Thaumatophyllum - Best Indoor Plants

I would like to introduce a New Series on Indoor Plants

and hope to come up with 10 Best Indoor Plants for Beginners.

I'm guessing that if you had already had hands on other hardy plants and you are ready for a new challenge - these fall in more less as medium level plant to grow and maintenance.

Let me introduce these plants - Thaumatophyllum Species
formerly known as a Philodendron species.

Philodendron Xanadu & Hope Philodendron have been renamed.
It's no longer considered philodendron species

Here picture top :

Thaumatophyllum Xanadu

I used to have this had zealously given it away and now deeply regretting why I had done that. 

This unique one has a papaya shaped foliage. 

They are not easy to propagate and may easily succumb to crown rot if proper care is not maintained.

Xanadu is miniature version of this kind, 

I would recommend this for small garden space.

Here picture top :

Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum 

Formerly known as Philodendron selloum or Philodendron bipinnatifidum,
commonly known Hope Philodendron, Tree Philodendron, Horsehead philodendron or Fiddle-leaf philodendron
(OMG! Such a mouthful!!)

Anyway, I understand that these are more accurately reclassified because of their DNA.

Regardless their names, they are indeed a beautiful ascetic plant to consider to give a feature effect. This particular species are the large foliage type. They are indeed a huge plant and so do consider the required growth space when introducing this in your garden or living space.

This one tend to lose their leaves as they grow and the crown can be huge. As the plant ages the centralized trunk will appear more like a banyan tree with snake like roots trailing everywhere. It can appear to be very messy if it had taken roots along wall side gripping for support and all.

For this reason, it would be very necessary to continuously pruning and maintaining the ideal height and shape so that it will not revert to its wild side.

How to Care for Hope Philodendron 
(let's call it Hope Philodendron for now)

I believe this is a juvenile version of this plant, (picture below)
currently the plant market labels them as such but basically it is the same plant.

Philodendron selloum or Philodendron bipinnatifidum

Eventually when it grows bigger with thick cylindrical trunk - It will eventually look like a Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum plant.

However, it is a good thing to buy them in this size for the plant to establish itself when it start growing and also - it is very affordable and more stable when planted in this size. Bigger plant do tend to stress out easily when their aerial roots had fastened itself outside the main pot.

The Main Key Element:

Bright Indirect Light, Fast Draining Medium & Well Balanced Watering Regime.

This dictates the success of growth & maintenance of this particular genus.

Similar to Monstera Deliciosa species care,

these require bright indirect light with good humidity.
It's a tropical plant and therefore adequate watering is necessary.

The best way is to observe how it behaves in your living space and handle care as what is required.

After sometime (in few months) the plant will adjust to the surrounding and acclimatize. Just make sure the optimum ideal watering regime and good lighting is available for this plant. This one requires good bright indirect light - too dark and it would succumb to root-rot or crown rot.

Too bright (as exposed too much to sun) may cause foliage burns.
The plant can face shock and may shed off it leaves.


How to Propagate Thaumatophyllum:

Unlike most plants, this one rarely form seeds.
The best practical way to propagate them is through stem cuttings. The only setback is that this one is considered more sensitive and so more care is required as the cutting do not succumb to stem rot.

1) Always (I mean the Emphasis) Sterile the Tools before using them.
You can either wash them first soap and soak the cutting tool (scissors or knife) with alcohol or heat up on fire.
Again, do not immediately use a hot burning scissors, wait for it to cool down.
 (I almost forgot and was about to cut a plant - almost cooked it in the process)

2) Rooting in Water.
To change the water often on daily basis if you are rooting the cutting in water. This will keep the water fresh from harboring bacteria that might cause further damage in stem or root rot.

3) Gentle on the New Roots
Keep the medium ready, Put in the plant first and pour in the medium and compress gently. I had seen people roughly force the cutting into a hardened potted medium and the stem snaps in that process.

I'm pretty sure its had been updated, reclassified and some new cultivar and species been discovered.
The one thing that make a difference is to chose and have a collection based on what pleases you and the availability of space and plant management on your side.

Do share with me your thoughts and experience with your Thaumatophyllum in comment box below:
Why you find them special and gives you that joyful, fulfilling garden experience.


Monstera deliciosa vs Monstera borsigiana vs Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum (Video)




Basically I just want to highlight the difference between some of the philodendron species together with Monstera sp.

What I would recommend is to buy a perfect specimen where you can note the fully formed adult plant of Monstera deliciosa as the juvenile can be tricky to be identified as it may be a different form of phillodendron or tetrasperma which all may have similar looking foliage shape when their are a seedling.

