A piece of the tropics on the windowsill: is it difficult to care for a philodendron?

In home flower gardens, the philodendron is a rare guest, although caring for him is difficult to call difficult. Lovers of indoor plants are stopped primarily by its large size, which requires a spacious room. In cramped conditions, the decorativeness of the flower suffers: its leaves are injured, gaps appear on them. A narrow window sill is not suitable for growing a philodendron at home. Leaves pressed against the glass are covered with frost scars in winter and sunburn in summer.

Huge vines are incredibly spectacular, but it is better to admire them in a greenhouse or in a winter garden. Enough space for development is provided by halls, lobbies, large halls of official institutions. Owners of ordinary apartments should opt for a room philodendron. It will fill the room with freshness and bright colors and will not constrain the owners.

Home breeding varieties

Philodendron is a member of the aroid family. The variety of its species is impressive: their specialists number about 900, and most of them have not yet been studied. The homeland of this evergreen flower is moist and warm forests, the shores of swamps and rivers of the North American and Australian continents. It is typical of the flora of the Pacific Islands, but the philodendron got there thanks to navigators.

The life forms of a plant are diverse. The genus of philodendrons is represented by:

• semi-epiphytes;
• epiphytes;
• chemiepiphytes.

But mostly the flower is climbing. He needs a support, which he clings to with aerial roots and climbs up. This feature is reflected in the name of the plant. Philodendron is Latin for “loving tree”. If there is no support near the hatched sprout, he will look for it, weaving along the ground. The shade of a tree, post or fence will serve as a guide for him.

The following varieties of philodendron are popular among flower growers.

• Blushing. Suitable even for careless owners. Unpretentious and hardy, easily adapts to drought, poor lighting, low humidity. The trunk of a young flower is reddish-green; as it becomes lignified, it acquires a grayish-golden hue. The length of the leaves reaches 25-30 cm, and their width is up to 15-20 cm. They are elongated, sharpened to the tips. The upper part of the leaf plate is shiny and green, the lower part is often reddish. The bases of the petioles are claret. The ear is white, surrounded by a deep purple veil. It is quite large - up to 15 cm long. The blushing philodendron is the ancestor of most hybrid plant forms. Its varieties Burgundy, Medusa, Red Emerald are in demand.
• Sello. The leaves of the flower are large, their length reaches 60-80 cm. Their shape is ovoid. The edges of the leaf plate are covered with deep cuts, making it slightly curly. In adult philodendrons, it is dissected almost to the central vein. This domestic flower reaches a height of 1.5-1.7 m. Its trunk is powerful woody.
• Ivy. Also known as climbing. Refers to ampelous crops. It has medium-sized (8-15 cm long and 5-10 cm wide) leathery leaves. Their shape is heart-shaped, and they themselves are thin and delicate. The color of the leaves depends on the variety. If they are dark green, the philodendron will grow even in dense shade.
• Home. Its leaves are solid, in the form of a strongly elongated oval, tapering towards the top. Their surface is glossy. Outwardly, the plant resembles a blushing philodendron. You can distinguish them from each other by the color of the petioles. They are green in the domestic philodendron variety.
• Graceful, or narrowly cut. The shape of the leaves resembles a monster.They are deeply feathery, strongly dissected (up to the central vein). Their width reaches 40-50 cm, length - up to 50-70 cm. They can be oblong or ovoid. The flower is distinguished by rapid growth and the need for support.
• Imperial. It is represented by 2 subspecies - Red and Green, differing in the shade of the leaves. Refers to non-branching vines. The stem internodes are short. The leaves form a large (up to 1 m in diameter) rosette.
• Martius. It grows like a bush. The glossy leaves are shaped like an elongated heart. They are whole, reach 40-50 cm in length. They are located on thickened spindle-shaped petioles, the diameter of which in old leaves reaches 7-8 cm. The philodendron of Martius is grown in an apartment in wide, but shallow containers, placing a heavy stone on the drainage layer. This will keep the flower from tipping over.

Other varieties of philodendron deserve attention: spear-shaped, golden-black, warty, stop-like, scaly, arrow-leaved, shiny, guitar-shaped, double-peristone cut, drip-shaped, heart-shaped, Xanadu, Brazil.

