Herself’s Houston Garden

I love growing philodendrons down here in Houston. So far they have been totally trouble free. I’m aiming for an easy to care for jungle out back and so philodendrons are just the ticket.

The long, leathery leaves of the philodendron are believed to have developed to allow the downpours of the rain forest to run right off the leaves with out damaging them.

Philodendrons tolerate about any light from bright sun to the deepest shade. This one prefers more sun then most philodendrons, but I would not put it in full sun down here in Houston. Slightly moist soil is preferred, I finding established ones will tolerate some dryness now and again. This philodendron in particular does not mind a bit of dryness.

This particular philodendron is not a climber and will stop at a little under 3′ in height. Flowers are white on this plant. This is a slow growing philodendron.

Things to watch for on philodendrons are:
Brown leaf tips means too much fertilizer.
Leaves get a yellow swirly pattern, give it fertilizer, especially magnesium.
Mealy bugs, I haven’t seen them on my philodendrons yet. I just wash them off other plants though and I expect that will work here too.

Philodendrons are native to South and Central America and the West Indies.

There is a bit of a knock down drag out battle among botanical scientists about this plant right now. Seems more than a few are claiming to be the discoverer and have patented it. Which of little interest to most people means the plant might be found under several names.

I acquired this plant at the Mercer summer sale.

All philodendrons contain calcium oxalates. Depending on the plant it migh numb your mouth, or cause severe stomach pain, nausea, and or irritated skin.  Wear gloves while working with these plants and don’t eat them.