For beginner gardeners looking for a budget-friendly, easy plant to build their confidence with, the Philodendron hederaceum is just the plant you need. It is a fast-growing, fuss-free plant that grows well indoors, outdoors, in soil and in water.
It’s one of the first few plants I started my garden with, and I’ve chopped and propagated it into so many pots. It certainly built my confidence in the early days.
This vining plant belongs to the same family, Araceae, as many ornamental plants we love. Its handsome, dark green, heart-shaped leaves earn it the common name of heart-leaf philodendron.
How to care for Philodendron hederaceum
Philodendron hederaceum is a non-demanding plant that is easy to care for indoors and outdoors. But like all plants, understanding its light and water requirements is essential to giving good care.
How much light does your Philodendron hederaceum need?
Philodendron hederaceum is a shade-loving plant that grows well indoors and outdoors. If grown indoors, you should place it near an east-facing or west-facing window.
Avoid placing your plant in the path of direct sunlight to avoid getting the leaves scorched or bleached. The good news is that it tolerates low light, and so will be okay further away from the window if necessary. Read more about how to give your indoor plants the right amount of light.
You can also grow your Philodendron hederaceum outdoors in many ways. You could make it climb a tree, a pole, or a garden wall. You can also grow it in a hanging basket on a balcony or as a spiller in a container arrangement.
How often should you water your Philodendron hederaceum?
Water your Philodendron hederaceum only when the soil or potting medium is dry. You can tell by feeling the soil with your fingers. Another way is to look at and feel the leaves of your plant. A dry and thirsty plant feels limp, and the leaves curl inwards. If left dry for too long lower leaves become crisp and brown.
A sign that your plant is overwatered is the presence of yellowish-brown soft leaves. In severe cases, the lower portion of the vine turns yellow or brown too. That is a sign of root rot.
To save an overwatered Philodendron hederaceum, dig up the plant from the wet soil and plant it in fresh potting media. Cut off any yellow portion and dead black roots. If there aren’t enough roots to sustain the plant, chop it up and propagate it in water.
You can grow your Philodendron hederaceum in water.
An easy way to avoid the risk of overwatering or under-watering your Philodendron hederaceum is to grow it in water. Yes, that’s right. Water only.
So how do you grow Philodendron hederaceum in water? Cut some healthy vines with leaves as big as you can get. The length you get will depend on the size of your vase or container. But there’s a catch.
The sooner the vine grows new roots, the higher the chances of keeping all those leaves fresh. I like to take a cutting that can grow roots from the same number of nodes as the leaves on the vine. Let me explain.
If your vine has eight leaves, strip off the lower four leaves and submerge that part of the vine in water. Roots will grow from those nodes to support the four leaves and produce new growth.
Your plant needs to grow new roots before it can grow more leaves. Once it has established, it’s going to keep growing. You can chop it to make it branch out. But the leaves get smaller as the vine gets longer.
I’ve had a Philodendron hederaceum in a vase of water sitting on my living room table for two years. Read more about how to grow plants in water.
Best soil type or potting medium for Philodendron hederaceum
Philodendron hederaceum likes light, well-aerated, chunky, fast-draining potting media. The best way I find to achieve this is to add a layer of charcoal at the bottom of the pot. Then I mix in small pieces of charcoal with compost and cocopeat.
Charcoal improves soil drainage by increasing the air spaces so that the soil or potting medium is moist but never soggy. Read more about how to use charcoal for your plants.
How to feed your Philodendron hederaceum
From my experience, Philodendron hederaceum is a fast-growing plant that does not need frequent feeding. If you start with a compost-rich potting media as described above, you can forget about feeding for a year.
The trick to getting big leaves is to let your Philodendron hederaceum climb. Climbing allows the plant to develop more aerial roots that cling to surfaces enabling it to absorb moisture and dust from the air. That is if you grow them outdoors. If you keep it indoors, you can top up the compost every six months.
When the plant trails, the leaves get smaller as the vines get longer.
Controlling pests on Philodendron hederaceum
In my experience, Philodendron hederaceum is surprisingly pest-free. I’ve not even had snails or caterpillars eat the leaves of plants outdoors. But if you have pest problems, spraying with a soapy solution of neem oil should help take care of it.
How to propagate Philodendron hederaceum
Like many vining plants, Philodendron hederaceum is easy to propagate. Every leaf is a potential new plant.
To propagate your Philodendron hederaceum, cut the vine between two leaves to get one-leaf cuttings, or two-leaf cuttings.
Place your cuttings in water or some moist cocopeat and wait for roots to form within a few days. Plant the cuttings in well-drained potting media when the roots are about 4cm long.
Finally
It is satisfying to nurture plants and enhance your living space with them. The heart-leaf philodendron is an easy plant you can’t go wrong with. Don’t just take my word for it. Why not try it out and see?
Thanks for reading.