Lighting and temperature

It is better to place a home flower in a bright place, sheltering it from the direct sun at midday. Philodendron grows well in partial shade, if it is light. Location requirements vary by cultivar. Among the varieties of culture, there are many shade-tolerant (blushing, climbing). If the leaves of the plant are variegated, it will need more light. Lack of sunlight will lead to fading of their color. Such a flower should be well illuminated by the sun in the morning and evening.

Climbing Philodendron - the owner of the most delicate leaves. At home, it is grown on the east and northwest windows. When placed on the south side, the flower is shaded. A philodendron with monochromatic leaves on the northern windows and even under artificial lighting will not die. But for the plant to turn out lush and powerful, the sun should be enough for it.

The flower is thermophilic. In the summer, you will not have to maintain a special room temperature for him. Philodendron will feel comfortable in the heat, if you provide it with regular watering. The ideal condition for it will be if the thermometer stops at around 25 ° C.

In winter, the plant is kept at temperatures between 18-22 ° C. Its minimum value that a philodendron can tolerate without loss is 15 ° C. Cold drafts are detrimental to the flower, so you need to ventilate the room with care. The temperature in the room may not be reduced. Philodendron withstands wintering at 22-26 ° C in the absence of direct streams of hot and dry air from heating devices, as well as artificial supplementary lighting with fluorescent lamps.

Watering and humidity

Providing the plant with high air humidity is the main task of the owner of the philodendron. Without this, caring for a flower at home and office will not be complete, and it will not be able to demonstrate itself in all its glory. The creeper leaves will begin to shrink, their shape will become simpler. These symptoms are often seen in newly acquired plants. This is how the flower reacts to changes in its usual air humidity.

Some especially demanding varieties of philodendron (tripartite, warty, golden-black) lose all their decorative effect under indoor conditions. For them, you will have to equip a special florarium. But even in it, the leaves of the flower will be medium-sized. A comfortable microclimate for a plant is created by frequent spraying and placing containers around it filled with wet expanded clay or pebbles.

Advice

If the days are hot and the house is stuffy, the leaves of the philodendron can overheat. To prevent this from happening, they are washed. Water for the procedure is defended.

Water the philodendron from spring to late summer in moderation, so that the soil in the pot is constantly slightly moist, but not soggy. The next procedure is started when the top layer of the substrate dries out.The plant reacts to a lack of moisture by losing its decorative effect. Vine leaves begin to dry out (from the tips), and fly around with prolonged drought. Excessive watering of the flower is also harmful. It causes yellowing of the lower leaves. In dense damp earth, the roots of the philodendron cannot breathe, and for epiphytic plants this is a vital necessity. There is a risk of decay. With an excess of moisture, the leaves and petioles of the philodendron are covered with drops of water.

In winter, the flower needs less water. Water the plant if the soil in the upper half of the pot is dry, after waiting another 3-4 days. Water for procedures is defended or boiled. An important requirement: it must not contain lime.

Top dressing

The philodendron is in the active growth phase from March to the end of September. During this period, the plant is fed 2 times a month. Any complex preparation intended for indoor flowers is suitable for him. It is good if nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are contained in it in equal amounts.

Adult, fast-growing vines can be fed more often - every week. In winter, such care at home and in the office is necessary for a flower once a month. Tree plants that have reached large sizes will benefit from the introduction of organic compounds. They respond well to humus, which is added during transplanting or when updating the top layer of soil in a pot.

Moderation is important when feeding. Due to the excess of nutrients in the soil, the leaves of the philodendron begin to turn yellow and brown, wither and hang with lifeless rags. When making humus, you will need to forget about fertilizing for 1.5-2 months. If the excess fertilizer is small, the flower will not need the help of the owner. It is enough to skip a few planned feedings.

With a strong overabundance of minerals in the soil, the philodendron is transplanted or washed out the ground. This can be done in 2 ways:

1. place the pot under a stream of lukewarm water, leave it in the sink for 15 minutes;
2. lower the container into a bucket of water. After waiting for it to completely saturate the soil, the pot is removed and the liquid is allowed to drain through the drainage holes. Then the procedure is repeated.

