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Florida Gardening

Philodendron 'Xanadu'

16 years ago

Hello everyone!

Even though I had tons of freeze cloth I didn't cover anything during the last freeze. My Philodendron 'Xanadu'got hit bad and basically right now all I have are stalks minus leaves. I am curious if I can cut the stalks down to the ground so when they start growing they won't look leggy? Any thoughts?

Desiree K

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Comments (5)

guapogardener
16 years ago
I wouldn't trim the stalks all of the way to the ground as your Xanadu should recover through the summer and fill in.

Especially important to do no massive trimming now whatsoever as you technically are still potentially in danger of a freeze through mid-March.

When I lived in Florida I never did any significant trimming from about November through late March.
tammy_b
16 years ago
I wouldn't do a thing. This is the first year that I actually DID cover my Xanadus, and only because they are right in the front of my house and they took a while to fill in in preceding years. Legginess wasn't a problem though, and they looked great by mid-summer.
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Hey, I'm sorry that you have some trouble with your Xanadu. Mine is doing good. Here is a (not so good) picture: Just had to wash it in the shower with soapy water right after I got it. It got rid of mites and, worked the first time, didn't have to do that ever since. Although I probably should/will give it a shower from time to time. I'd say the general care tips that you posted are quite accurate. For the watering - it depends on what soil you are using and the weather, if its cloudy for a longer time it can easily go around 10 days without watering, when it is hot and sunny, I would water mine once every 4-5 days. But I always check the soil mix and water only if it feels dry to touch. I have to agree, for me too it is a rather easy care plant. After I brought it home I repotted it into a mix of soil, perlite and pine bark (small pieces; 1:1:1), getting rid of as much of old soil as possible. And the plant looks happy. No more spots or deformed leaves and it's grown a little bit, as you can maybe see. The leaves still look juvenile. I hope in the future it will develop this beautiful cut out leaves, but we'll see. For yellowing I would watch out for overwatering, maybe you should let the soil dry out more between waterings. And definitely keep the plant in a fast draining mix. Good luck to you too :) And give us an update. Edit: here I noticed a new leaf today.
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theseventhlegend
16 years ago
Desiree I read it's ok to cut Split Leaf Philo back to the roots but it appears that may not be the case for Xanadu.

While on the topic I have a few questions about Philo Xanadu......

- Is Philo Xanadu more cold hardy than Split Leaf Philo?
- What is growth rate like compared to Split Leaf?

Also, can Split Leaf (sellom) Philodendron take full sun and still look lush green in a mulched flower bed?

Thanks.
gcmastiffs
16 years ago
My split leaf Philodendrons are in full sun and are beautiful! It never crossed my mind to grow them in shade.
There were some Pine trees among them, but those were all lost after the hurricanes. Originally I planted them around the pines, but they never grew up them. They are in large clusters that make a winding hedge-type barrier.

They were slow to grow, probably because I never cared for them, never watered them or fertilized. Mine are at least 8-10 years old, large, lush, and a rich dark green.

Lisa
frjordan63_yahoo_com
12 years ago
First time plant owner, the leaves are turning brown and the plant seems to be dying help.!I do water it once a week, any suggestions.

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