they take root. Perhaps I'll get rid of the mother plant, which has cold damage from touching the window pane. I decided to plant the cuttings directly into the soil instead of first rooting in water. I mixed some rich potting soil 1:1 with a very light orchid soil I had left over, I hope they like it. I've never rooted philodenedrons before. It seems weird to do it in late October but apparently there is no time of the year when they are guaranteed to root better than at other times. So I did it this afternoon - outgrown as it was it would only get worse during the winter.

Now the kitchen window looks empty and I have little privacy from the street. I'll have to put some other plants there.. I like the jungle look - lots of foliage of different shapes and sizes - but it's not easy to achieve because my apartment, and in particular the north-facing kitchen, doesn't get very much light. I think I'll try rotating plants from other rooms.. each plant will spend a couple of days in the kitchen with insufficient light and will then be replaced by another and returned to a brighter spot.