If you are new to houseplants and want a special type of easy-to-grow philodendron plant. Then you must go for the Philodendron Gardeniodorum.
Its leaves and looks make it different than other evergreen philodendrons.
The good news is it is not a common type of houseplant that you can find in every other house garden.
Let’s find out what it needs to grow and what are the common problems.
What is the Philodendron Gardeniodorum plant?
It grows glossy Ovate shaped leaves and grows 7 to 11 inches tall. The height of this philodendron plant depends on your care techniques.
It grows pale to dark green leaves. Yellow Gardeniodorum leaves means there is something wrong with the potting soil.
If the dark green leaves suddenly turn less bright this indicates a low light problem. Later in this post, I will talk about all the possible leaf issues.
My mom chose this plant because it is low maintenance houseplant. She is a working woman and doesn’t have enough time to spare on plants.
The best part is, it can survive in dry conditions. If you forget to water it on its time, don’t worry this philodendron can tolerate dry soil for some days.
Gardeniodorum Philodendrons grows flowers. Believe me, its leaves are way more beautiful than its flowers.
If you want your plant to grow flowers, high humidity is the first thing that you need to keep on higher side.
Maintaining high humidity all the time is not possible, especially indoors.
Generally, it needs indirect bright light and moderate watering, seasonal fertilization is a good option to encourage the number of its leaves per stem.
The dip and soak watering method works best for this evergreen philodendron plant.
Unfortunately, it is toxic like other philodendrons. Nausea, vomiting, headache, skin irritation, redness, etc are its toxic effects.
Ingestion of its parts results in toxicity.
Light Needs
Indirect bright light is sufficient to grow a Philodendron Gardeniodorum plant. It has perfect chlorophyll pigment on its leaves.
Therefore, it needs less bright light for 6 to 7 hours a day.
Do not place it in direct sunlight. Gardeniodorum leaves cannot tolerate direct sunshine for a long time.
Its leaves start losing moisture and this turns them brown and crispy. The yellowing of leaf tips is the first sign of too much bright light.
High intense light increases the watering application. Also increases the temperature of the plant. To keep its system cool plant starts using more water.
More water = risk of root rot due to overwatering.
To prevent overexposure to light place it in moderately bright light.
If you are planning to place it on a sunny window then keep rotating it for an even distribution of light energy.
Potting Soil
Take general potting soil, perlite, and vermiculite in equal quantities and mix them. This mixture of soil works best for philodendron plants.
I sometimes add compost instead of vermiculite. Because I made compost in my garden in bulk.
Philodendron Gardeniodorum needs soil that can store a good amount of moisture for a long time. Perlite holds moisture without increasing the weight of soil.
Do not use heavy soil or add any synthetic fertilizer at the time of preparing the soil mix.
This can increase the risk of root burn. Well-draining soil help growers prevent overwatering and many root fungus problems.
Watering Philodendron Gardeniodorum
Add a good amount of moisture to the potting soil. You must water your plant properly. But as we all know regular watering can result in root rot.
To prevent all watering-related problems, you should follow the bottom watering method.
Before watering your plant check the moisture level of the potting soil. To check it use a soil moisture meter.
Gently insert both probes in the soil and wait for 5 seconds.
Then according to the results water your plant.
Fill a tub of clean water and place your plant in it. Let it absorb water for 10 minutes then take it out and allow it to drain extra water.
Follow this method only in spring and summer.
In the winter season, water it from the top.
Quality of Water:
Do not use tap water for watering philodendrons. Tap water contains many unwanted substances like chlorine and fluorides.
These are damaging to the plant roots. Chlorine gets collected at the bottom of the plant and sticks to the roots.
Then block the normal function of roots and inhibit the absorption of water.
This results in dehydrated plants with yellow and brown leaves. To prevent this condition of your plant never use tap water, only use filtered water for indoor philodendron plants.
Repotting
Repotting is putting new life into your plant. It is necessary for Philodendron Gardeniodorum. Gardeniodorum needs repotting once a year.
To check for the repotting signs, lift your plant and check the drainage hole. You will see roots growing in a circular pattern.
This means the current plant pot is too small and your plant needs a large size pot.
Repotting Steps:
- Buy a new pot 2 inches deep and wider than the current pot.
- Also, buy new fresh potting soil or make it yourself.
- Water your philodendron plant 24 hours before repotting.
- Tilt the pot and gently take your plant out without damaging it.
- Fill the new pot with soil to its half and place your plant in it.
- Cut the dry and damaged roots.
- Fill the remaining pot with soil and tap around the plant.
- Give some water and place it back in its place.
Temperature
A General home temperature between 55 to 85 degrees F is good for growing Philodendron Gardeniodorum.
Below 55 degrees F is a problem for the plant. The water in plant leaves and stems starts freezing and this gives rusty spots.
