Last Updated on December 20, 2021 by Grow with Bovees
Have you ever heard of or come across a creeping plant?
Yes, you read correctly, a houseplant that crawls along the grounds of your garden or the floorboards of your office or living room — well, any room, actually.
What differentiates creepers from climbers is that one grows up, and the other grows across.
Unlike the Monstera adansonii and the Monstera deliciosa which are climbing plants, the Philodendron gloriosum — which is a common house plant — are crawling plants and their stems grows horizontally.
It has magnificent oversized foliage which flaunts distinguishing unique white or pink leaf veins.
Not to mention the leaves beautiful resemblance to the shapes of hearts.
This lovely piece of greenery makes for an absolute showstopper in any home or garden due to its oversized, heart-shaped leaves.
Stunning huge heart-shaped foliage, as seen in this plant, takes a while to develop.
The Philodendron gloriosum plant grows at a slow pace. You can expect to wait for a month or sometimes more to see new leaves emerge from a leaf spike if the correct Philodendron gloriosum care guide is followed.
The incredible leaves of the Philodendron gloriosum plants unfold from rhizomes that grow across the ground and when maturing in its natural habitat, the foliage of this plant can grow to lengths of up to 36 inches.
Although not as groundbreaking as its mature leaves, this plant — when mature — can also produce little white flowers in the months of May through to July.
It is, however, really hard to achieve a Philodendron gloriosum flower, unlike in Anthurium Crystallinum, orchids and Spathiphyllum.
The Philodendron gloriosum is a tropical plant species deriving from the Araceae family.
It comes from the philodendron genus and is also commonly known as Gloriosum x melanochrysum or P. melanochrysum.
It is a terrestrial plant originating from Columbia, where its natural environment lies in tropical forests. It is, however, also found to be native to other countries, namely Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela and Central America.
Lastly, is Philodendron gloriosum toxic?
Yes, it is and may cause digestive irritation when ingested.
Want to learn more about how to take care of this striking shrub known as the Philodendron gloriosum?
Continue reading, and we shall provide you with all the important knowledge of Philodendron gloriosum plant care needed to cultivate this plant.
Soil and Potting
The Philodendron gloriosum is at its happiest when provided with a well-draining potting mix that is high in organic matter and ranges from 6.5-7.5 in pH. This would be the ideal soil acidity.
One recommendation is to use orchid potting mix or 100% sphagnum moss. The peat moss does, however, not contain enough essential nutrients, so make sure to fertilize your plant occasionally when using it.
This plant is not particularly fond of too wet and soggy soil. It is therefore of high importance that the soil you provide is well-draining soil and nothing more than moist soil.
Making use of a soil mix that is a combination of orchid bark or pumice and perlite would be beneficial as this is known to make soil of good drainage.
Add peat to your soil for better air circulation. Enough oxygen flow is of great importance for the roots.
A high level of soil density may lead to suffocation of the roots and the Philodendron gloriosum may start showing signs of root rot. For example, yellow leaves.
Another tip we can give you is to add horticultural charcoal (amazon link) to your potting mix. It is said that this charcoal imitates the forest environment, which is the natural habitat of the Philodendron gloriosum.
It also helps protect the shrub against fungi and bacteria by naturally drawing toxins from the soil.
Taking this plants’ creeping nature into consideration, a round pot is not recommended when planting the Philodendron gloriosum indoors as it will quickly reach the edges of a round planting container.
Rather make use of a rectangular pot and don’t forget to make sure that the pot has drainage holes for effective drainage of excess water.
Light and Temperature
In order to grow stunning large deep veined foliage — which the Philodendron gloriosum is ultimately known for — expose it to great amounts of bright indirect sunlight.
When we say great amounts of natural bright indirect light, we mean about 70-85% of bright indirect light.
Too much direct sunlight exposure is not recommended as this may cause the foliage of the Philodendron gloriosum to burn, causing its leaves to go yellow and ultimately damaging the plant.
