My Generous Philodendrons

I nicknamed the philodendron Ate Rose gave me, "Jack". I was surprised it could grow so tall. The stalk she gave me two years ago have multiplied. I trimmed it a couple of times. Re-potted it and have given a couple as gifts. 

Look how tall it is again :)

I cut a few and planted the stalks beside some bamboo in our backyard. I hope the big leaves will dissuade our cats from using the plant box as their litter (they have proper litter boxes!). I placed one of the stalks beside our compost bin. It will get a lot of nutrients from the compost juice that goes directly to the soil. I haven't had to water it the past week since it's been raining. 

I have to cut a few more and maybe give it away to our neighbors again (hehe). It's easy to care for and just keeps giving! :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Trimmed Jack the Philodendron, Now I have 3!

I nicknamed the philodendron Ate Rose gave me as "Jack". It kept growing taller and reminded me of Jack and the Beanstalk. I planted the philodendron cutting Ate Rose gave me last June in a huge pot. I put the two cuttings together since I wasn't sure it would survive. 

It survived and eventually surpassed the plant pole. I added a longer bamboo to support it. Jack strangely grew much taller during my 3 week hospital stay. He probably got a lot more watering from Sweetie. I also had added some soil and compost to it before I got sick, so that's probably why it grew a lot. 

Jack the Philodendron, June 2023 (newly planted) vs. early January 2024

By early January, Jack had reached the roof. I had to act fast since I didn't want the roots to attach to the roof. Since we were planning to add some plants indoors, I thought I could trim Jack and plant it in a new pot. That's what I did last Monday. One stalk was really long, so I cut it in two and planted them in one pot. This is what I'll put indoors. The third stalk I planted in another pot. This one will stay outside my craft room. Hopefully it won't burn since it will get a bit more sunlight. 

And, if the three pots of philodendrons grow tall again I'll just give away the cuttings. Jack the philodendron has been easy to manage. Just water daily and add soil plus a bit of compost or fertilizer when you remember to. I spray it with neem oil once a week since critters love to eat the leaves. Just make sure it only gets indirect sunlight since the leaves may burn.

There's still so much to re-pot. I'll fix my succulents next and then I'll deal with the pothos. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: Philodendron New Leaves

When I re-potted the philodendron given to me last month, I noticed it was starting to form a new leaf. It grew so slowly. TBH, it's my first time to have this variety of philodendron. I've just been winging it. The cuttings I received were big, so I immediately planted them in a huge pot. I just mixed loam soil with coco peat, perlite and a little home made compost. The first challenge was to make sure it would live!

Well, I left it for a few days with two bottles of water stuck on the soil. I knew though the water would just last for a day since it prefers soil to be a bit moist. Luckily it rained and it got some water. It adjusted well and it looked like it would leave. Eventually the node grew. Last week though the plant was attacked by critters. I made sure to spray the leaves with neem oil. I also mixed part of the mixture with water and watered the soil with it. I realized the critters probably laid eggs on it and wanted to get rid of them before they hatched. I did the same for the pothos. 

plus one more node on it's side

I guess the plant also liked the mixture I watered it with because it surprised me a few days ago with a new leaf! The huge pot is just outside my maker room and I usually check it out. At first I thought it was a dying leaf, so I went outside to check it. Realized it was the node that was growing since it arrived and it finally started to unfurl. It was still closed the day before, so I guess it started to open up when the sun rose. The rain may have also encouraged it to finally open up. 

and a node on the other plant

I noticed also that there were other nodes growing. I've been so busy battling caterpillars, I did not notice it was also growing other nodes. Perhaps, the 2-3x a week application of neem oil also helped. I have to check if it requires more or other kinds of fertilizer. The perlite I put in with the soil is probably gone by now. 

I never really planned to take care of ornamental plants. The ones I have came from Mom and Ate Rose. My Mom preferred ornamental and flowering plants. She didn't like growing veggies and turned Kuya's hydroponic system as a plant stand for her multitude of ornamental plants. She loved to propagate new plants and just gave them away to neighbors. I planned to do the same for the kalanchoe, but need to find time to re-pot!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: They Like the Philodendron :(

The other night I noticed something different with the philodendron. It's only been a few weeks since I planted the stalks Ate Rose gave to me. It has just settled in and while checking the door I noticed something different with the large plant. 

The huge leaf I was admiring that afternoon when I watered it was halved in two. It was late already, but I headed out to check. A hungry caterpillar almost wiped out the huge leaf. My heart sank because the same thing happened last year when they almost wiped out all my plants. 

Since it's been a few days since I sprayed neem oil I decided to spray again to prevent further infestation. Noticed another smaller leaf being eaten the day after and I luckily caught the culprit. It had no chance of survival after I sprayed neem oil on it. 

They also like this variety :(

Sigh, really need to find time to hose down the area so I can sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around the pots. That way they won't get to the plant. Well, hopefully they didn't hatch eggs in the soil. I am hoping the neem oil spray will take care of it. Worse off I could probably water them with water with a bit of hydrogen peroxide. 

I hope I'll be able to control the infestation, so it won't be like what happened last year. Sigh.

#BeKind #StaySafe