My FIL just gave me this plant. He got it in 1968 as a mature plant in this same pot. He recently gave up his office and it needed a home, so here it is. I am assuming it is a split leaf philodendron, but any other details on what it is are appreciated.
His care over the past 56 years has involved him watering it about 4 cups of water every 2 weeks or so. Note this planter does not have holes.
It sat directly in front of a large north facing window for the past 10+ years.
I want to know how to not kill it. The window I have it in front of is north facing. I have purchased a floor vent deflector so it doesn’t blow direct on the plant (it arrives tomorrow).
I cut off dead air roots but there are many air roots up the trunks.
Per the photos, should I place the plant on the right side of the window or the left side? Not sure if it matters light wise. Functionally I would prefer the table on the left.
Should I get a grow light for it? My FIL had it in front of a much larger window (floor to ceiling and 8 ft wide) and there was an open lot in front of the window. My window is 6-8 feet from another brick house.
Should I add soil to the pot? Fertilize? I plan to keep up the same watering regimen, but is there anything else I need to know or do? I would think repotting it would probably be recommended, but I also don’t want to shock it after 56+ years of stability.
by pmacmik
1 Comment
You’d probably need 2+ grow lights to keep this thing just as it is. It will probably lose a fair amount of leaves trying to adjust to the new situation.
For the watering/pot, it might become an issue. It likely never needed drainage because all of the light allowed it to need that water, and soak it up and dry up that soil easily. With less light, it will consume less water and the water will evaporate more slowly as well. Consider a similar pot but with drainage, and consider a more adaptive watering schedule – the one it’s been on might lead to root rot because of its new, very different, environment.