Philodendron Caramel Marble as the name suggests, it grows leaves with a marble pattern. The combination of green and caramel leaves gives it extraordinary look.
Only green leaves develop marble strokes on their front portion. 20% of its leaves will turn caramel.
It is a moderate-growing plant with medium height. Caramel Marble needs bright light and moderate humidity for thriving.
If you are planning to grow this plant indoors. You must learn about its care needs before buying it. This will make it easy for you to grow it and propagate it without facing problems.
About Philodendron Caramel Marble
Philodendron Caramel Marble is a head turner and it grows only 2 feet tall. It needs bright light for 7 to 8 hours per day for proper variegation.
The marble pattern directly depends on light and humidity. To keep the leaves glossy, you have to give it proper water.
Keep in mind that this plant is prone to root rot. Therefore, be care full while watering it. I follow the soil check method when I water my plants.
Marble philodendrons do not grow flowers. They also don’t release any fragrance.
Winter is the dormancy time and stops feeding your plant in this season.
What are the Growing needs for Philodendron Caramel Marble?
To grow a healthy marble philodendron, you should take care of its essential growing needs. Below is the complete guide on it.
Read carefully and make important notes.
Light Needs
Keep your plant in a bright place if you want to see beautiful marble variegation on its leaves. Light energy plays important role in variegation.
Use your light meter and find a place where your marble philodendron can get plenty of indirect bright light.
It can be a sunny window or any other bright place.
Make sure the direct sunshine cannot fall on its leaves. Because Philo marble leaves are soft and cannot tolerate sharp sunlight for a long time.
Burned leaves is a common problem with this philodendron.
To prevent light issues, choose a place where the light energy is between 250 FC to 400 FC.
To grow it in dark corners of your indoor space. You have to buy a grow light that emits a full spectrum of light.
Because it needs all spectrums of light waves for photosynthesis. Plants cannot differentiate between sunlight and light waves of a grow light.
A 250 to 300 watts LED light will be best to use.
Watering Philodendron Caramel Marble
Water is an important factor because the lack of water causes dehydration. And high amount of water in potting soil increases root rot chances.
Therefore, check the soil condition before watering your marble philodendron.
To check the soil use a soil moisture meter and insert its probes in the potting soil. Wait for 5 seconds, check the reading, and water accordingly.
The second method is the finger check method. Insert your index finger in the soil 2 inches deep to check the moisture.
If the top 2 inches are dry then give a good amount of water to your thirsty plant.
Filtered water is recommended because it does not contain chlorine and fluorides. These substances are present in tap water and are deadly for the roots of philodendrons.
Potting Soil
Quick-draining potting soil is an excellent choice for this plant. Caramel marble philodendrons need moist soil.
Ingredients like peat moss and perlite hold enough amount of moisture for a long time. This is the reason I always use perlite in my soil formulas.
If you are an experienced grower, you can make your own soil formula.
My soil mix formula is:
Perlite + Potting Soil + Orchid Barks + vermiculite in equal parts.
You can replace vermiculite with compost if you want.
There are many commercial potting mixes that drain water in seconds and hold enough moisture. You can use them if you have a good budget for your plant.
Temperature
Install a thermometer in grow room. Because continuous changes in the temperature directly impact its health.
Philodendron Caramel Marble leaves start shrinking their size in hot weather. Because they lose all the stored moisture due to the hot environment.
Also, the increased rate of plant respiration increases the use of water.
The ideal temperature range is between 55 to 80 degrees F. Below 50 degrees F causes rusty spots on plant leaves.
The only solution is copper fungicides.
To prevent these problems, keep the grow room temperature in an ideal range. Also, don’t place your philodendron near the heat vents or in front of AC ducts.
Humidity Requirements
Maintain the home humidity between 40 % to 60 % for the good health of your Caramel Marble Philodendron.
A dry climate is the biggest enemy of these plants.