Above 85 degrees F is too hot for the plant. Your plant will go into the heat stress, turns yellow, and die.
Normal temperature is best and checks the grow room temperature. You should use a temperature monitor for your plants.
Humidity
Keep it above 45 % throughout the year to keep your plant thriving and shining. Humidity directly affects the size of its leaves.
In low humidity, your plant leaves start turning yellow from the tips. Then slowly yellow tips turn brown and crispy.
Low humidity signs are:
- Yellow leaves
- Leaves with brown tips
- Droopy plant
- Small size leaves
To increase humidity for your plant. You should move it to a humid place or use the pebble tray method. Do not move it to the bathroom. Due to a lack of air circulation, your plant can die in a few days.
Take a tray and fill it with small pebbles. Add some tap water and carefully put your place on the small rocks.
This technique helps in a 7% to 10 % drop in humidity.
Do not mist water on your plant this method is not recommended for this philodendron.
Fertilizing Gardeniodorum
Because we add vermiculite to our potting mix you need to fertilize less frequently. No need to fertilize it for the first 60 days.
After that, use liquid synthetic fertilizer for supplementing it.
I use miracle gro all-purpose general houseplant fertilizer liquid. It is inexpensive than other brands and contains all the essential ingredients that a philodendron needs to grow.
Read the instructions and dilute the solution in clean filtered water. Then give it to your plant.
Here you can use compost tea for better health of your plant. This will reduce your fertilizer expenses. Your one bottle of fertilizer goes for longer than general.
Philodendron Gardeniodorum Propagation
Follow the Philodendron Heterocraspedon propagating technique for propagating Philodendron Gardeniodorum. Stem cutting is the best and easiest method of multiplying this plant. Spring is the best time for propagating plants.
Choose a disease-free stem and cut multiple cuttings 5 to 6 inches long. Take a glass of water and place cuttings in it.
Make sure the top leaves do not touch the water level. Regularly change the water of the glass. Cover the base of the glass jar with colored paper to prevent light exposure.
This way you can prevent fungus buildup. New roots will take more than 20 days to grow. Once they grow more than an inch long transfer the cutting to the potting soil.
Toxicity
It is toxic if ingested. All parts of it contain calcium oxalate which is a toxic substance. The interesting part is it toxic to humans and animals but not to pests.
Aphids and mealybugs suck the sap of the plant and live their life.
Skin irritation, burning, sore throat, and stomach pain are a few of its early warning signs. To prevent toxicity grow it at some height.
Immediately seek medical help if your pet or kids ingest its parts.
Pruning
Pruning is optional for Philodendron Gardeniodorum. If you want your plant to grow more large size leaves. Then prune it once in the spring season.
If you just want green leaves and no need to prune them until you see brown and yellow leaves on your plant.
Use sharp shears to trim it and before doing so sterilize tools with rubbing alcohol.
Take a clean soft cloth and damp it in water. Gently clean the leaves to keep them dust free. This is maintenance and it prevents many unwanted problems and diseases.
Troubleshooting
Every plant grower faces some problems at some stage of plant growth. The same goes true with this philodendron. If you follow the pruning and maintenance. Then you will not face many problems.
The common problems are discussed below with the prevention method and solution.
Pest Problems
Pests are a common problem for indoor growing plants. These small insects suck the sap of the plant and make it nutrient deficient.
Hence your plant dies in a few days.
To prevent pests, spray neem oil once in 20 days on all your indoor growing plants. Neem oil is safe to use and don’t forget it to dilute in water before spraying.
Neem is an organic solution to prevent pests.
But if you see lots of pests on your plant. Use pest-killing liquid soap and rinse your plant.
The pest-killing sprays are equally effective on all types of pests.
Yellow leaves
Overuse of water results in the yellowing of leaves. When the soil absorbs too much moisture. This invites root fungus bacteria. The bacteria start eating the plant roots.
Hence the leaves turn yellow and fall off the plant.
To check to overwater, first, check the soil. If soil is wet and soggy this means the extra use of water is the sure cause of yellow turning leaves.
Repot your plant to another pot in fresh soil. Before repotting cut the damaged roots.
Dark Green Leaves
Dark green leaves indicate a lack of a sufficient amount of light. When a green foliage plant does not get proper light, it starts growing toward the light source.
This gives it stretchy growth. The stems grow longer than normal and the plant grows few leaves.
To correct this problem, move your plant to bright light. Within 5 to 10 days, it will heal itself.
Conclusion
This glossy leaf philodendron is the perfect plant for homes and offices. It needs less care and light is the main part where you need to put attention.
Water is less frequent than other philodendrons. Fertilize it occasionally if you are using organic ingredients in the soil.
For more information on philodendrons check our houseplant section.