If the philodendron lacks food, its leaves become small, their tips begin to dry and turn yellow. The growth of the flower slows down, and its trunk remains thin. The purchased liana at home begins to be fed only after 2-4 weeks. If the plant is young, and it was transplanted recently, it will not need fertilizer earlier than six months later. Feeding is contraindicated for sick philodendrons.

Advice

The fertilizer concentration depends on the frequency of fertilizing and on the quality of the soil. If the flower is planted in ready-made fertile soil, the dosage of the drug should be reduced by 20%. Do the same with frequent feeding.

Transfer

The root system of a philodendron is powerful and well-developed, so the need for a plant is often transplanted. Young specimens need a pot change every year. For adult flowers, the optimal interval between treatments is 2-3 years. The best time to transplant is spring. During this period, the plant is full of strength and will easily endure stress.

The need to change the pot is judged by the state of the earthen coma. If the philodendron roots completely entwined him, the time has come.

Without a transplant, flower growth stops. There are several reasons for this:

• tightness of the pot;
• deterioration of the soil structure, which makes it difficult for air to flow to the roots;
• accumulation of mineral substances in the soil, leading to the formation of a white coating on its surface.

Philodendron grows well in loose, porous soil with a slightly acidic reaction. It should be light and fertile. You can plant a flower in an orchid substrate by adding three ingredients to it:

• baking powder (sand, perlite, vermiculite);
• high-moor peat;
• humus.

Soil for orchids can be replaced with sod soil (2-3 parts). The same components are mixed into it in a ratio of 1: 2: 2.The plant is transplanted by the transshipment method.

Reproduction

It is almost impossible to achieve flowering from a home philodendron, so its seeds will have to be purchased at the store. Sow them shallow (5 mm). For germination, they need warmth (temperature not lower than 25-28 ° C) and high humidity, so the container with the planted seeds is covered with glass or placed under a film. The emergence of seedlings of the philodendron will have to wait 1.5-2 months. When the seedlings release 2 true leaves, they are dived into separate containers. Don't worry if the seed-grown flower bears little resemblance to the one on the bag. The leaves of the seedlings acquire the characteristic shape for the selected variety of philodendron only by the age of 2 years.

Vegetative propagation of a flower is more often practiced. To do this, use:

• apical cuttings;
• stem cuttings;
• leaf with a point of growth ("heel").

For successful rooting, parts of the flower need a high temperature (30 ° C), therefore, its propagation is usually carried out in summer or late spring. It is better to take cuttings from those areas of the philodendron that have already formed aerial roots. The cut site is treated with crushed charcoal - this will prevent rotting of the cutting.

The philodendron is rooted in a mixture composed of the following components:

• garden land;
• vermiculite;
• sand.

Having placed the cuttings in it, they put a glass jar on them. You can also use a plastic bag. Under the shelter, the microclimate necessary for the philodendron will be created. It will have to be cleaned periodically to ventilate and remove condensation. Rooted cuttings and leaves are transplanted into a more fertile substrate.

You can do it differently. The part of the vine, on which there are 2-3 developed internodes, is bent to the wet ground. After 1-4 weeks, aerial roots will appear from them, and the rudiments of lateral shoots will form in the leaf sinuses. Then the vine is cut off and, having treated the wound, is planted in the prepared substrate.

Advice

You can also root cuttings and leaves of a philodendron in water. Old plants are also propagated by air layers.

Growing difficulties

Philodendron is an unpretentious culture. But the flower does not tolerate gross mistakes in care, responding to them with a decrease in decorativeness.

Causes of problems and ways to solve them

Philodendron is an interesting plant that can refresh any interior. The variety of its forms allows the flower to be used for different purposes. Huge or compact climbing vines, bushes with large or medium leaves or ampelous plants - you need to choose a variety depending on the design idea. In order for the philodendron to turn out to be truly spectacular, the grower will hardly have to put in effort. It is enough to place the plant in a bright place, plant it in a suitable soil and take care of spraying, watering and feeding. When choosing a climbing philodendron for the house, it is worth remembering that he will need support.

The plant has only one drawback - its toxicity. When caring for a flower, you need to be careful, make sure that its juice does not splash onto the skin and mucous membranes. It is better to work with the philodendron with rubber gloves. Due to its toxicity, the plant is not suitable for parents of small children and pet owners. The only option for them is to place the pot out of the reach of these fidgets.