It cannot survive in low humidity because it is a tropical rainforest plant. In its natural habitat, it enjoys high humidity.
Which is not possible to maintain all the time. But it can survive in moderate home humidity.
In case your hygrometer shows low humidity. Immediately mist some water on your plant.
If the humidity drop is more than 7% then use the pebble tray technique.
You can also use a humidifier if you have one.
Fertilizing Philodendron Caramel Marble
It needs a moderate amount of fertilizer in its growing season. Spring and summer are two active seasons of marble philodendron.
It is best if you use general houseplant fertilizer. No need to buy fancy fertilizers for this plant. It is a foliage plant and needs a high amount of nitrogen with other essential nutrients.
Normal houseplant fertilizers contain everything for a foliage plant.
Dilute the nutrient solution in filtered water before use. To prevent fertilizer burn, stop feeding your plant in winter.
Keep in mind that a high dose of concentrated fertilizer can burn your plant leaves. It will not make any difference in its growth rate.
Pruning
Trim your plant once in the spring season to keep it in desired shape and size. Pruning help, us prevent plant diseases.
The dry and dead parts of the plant start decaying if you do not keep your plant pot clean. This invites many fungal and bacterial diseases.
Leaf spot is one of them.
For healthy plants, pruning is a necessary step. Trim the yellow and dead parts and throw them in the garbage.
Also, wipe the leaves with a soft cotton ball to remove dirt and dust.
After pruning sprays neem oil on your plant after diluting it in water. Neem prevents many fungal and bacterial diseases.
Toxicity
It is also toxic to cats, dogs, and humans. The sap of this plant is toxic and ingestion of its parts results in toxicity.
To prevent toxic effects, grow your plant away from the reach of your pets.
Teach your kids not to eat plant leaves and wash their hands after touching them.
Use gloves for pruning its parts.
Repotting
Repot your plant once a year to keep it fresh and healthy. The potting soil loses its nutritional value over and time period.
You have to replace the soil to put new life in your plant.
Repotting philodendron is an easy process.
- Water your plant 24 hours before repotting and chose summer or spring for this task.
- Take a new pot and fresh soil for repotting.
- Unpot your plant and check the roots.
- Use sharp shears to cut the infected roots and apply a fungicide.
- Plant your philodendron in the new pot and fill it with new soil.
- Add some fresh water and you are done with it.
Propagating Philodendron Caramel Marble
Stem cutting is the only successful method of propagating Caramel Marble Philodendron.
Step-by-Step Process:
- Cut a healthy stem 5 inches long and dip it in a rooting hormone.
- Take a glass jar and fill it with fresh water.
- Put the cutting in it, and make sure the leaves do not submerge in water.
- Store the glass in a warm and bright place.
- Change the water once it gets dirty.
- Within 20 days the cutting will develop new roots.
- Transfer your plant to potting soil when the new roots grow more than an inch long.
Troubleshooting
Pest Attacks
If you find tiny pests on your plant, immediately rinse it with pest-killing soap. Take your infected plant outdoors and use tap water for the treatment.
Do not use pest-killing sprays they are hard on indoor plants.
To prevent pests, keep your plant clean and do not use garden soil. Because the garden soil contains many pathogens.
Sterilization is the process by which you can kill the pathogen in garden soil.
But garden soil is not useful to use for indoor plants.
Loss of Variegation
In case your plant only grows green leaves and does not develop a marble pattern. Then the problem is the brightness of a light.
Lack of sufficient light triggers this condition.
To heal your plant move it to a bright place where it can absorb plenty of light. If possible, move it to morning sunlight between 8 am to 10 am.
Then expose it to indirect bright light. This way you can speed up its healing process. It will take 15 to 20 days to heal properly.
Conclusion
Philodendron Caramel Marble is an extraordinary houseplant. Improve light condition for variegated leaves.
Use neem oil spray to prevent many bacterial diseases. Keep your plant clean and place it in a warm and humid place.
