I think this may explain the red "dye." I was checking to see if this leaf would come free of its' sheath yet, which it did. Then I started tearing away the sheath and it made my fingers red. The tip was full of red juice but lower, it was white and more dry inside. Holding the removed sheath: Excavating further: New leaf is so pretty! It should finish unrolling soon. My prior experience with Philos has been limited to heart-leaf so I've never watched the formation of a leaf this big until this plant, but it did have the same shape as your "pod" and that's definitely what it is, a beautiful new leaf. Is this the first time a new leaf has grown since you've had that plant? This is the plant from "aroid I don't know" thread in case you don't recognize it.

I think you're right Londongirl. Park's Seed catalog has info on the back pages on sowing..It's been a while since getting their catalog, but of what I remember on sowing Philo seeds was keeping under a heated tray or if possible 75-80F degrees. These seeds should be kept under a light source..seeds should also be covered w/soil.. Are the seeds large? If so, tuck seed about an inch under soil. cover. keep plastic over seedlings for humidity..Keep soil moist but not wet..Darn, I wish I had one of their books..I think it said, germination time was something like 90 days. Maybe someone out here has their catalog.. Slit plastic for ventilation. As soon as you see growth, remove plastic and place in a bit brighter light. I wouldn't repot till roots fill whatever you sow in. Yrs ago I tried sowing some type of philo seed..the seed was big, resembling that of a Clivia..Keep us posted..Toni

We've had about 3 days of rain and storms here so I put my plumies and DR's under the covered patio and I really haven't looked at them closely in 3 days. The plants apparently loved the privacy (LOL!), the humidity and the break from the sun because there was some serious action going on while I wasn't looking. I only snapped a few pics but I will try to post more soon. So that I'm not boring you all and repeating myself, please see my thread titled "Scratching / Sanding to Induce Branching" to read about my most exciting discovery regarding my Penang Peach :) It also started getting REAL LEAVES!!! My Pauahi Alii which was a single tip and had an inflo I had to cut is branching!!! My Moragne #78 that recently arrived had several small 1" leaves left on it but I see about 3 really bright green 1" leaves that popped up that have got to be new!!! Sorry no pic, soon though! Just for fun, a pic of this guy just because he was awesome looking and so different from the white spiders I see on the plants all the time. He DID NOT want his picture taken and would pop behind something if I got any closer to him. And a pic of a Divine bloom that was very happy with the recent weather! Several of my other cuttings are getting going rooting too like Loretta, Gloria Schmidt and Gina. Had to cut the inflo off my Maui Beauty because it's getting a little wrinkled and needs to grow leaves instead of flowers. I'm sure the answer is "because plumies do what they want and you are not the boss of them" is the answer, but I still have to ask, why do some of them branch after an inflo and some of them don't???!!! (...has visions of scratching several plumie tips...)

Merryd, putting pinestraw over the growing crown of the plant is excellent mulch. My 2 big tubs of philodendron had absolutely NO rot in the crown, and no leaf frostbite either. I banked a mix of leaves and pinestraw around the tubs, and only for freezing weather did I cover the plant tops with a tarp and bubblewrap. This also worked for my Kimberly Queen ferns, the white birds of paradise, a dwarf splitleaf philodendron, nun's orchids, and a variegated ginger. I did the same for my colocasia/alocasia/bananas but their trunks/stems had so much water in them that the outer portions turned to mush. They were all planted in the ground, mulched heavily, wrapped with bubble wrap or surrounded by heavy corrugated box material. Our temps got into the low 20s more frequently and oftener this last winter than I ever remember. However, I lost only 2 bananas and 1 elephant ear.