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