It also may be slightly more expensive than a seedling but it is still worthed it considering the years you may have to wait to see the foliage formation taking place. Knowing another factor of being a seedling - they are still sensitive and may die easily in comparison to a fully matured stable plant.

Also in this video:
Monstera borsigiana, Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, Hope Philodendron, Philodendron Rojo Congo & Monstera seedling.

Different Types of Philodendron - Names & Images

I would like to introduce a New Series on Indoor Plants

and hope to come up with 10 Best Indoor Plants for Beginners.

I'm guessing that if you had already had hands on other hardy plants and you are ready for a new challenge - these fall in more less as medium level plant to grow and maintenance.

Let me introduce these plants - Philodendron Species

Here in the Collection:

Philodendron - NeonPhilodendron -  Brasil 
Philodendron - Neon
Philodendron - Lemon Lime  / Philodendron - Ceylon Golden
Philodendron Hederaceum "Micans"
Philodendron Lacerum
Philodendron Birkin
Philodendron Scandens
Philodendron - Burle Marx

New Additions:

Philodendron Raja Congo
Philodendron Hastatum - Silver Sword
Philodendron Bipennifolium (Horsehead Philodendron)

Even though their similarities are very close with the pothos species, 

philodendron somehow falls more on a high end category on care and maintenance. 

I wouldn't recommend this for new beginners as they are slightly more pricey and difficult to care for. 

Identifying their difference between pothos and philodendron can be challenging.

Regardless, they are still considered one of the Best Indoor Plants to have for indoor setting.

I had found that they are highly sought after and starting to get in trend in the plant market as the most popular plant.

One main factor on their difference is that philodendron are able to produce inflorescence whereas the pothos don't. Pothos may have thicker and larger leaves and able to grow more vigorously in comparison whereas philodendron may not but again some species do tend to grow larger leaves.

Another key factor that is often missed is that Phildendron often have a cataphylls (a leaf sheaths) whereas pothos do not. Philodendron also tend to have a longer tail at the leaf end.

Pothos tend to fold their leaves upwards whereas philodendron do not.
Their common may be tricky with many overlapping common names.

Here picture top :

Philodendron - Neon

This variety do not have any splash marking like the rest of the variegated types.
The tones are very much like lime colored with a heart shaped leaf.
If you are a new with this plant, you might think that this had either had too much exposure to direct sun or it's sick with something.

The reality is this is one of the newer cultivars recently introduced in the market.
It's yet to pick up its pace into popularity as this plant is sold on a higher price for a small portion. This variety is a slow grower in comparison with other cultivars.

Here picture top :

Philodendron - Brasil 

Brasil is a marvelous plant. I had not seen anything so beautiful like this one.
No two leaves are the same.
The splashes somehow embedded into the leaf shape forming folds and dentures.

Just like Neon, it had been recently introduced in the market.
I had noticed that Brazil tend to switch itself back to Neon and vise versa.
I believe it's still unstable and reverts to its original cultivar.

Here picture top :

Philodendron - Lemon Lime

It appears to have a slight variation of leaf structure but having the same color tones with Philodendron Lime (which is more on a heart shape) I realized that these types do not grow big in leaf shape size rather grow big by volume rather than increasing the size of the plant.

I had some confusion with Philodendron Lemon Lime as it looks very similar to Ceylon Golden.

Another new cultivar had been introduced that has the same appearance which is known as Philodendron Moonlight.

I realized that Moonlight seemed to appear more compact and has red stem unlike this common ones.

Here picture top :

Philodendron Hederaceum "Micans"

I had fallen in love with this one,

it has a heart shaped leaf with a tail that has an interesting feature of a velvety sheen like gloss on the foliage surface that it's so amazing. Almost skip a heart beat.

It does look very similar to heart leaf philodendron scandens,
the only difference is that this one owns the velvety sheen.

It does however look so fragile and may easily get damaged if handled roughly. 

Not a hardy kind that handles the storm well type of plant. 

Do place this one where there is less or no moment as the leaves can easily get bruised and damaged.

Here picture top :

Philodendron Lacerum

Now introducing the heavy-weights on this plant list.

Recently there is a new classification where it is now known as Thaumatophyllum sp.

Years ago, Xanadu was known as a philodendron but reclassified to this new category.

Coming to that, Philodendron lacerum does have that features but still fall in this category (or I might be wrong as they might renamed it)
Anyway, featuring this unique philodendron that breaks the pothos (heart shaped) foliage norms.

There are others too like Philodendron gloriosum which appears more like a Colocasia than anything else. Not forgetting the pink leaf varieties "Pink Princess" and another like Thaumatophyllum leaf type : "Florida Beauty"which is quite elusive and rare in the market.

