Philodendron Leaves Yellowing?

6 years ago

Hi there,

I bought this Philodendron (I think?) as a large established cutting about 4 months ago & recently its lower leaves have started yellowing & dying off... it is still growing quite well - 2 new shoots have come through, each has grown 2-3 new leaves, but these dying leaves are concerning me a bit. The first leaf to die was the lowest one, which also had a new shoot coming through from under it, but I have since noticed that that shoot has turned black/brown & never produced a leaf... any clue what the issue might be?! Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Last photo is the dead shoot...

cheers

Ethan

Featured Answer

Russ / Central Fla Z9b

6 years ago

Ethan, yellowing leaves is usually caused by either under or over watering, most often the latter. The new shoot turning black also might indicate over watering. Your potting soil looks dense, if its a heavy dirt-type soil, that's a problem.

What is your watering regimen? If you're watering when the top inch of soil is still wet, you're watering too often.

I can't see your pics very well on my phone but your plant could be an uncommon syngonium rather than a philodendron. I'll have another look on my computer.

Russ

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ethanwes
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi Russ, was hoping you’d see this one!! I had been trying to figure out if it was a Philodendron or a Syngonium, too! My first thought was Philodendron, but there is a Syngonium with the same colouring & very similar leaf shape I’ve seen at some local plant boutiques, but none of the plants I’ve seen have been as big & mature as this, so it’s hard to compare leaf shapes definitively with a juvenile plant!

I wouldn’t have thought it was overwatering - when the first few leaves started yellowing I had not watered any indoor plants in a couple of weeks as a couple of my other plants had fungus gnats & I was ensuring they didn’t spread/continue. At that stage I thought it must’ve been suffering from underwatering, so have been watering a fairly small amount every 2-5 days, depending on the weather... (its mostly been 27-34 Celsius here lately). The soil is dense, but quite sandy... this is just the soil the plant came in, so I assumed it was growing well in it. I normally use a succulent mix for my indoor plants so that they dry out quickly & I just water regularly. I normally check most plants soil are dry first 2cm or so before watering..... Still think it’s overwatering?

I’ll post a few more pictures of the plant, vine structure, etc if that helps when I get home!
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Russ / Central Fla Z9b
6 years ago
Ethan, my initial thought on ID was Syngonium macrophyllum, you might Google that name and see if it's a match. Leaves are heart shaped and have a distinctive matte surface... no shine at all.

More later,

Russ
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ethanwes thanked Russ / Central Fla Z9b
ethanwes
Original Author
6 years ago
Hi Russ, yes that’s the one they had in the shop!! I took a photo of it & then forgot to compare when I got home! My only thought is that my plant does seem to have some amount of ‘sheen’ to the leaves, while the Macrophyllum in store here seemed to have fuzzy leaves? Could this be a juvenile vs adult leaf thing? I’ll post some pics to explain.... small plant with white lattice is their plant...
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Russ / Central Fla Z9b
6 years ago
Ethan, the plant on the lattice is definitely S. macrophyllum. Given the sheen on your plant I'm thinking it might not be this Syngonium. But if not, I don't have an ID from your last pic

Sounds like the yellowing might be reaction from under watering when you had the gnat problem. How long ago was that, and how long have you been watering regularly. Rule of thumb is when you water, water fully and then wait til top inch or so of mix is dry.

I do think your medium is too dense, if your still having trouble by spring U would repot into something lighter.

Russ
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ethanwes
Original Author
6 years ago
Ok thanks, Russ... judging by the leaf shape, though, I think it’s still a Syngonium of some sort, though, right?

Ok, the gnat problem was about a month ago now, these last 2 leaves probably started yellowing about 2 weeks ago...

We’re heading into Auntumn here now, so I might just change the soil anyway... once I can get my hands on some gnat-free soil! Hahaha (the source of the gnats in the first place was a fresh bag of potting mix, the net 2 bags I bought also had gnats! )

Thanks again for all your help, Russ! You’re a legend!
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