Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Philodendron

Q. A former neighbor of mine saved my philodendron with a mixture of Peter's (Peterson's?) 20-20-20, Epsom salt and fish oil. But she didn't tell me how much of each to mix in a gallon of water. I've found plenty of homemade plant foods, they all have salt peter or ammonia or any number of other ingredients but none have only the ones I listed. It worked great, I'd love to use it again if possible. TIA!

A. The fertilizer which you used is called Peters. I have several versions of it here. For the philodendron, use a general foliage plant blend, as 20-20-20. The epsom salts I have used only on occasion, and the fish emulsion I used tonight!

For one gallon, use one tablespoon Peters, 1/4 teaspoon salts and 1 teaspoon fish emulsion. Sorry, but the latter has a pungent odor, but it goes away in a few hours. It serves as a good pick-me-up for flagging plants. Lots of nitrogen especially.

Q. I have several very healthy, beautiful philodendron plants in hanging baskets in the shade of my back yard. Each of them are very, very long. What to do with these long pieces - root them in water; root them in potting soil, or just cut them off and throw them away?

A. Philodendron is one of the all-time easiest plants to propagate. You can stick cuttings of about 4-6" long in water and in a well-lit window and they will root within one to two weeks!

I prefer to root them in a 50/50 mixture of vermiculite and perlite as the roots formed in this medium are much stronger and adapt to the potting soil mix when potted up much better.

Keep evenly moist but not soggy. When they start growing and resist a gentle pull on the stems, they are rooted. You can plant them 5 to a 6" pot or 8-10 in a larger pot. They love to grow together.

The secret to a pretty plant is to pinch the growing points often so that the stems will branch out. Where one stem is, you can get several growing points so they get full and pretty. Try it and you will see just how easy it is. You can also plant some more rooted cuttings into the pots you have now that are sparse. They will fill out those plantings quickly.

Barb writes~
My philodendron's leaves are turning yellow. What did I do wrong?

A. Commonly, this signals that the plant is not receiving enough fertilizer. Be sure to feed your house plants just as you feed your family! They need Nitrogen for green foliage, so apply a mix from the store, as Miracle-Gro or Hyponex. Follow the label directions carefully.

It is natural for all plants to drop their outer leaves, many yellowing and then browning before death. Nature tells the nutrients to go to the growing tips, many times allowing the old foliage to suffer. Do not worry about that. Merely clip off ugly looking leaves with sharp scissors right where the stem comes from the main branch, leaving no stub to rot.