Philodendron Birkin

 👆Click on the name above to the link for more detailed information 👆

There are so many new varieties that had been released in the market that is difficult to keep up with the new cultivars.

Philodendron Birkin - I thought I saw a yellow variegated version of a Canna Lily or mistaken it for this one. Seriously I really can't tell the difference.

It seemed that these are very much grow like a dwarf type appearing to be very compact without the trailing vine. Only time will tell when they outgrow the pot from their comfort zone.

Here picture top :

Philodendron Scandens

Commonly known as a Heart Leaf Phildendron.

I had almost mistaken this for a Betel Leaf plant only to realize that the elegant appearance of the Heart shaped foliage appeared to be more rounder than an oval shape.

If its not for the elongated tail leaf structure, 

I would definitely would had considered this one as a pothos species. 

Identity and labels for plant ID are rare or virtually none when purchasing them in the local nurseries here. And so, one have to their one research in identifying them.

The stem do feel frail and sensitive and can easily snap & break if you are not careful. 

I wonder if nature intend them to be that way for nature  means of self-propagation system.

Here picture top :

Philodendron - Burle Marx

I find this philodendron is quite hardy compared to the rest of the types.

Burle Marx appears similar to scandens but much longer and bushier. 

They do tend to fill up all the gaps in between giving that rich foliage and arrayed like shields. 

One thing though - these do tend to appear messy, tangled with thick vine and root-ball. Separating and replanting them can be quite a challenge.

It would be good to properly plan and consider their invasive growing condition first 

if you plant to plant them in an open setting. 

I would recommend that these to be placed in a confided singular potted plant for easy pruning and maintenance.

NEW ADDITIONS:

Philodendron Raja Congo

 👆Click on the name above to the link for more detailed information 👆

Philodendron Hastatum - Silver Sword

 👆Click on the name above to the link for more detailed information 👆

Philodendron Bipennifolium (Horsehead Philodendron)

 👆Click on the name above to the link for more detailed information 👆

How to Care for Philodendron:

Very similar needs equivalent to pothos.

There are no "only one way" to care and grow them.

I handle mine more in a heavy watering regime - like an aquatic zone and these had acclimated in my zone and conditions.

Some say not to drown them in water,

others water them in intervals as letting them to dry out before the next watering

(keeping them more on the drier side)

What I can suggest to you is to experiment and observe what works best for you.

But there are some exceptions that need to be observed such as:

1) They don't do well with conventional fertilizers.

One of my botanist friend mentioned to me that they produce their own nitrogen and therefore anything extra can be fatal for these kind of species. I would suggest to use the high quality foliage fertilizer with half strength dilution and observe and see how the plant behaves. If it doesn't suffer any burns and shows a robust growth then that dosage is ideal for them.

2) These are very much epiphytes - and so they prepare some sort of trailing, hanging, dangling and tangling. Their roots don't go deep, so deep pots are quite unnecessary.

An ideal pot or garden space would be one with a totem for it to cling on.

Unless it's the large variety, the common ones falls in this category.

3) I don't expect them to survive if they start to rot and turn yellow but pruning them before the rot spreading to other healthy plant is a very important.

Somehow - I find that it can be infected with bacteria (rot) which can be infectious.

4) Most of these hybrids are very sensitive to pest attack - especially scale insect and mealy bug - and these are often hidden in between the node (leaf and stalk)

And worst - they are not easy to eradicate and need a long process of pesticide regime.

- and so, take good care to check the plant before purchase before introducing them into your garden.

5) The Main Key Element:

Bright Indirect Light, Fast Draining Medium & Well Balanced Watering Regime.

This dictates the success of growth & maintenance of this particular genus.

How to Propagate Philodendron:

Unlike most plants, this one rarely form seeds.

The best practical way to propagate them is through stem cuttings. The only setback is that this one is considered more sensitive and so more care is required as the cutting do not succumb to stem rot.

1) Always (I mean the Emphasis) Sterile the Tools before using them.

You can either wash them first soap and soak the cutting tool (scissors or knife) with alcohol or heat up on fire.

Again, do not immediately use a hot burning scissors, wait for it to cool down.

 (I almost forgot and was about to cut a plant - almost cooked it in the process)

2) Rooting in Water.

To change the water often on daily basis if you are rooting the cutting in water. This will keep the water fresh from harboring bacteria that might cause further damage in stem or root rot.

3) Gentle on the New Roots

Keep the medium ready, Put in the plant first and pour in the medium and compress gently. I had seen people roughly force the cutting into a hardened potted medium and the stem snaps in that process.

There are approximately 489 species of Philodendron according to Wikipedia.

