If you have a Philodendron Imperial Green. The next thing is to know how you can keep its leaves healthy and glossy.
In this guide, I will share tips and tricks that will help you to grow a healthy stunning plant.
Green Imperial Philodendron needs indirect bright light, fast-draining growing medium, consistent temperature, and general humidity to thrive. Water your plant when you see dry soil, do not grow it in hanging baskets, and fertilize it with normal houseplant fertilizer.
Read the below guide to find out every single care detail about this philodendron including troubleshooting problems.
What is Philodendron Imperial Green?
Most of the philodendrons are vining-type tropical plants. But this Imperial Green Philodendron is a self-heading type.
This means it grows its leaves upright direction. Each stem has a single leaf and all stems are connected to the central stem.
The leaves fan out in all directions and this gives it an extraordinary appearance.
All leaves are heart-shaped round leaves with a glossy texture. The top surface of its leaves is glossy and the undersides are mat.
Matured stems develop a red hue on them.
The normal size of its leaves is 15 to 18 inches long and 6 to 9 inches wide. It totally depends on your care techniques.
As far as size is concerned it is a medium-height plant. My Green Imperial is fully matured and is near about 2.5 feet tall.
But most of the time this plant stays below 2 feet if not cared for properly.
The spread of this plant depends on its leaf size and leaf size depends on your care and fertilizing techniques.
Normally it is a moderate grower but it has a big root ball. Therefore, you have to repot your plant once a year.
Do this at the time of the active growing season. I prefer the spring season for repotting philodendrons.
The interesting part is it also grows flowers like a peace lily. But unfortunately, my plant is not blooming.
How to Grow and Care for Philodendron Imperial Green
Philodendron Imperial Green care is simple and easy. You need to focus on 3 things light, water and humidity.
Take care of these growth factors and believe me you will never face any problems in growing it.
Its care needs are similar to Philodendron Imperial Red.
More about caring requirements:
Light Needs
Philodendron Imperial Green needs a moderate amount of bright light per day. You should aim to give it 7 to 9 hours of bright filtered light.
Place it near a sunny window so that it can easily absorb indirect bright light.
If sunlight is a problem where you are planning to grow this plant. Then in this case you have only one option which is grow lights.
These are specially designed for indoor plants.
Use any grow light that can full fill its light needs of a minimum of 250 FC. The maximum light it needs is 450 FC. Do not go above it if you don’t want to see burned leaves of your plant.
It has glossy green leaves this increase the absorption rate of light energy.
The variegated plant needs light exposure of 10 to 12 hours.
The huge amount of chlorophyll pigment on green imperial leaves speeds up the photosynthesis process.
The secret is to rotate your plant once in 4 days. This way all its parts will receive an equal amount of light and grow the same in size.
Potting Soil
The first property of soil that you need to look for is its moisture-holding capacity along with fast-draining power.
Do not choose soil that can hold moisture but cannot drain extra water.
Philodendrons love moist soil because they are tropical rainforest plants.
For self-heading philodendrons, I do not use commercial potting soil mix. Being a Horticulturist I know when it is best to use homemade soil formula.
My soil formula for Imperial Green Philodendrons:
- 20% Perlite
- 50% Potting Soil
- 20% Coco Coir
- 10% Activated Charcoal
If you can make this formula, it is good. But if you have just a self-heading plant then go for a commercial potting mix.
Fox Farm Potting Soil is inexpensive and best to use.
There is no rule that you cannot use other potting soil mixes. I mentioned above what you need to look for in the potting soil.
Watering
Watering is the most important thing to keep your plant thriving. With the correct technique of watering, you can prevent root rot in your Philodendron Green Imperial.
This philodendron needs a constant moisture level in its potting soil. It also needs good aeration to keep the roots healthy.
The simple trick, water your plant when you see the top soil layer is dry. Poke your finger in the soil and check it.
If you have a good budget then buy a soil moisture testing meter. It will give you the exact reading of moisture in the soil.
The good news is you can also grow philodendrons in water.
Do not make a watering schedule for watering Philodendron Imperial Green. This can be a damaging practice and leads to overwatering.
Water it thoroughly so that the potting soil can absorb a good amount of moisture.
Quality of Water:
You can use tap water for Imperial Green. Its leaves are not very sensitive to chlorine and fluorides. If you observe brown tips even after watering as per the instructions.
Then stop using tap water and shift to filtered water.
Temperature
The normal home temperature falls between 55 to 85 degrees F. This range is ideal for Philodendron Imperial Green.
The problem raises when the temperature of grow room drops below 55 degrees F.
To prevent cold damage, keep the temperature in the recommended range.
The main thing that you need is to watch out for drafts. Hot drafts result in crispy-dry brown leaves. Whereas cold winds lead to the yellowing of beautiful green leaves.