I'm pretty sure its had been updated, reclassified and some new cultivar and species been discovered.

The one thing that make a difference is to chose and have a collection based on what pleases you and the availability of space and plant management on your side.

Do share with me your thoughts and experience with your philodendron in comment box below:

Why you find them special and gives you that joyful, fulfilling garden experience.

Different Types of Scindapsus pictus

I would like to introduce a New Series on Indoor Plants

and hope to come up with 10 Best Indoor Plants for Beginners.

It is more less as medium level plant to grow and maintain.

Let me introduce this plant -  Scindapsus pictus species

The Benefits may be similar to Pothos & Philodendron.

Click on the Name above for more detailed information about the plant.

 Satin Pothos  - Scindapsus pictus 'Exotica'

Characteristics:

Leaves that appears to be large have curls at the edges.

Variegation of the silver spots appears to be more fully covered around leaf surface.

The silver appears to be more and the green spots lesser on this particular species.

Silver Pothos - Scindapsus pictus  'Argyraeus'

Click on the Name above for more detailed information about the plant.

Characteristics:
Leaves appears to be smaller and span out further between leaf nodes.

Variegation of the silver spots appears to be more sparse. This appears to be like more of a green leaf with light grey silver spot on them. (This appearance is the reverse of 'Exotica' )

Scindapsus pictus cv. Platinum

Click on the Name above for more detailed information about the plant.

Characteristics:

The leaves appears to be full sheen of a silvery -green tone where the foliage is void of any spots or pattern. Also these silver-grey colored crystalline leaves do shimmer when tilted at an angle under light. There is slight green tones on the midrib veins but not very visible.

ID:

Scindapsus appears to have similar needs and resembles with most ariods. It has a common name known as Satin Pothos but it is far from what a potho should be. This one is far sensitive in comparison to a potho species.

Based on my experience,

I would consider this one as a medium difficult level in comparison to pothos.

They do tend to grow slower and may easily rot if no proper care is given but once the plant is stable and show its sign of growth, it will spring forth with vigor and robust growth.

Satin Pothos & Silver Pothos do have a silver sheen that appears like florescent reflection when viewed in an angle.

I wouldn't recommend it for beginners especially if you had received a cutting or trying to propagate it. I had many trial and errors with this one and find that a well established full grown plant fair well compared to cuttings for this one.

Yet, if you are open for a challenge and already have the rest of the pothos in your collection and if you are planning to complete that collection - this would be a great accomplishment.

Basic Care and Cultivation of Scindapsus:

Potting Mix:

50% potting mix together with coconut chips. I find this medium is very safe and low risk compared to so many that I tried before. The coconut chips had be trimmed in small bite size pieces and slightly packed with top soil (basic potting mix)

OR

50% potting mix together with with perlite, sand, sphaghum moss and coconut chips

It is important to NOT to over-pot the plant - do keep this plant compact and let it overgrow the pot slowly and repot to another pot slightly bigger.

WATERING:

Too much water can kill them - therefore keeping the medium moist but not dripping wet is essential. It is best not to place them with a water saucer underneath the pot - it works for most pothos species but not for this one - rather treat it more on a drier side and water it when the medium is slightly dry.
Because of this potting medium - I really do not have to worry so much about over watering as the medium is fast draining.


FEEDING:

I find this is very important - a wrong fertilizer can kill this plant and the whole this over: The stress and the leaf drop and burned leaves - It is too late to undo the mistake.

I would really recommend to pay attention to use of fertilizer - do not use any strong fertilizers on them, rather work on with the light and weak application of the feeding regime and slowly notice how the plant reacts to the growth condition and maintaining it to an optimum level is really helpful.

I for one use: Osmocote and alternatively use seaweed solution for good strong root growth. I also realized that this is a slow growing plant and so a lot of patience is needed.

LIGHT:

I keep this is in a bright shade area - too hot and may burn the leaves, too shaded and the leaves will turn to yellow as lacking sunlight. I had noticed at times, Scindapsus curl off the leaves - these happens when they are in stress.

PROPAGATION:

The most ideal, high success rate of propagating this one would be air layering and letting the roots to trail to another potting mix and once the roots established - the plant can trimmed of from the mother plant. I find it doesn't not fair well when it comes to cuttings - they do tend to rot and wither away.

Also I had noted that they don't fair well when placed totally in water alone (like pothos trimmed and placed in a jar or vase) this one seemed to rot and rarely root.

Pothos - Best Indoor Plants

I would like to introduce a New Series on Indoor Plants

and hope to come up with 10 Best Indoor Plants for Beginners.

It is fairly easy plant to grow and maintain.