Consistent temperature is required to prevent temperature shock. A little bit of fluctuation of 3 to 4 degrees F is not a problem.
Humidity for Philodendron Imperial Green
Philodendron Imperial Green can grow stable in low humidity. But then it will lose all the glossiness of its leaves.
To keep it glossy and shining you must keep the humidity above 40%.
In low humidity, Green imperial plants develop brown leaf tips. I suggest, using a hygrometer for measuring the humidity of your plants.
Other ways of increasing humidity are:
- Grouping plants together to improve local humidity
- Use a humidity tray and fill it with clean water and small rocks. Put it under your plant pot (remove the saucer in this method, only use the plant pot).
- Move your plant to the bathroom or to the kitchen for 2 to 3 days.
- Or
- Simply use a humidifier to raise general home humidity. There are many models that are less expensive and energy efficient.
Fertilizing Philodendron Imperial Green
Nutrient supplements are important to grow a disease-free thriving plant. But there is a risk of overfertilization that you need to minimize.
Therefore, use a balanced fertilizer that contains NPK in an equal ratio to other ingredients.
Then dilute the solution in clean water and pour it into the soil. Make sure the nutrient liquid does not fall on leaves and stems.
If your plant develops brown leaf tips within 2 to 3 days of fertilization. This means you use more than the required quantity.
How to Save Overfertilized Plants:
- Take it out of its pot and remove the soil from its roots.
- Wash the roots with water and flush the potting soil with tap water.
- Stop when you see clean water coming out of the drainage hole.
- Let the soil drain extra water and plant it back in the pot.
- Complete this process in less than 30 minutes to prevent root shrinkage.
Pruning
Pruning is necessary only if your plant is infected with some disease or has damaged leaves.
Use a sharp knife to cut the yellow and damaged parts of the plant. But generally, you will not need to do anything like this.
It is a strong plant and cannot grow out of control like other vining tropical plants.
Repotting
Because of the size of its root ball, you need to repot it once a year. If you do not repot it on time this will affect its growth.
Repot your plant once you see roots growing out of the drainage hole. Take a 2-inch wide and deep pot and also the fresh potting soil.
If you want to reduce your fertilizer expenses then add 15% compost to the soil before repotting.
After changing the pot give water to your plant and place it back in indirect bright light.
It is common to see droopy leaves for a few days. Because sometimes plants go into repotting shock. It takes 5 to 7 days to heal properly.
Toxicity
Swelling of the mouth, sore throat, skin irritation, redness, and nausea are its toxic effects. Calcium oxalate is present in all parts of the green imperial plant.
Grow it on height, out of the reach of your pets and children.
Ingestion of this plant is toxic.
Propagating Philodendron Imperial Green
Stem cutting is an excellent method of Philodendron Imperial Green propagation. The first step is to find a healthy stem with a leaf node.
Choose mature stems because they are stretchy and you can easily make a cut under the node.
Whereas for the first 2 years green imperial grows compact. This makes it hard to cut under the nodes
You have two options root cuttings using soil as a growing medium or water. Once the roots grow 1 inch long then transfer them to the soil.
I prefer water use as a growing medium for propagation. Because you can clearly see the development of new roots.
Where in the soil you cannot predict what is going on underneath the potting soil.
To increase your success rate always use rooting hormones. Apply it on the cut edge and place the stem cutting in a jar of water.
Regularly change the water of the jar to keep your stem healthy and fresh.
Troubleshooting Problems
Pest Infestation
This plant is generally strong and not prone to pest infestations. But unhygienic growing conditions increase the chances of pest attacks and fungal diseases.
Mealybugs, scales, and spider mites are common green imperial philodendron bugs. Regularly inspect your plant while watering them to catch them at an early stage.
Isopropyl alcohol is best to use for killing these pests. Pour a few drops of it on a clean cloth and wipe each leaf.
Wear gloves while treating the pests. Use neem oil once in 20 days to prevent pest infestations. Neem is a safe way of prevention.
Green Leaves Turning Pale
Leaves turning pale indicate two problems one is too bright light and the other is a lack of essential nutrients.
Too bright light increases the respiration rate. The plant starts using more water than normal to keep its temperature cool.
The highly intense rays strike the cell wall and damage the chlorophyll pigment. Hence the beautiful green leaves turn pale yellow.
On the other hand, a lack of calcium and magnesium also results in pale leaves. Both these nutrients are required in limited amounts.
But are essential to maintain the green plants greener.
Overwatered Plant
Yellow leaves and mushy soil indicate extra water in potting soil. In this condition, you must check its roots.
Cut the infected roots and plant them in the new soil.
To prevent overwatering learn the correct watering method. Also, use well-draining potting soil and plant pots with drainage holes.
Conclusion
This is all about Philodendron Imperial Green care and propagation. Most of the care needs are the same as vining philodendrons.
For more information on this plant write us or send images of your plant.