Let me introduce this plant - Epipremnum aureum more commonly known as Pothos.

These pothos are commonly known as money plant locally here.

A common thought by majority of people here often put them in a cup filled with water
with few colored stones or marbles and often take them for granted as they tolerate well in water.

(You would had seen them on the receptionist desk top)

I find the invasive type found in the wild somehow manage to be the alpha in many zone - but not particularly the hybrids - they tend to die easily if proper care is not given.

Here picture below: Epipremnum aureum - 'N Joy'

This particular variety doesn't grow big,

the size of the leaves some how remains small and never grows big.
However given the best environment for them,
it will grow very robust and trails very long in a healthy manner.

Here picture below: Epipremnum aureum - Marble Queen

Few decades ago, Marble Queen took the center stage as new variegated version compared to the common yellow splash ones.

Somehow this variety is able to grow big with huge leaf size.
I had encountered few climbing on stone walls and patio with the leaves as big as a monstera species.

I find Marble Queen is quite sensitive and easily get attacked by scale insect, especially if they are not grown in an airy bright shaded areas. They do tend to lose their vigor and eventually die with these pest attack - unlike other pothos, this one can be considered sensitive.

However, once you get the hang with the rest of the cultivar. I would recommend you to extend the challenge to expand your collection and try your hand with this one.

How to Care for Pothos:

1) They don't do well with conventional fertilizers.

One of my botanist friend mentioned to me that they produce their own nitrogen and therefore anything extra can be fatal for these kind of species. I would suggest to use the high quality foliage fertilizer with half strength dilution and observe and see how the plant behaves. If it doesn't suffer any burns and shows a robust growth then that dosage is ideal for them.

2) These are very much epiphytes - and so they prepare some sort of trailing, hanging, dangling and tangling. Their roots don't go deep, so deep pots are quite unnecessary.

An ideal pot or garden space would be a wide flat planter box or pot.

3) I don't expect them to survive if they start to rot and turn yellow but pruning them before the rot spreading to other healthy plant is a very important.

Somehow - I find that it can be infected with bacteria (rot) which can be infectious.

4) Most of these hybrids are very sensitive to pest attack - especially scale insect and mealy bug - and these are often hidden in between the node (leaf and stalk)

And worst - they are not easy to eradicate and need a long process of pesticide regime.

- and so, take good care to check the plant before purchase before introducing them into your garden.

Here picture top / below:

Epipremnum aureum - Golden Pothos

Its so popular that is known by many names:

Devil’s Ivy, Golden Pothos, Ceylon Creeper, Hunter’s Robe, Ivy Arum, Silver Vine, Solomon Islands Ivy, Taro Vine & Rapunzel.

More famously known locally as Money Plant (You can't miss that name)

I believe this is truly a love-hate plant.

It's so common that is easily found growing care-free by the roadside but when care and cultivation is overly given to them - they suddenly tend to die.
(Strange isn't it? Many gardeners testify this experience)

As you can see how huge it can grow. This one is growing wild on a tree.

I want to make an emphasize here concerning this vine:

Notice the board-spanned leaves seemed to have side splits similar to the Monstera species characteristics?

THE BEST REASON WHY YOU SHOULD YOU GROW POTHOS

1) Absorbs Toxins from the Living Space:

According to NASA study,
this plant is capable of purifying air by removing some toxin element
such as formaldehyde,benzene, xylene and toluene from indoor environment.

It's also very effective to grow these in a car-park / lift lobby areas as the air can be damp and stale.

The best plant to grow as it also serve to purify toxins like carbon monoxide which is quite fatal for us.

2) Absorbs Odors from the Living Space

Ideal for damp and no or less air movement space or room.

3) Extremely Care-Free Maintenance Plant

This plant can tolerate both low light & bright light areas.

Also you can neglect on the watering regime. It can also tolerate infrequent watering.

This plant is more on the wet side. It can thrive very well in wet environment.

This plant had managed to push the variegated feature at one side and dominated another side so that its able to focus on photosynthesis more effectively.

I had seen some plants behave this way, it shows that these cultivars are unstable.
Eventually in the long-run the variegated feature will be pushed out from the plant system and the plant will dominate more on the greener side.

Only time will tell who wins this battle.

Here picture top / below:

Epipremnum aureum - Jade Pothos

It appears similar to the Neon Pothos which is very much in lime color whereas this one is more on the darker green side.

You know, when you start to have a collection - it appears to be like a slight variation and you wonder whether its a variegated abnormality or a new introduced cultivar which yet to be determined whether if its going to remain stable or transform to its dominant side.

It's a lot challenging when local nurseries do not label the cultivar and one have to do their own research.