Avoid south-facing windows.
Placing the Philodendron gloriosum close to a window of bright indirect sunlight out of range of direct sunlight has been shown to benefit the growth process of this tropical plant. An east-facing or west-facing window would be optimal.
The more light exposure, the bigger the leaves will get.
If you decide to use a grow light — which is great by the way — make sure that the distance between the Philodendron gloriosum and the grow light stays at about 24 inches. This is also to prevent scorched leaves.
The Philodendron gloriosum enjoys temperature ranges of 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Avoid leaving your plant outdoors during the winter seasons. Frosty conditions make for a stressful environment for this plant.
If your Philodendron gloriosum presents with dull leaves that are long and narrow and the spaces between them are abnormally large, you might want to place it near a window or an area of brighter light. These leaves develop if light conditions are not optimal.
Humidity
Seeing as the Philodendron gloriosum naturally grows in tropical rain forests, humidity is of the essence. Anything below 40% humidity will make your philodendron unhappy and cause it to stress.
If your house is too dry for this indoor plant, buy a humidifier to push up those humidity levels.
Misting the velvety foliage of your Philodendron gloriosum will also aid in a more humid environment. This is almost like a moisturizing face spa for the gloriosums leaves, one could say.
A surrounding environment of humidity levels at 60-80% is ideal for your P. gloriosum. This appealing plant will thrive best in these conditions.
Be careful of central heating systems in your home. They dry out the surrounding air considerably, which is not good for the Philodendron gloriosum.
Making groups of a few Philodendron gloriosum plants and placing them in the same spot together will help to maintain excellent humidity conditions.
Watering
You can expect to have to get used to a watering schedule of about 1-2 times a week depending on the seasons and surrounding temperatures.
A good rule of thumb and a good indication of when to water the Philodendron gloriosum is to palpate the soil mix. Is the top half of the soil dry when sticking your finger into it? If yes, it is time to water, if no, wait a day or two longer.
Keeping the soil damp rather than soaking wet is quite important. Overly wet conditions will cause root rot and your shrub will definitely act out and start fading slowly due to soggy mushy roots.
You can get away with overwatering maybe once or twice, but try to avoid it.
Drooping leaves are an indicator of either too much water or too little water. Overenthusiastic watering will inhibit leaves from absorbing any more water and under watering will cause your plant to dehydrate, which in turn causes drooping leaves.
Fertilizing
Using the correct amount of fertilizer for your plant from time to time during the months of spring and summer has been shown to be beneficial to the Philodendron gloriosum.
It promotes plant growth and helps the leaves grow into large beauties.
Balanced liquid fertilizer diluted to half-strength may be used at a monthly rate when the weather is warmer. This is when your shrub is at its active growing stage.
During the winter seasons, fertilization should be reduced to once every 8 weeks.
Even though adding plant food or fertilizer has been shown to be great for the Philodendron gloriosum, like with everything else, do not overdo it. You may just cause more bad than good.
Pruning
The philodendron is not fussy when it comes to pruning, but it is still part of basic Philodendron gloriosum care. It simply requires you to remove any dying leaves.
You can either try to softly tear them off or, if that does not work, using a pair of scissors should do the trick. Make sure that the tool is sharp and clean and always prune leaves by cutting them at its base.
As mentioned above, this appealing plant is a slow grower, so pruning should not really be necessary. But if you wish to change the shape or control the size of your shrub, pruning is the way to do it.
Again, do not overdo it, you may hurt your plant if you prune too eagerly.
Repotting
Once you notice that your philodendron starts reaching the edges or leaning over the sides of its pot, it is unable to develop new roots in the soil and becomes root bound. Your plant is now unable to continue crawling even though it really wants to.
This will in turn cause stunted growth and is a good indication that you should consider repotting your plant into a rectangular pot.
Your tropical plant is root bound when you start seeing roots emerging from the pots’ drainage holes.
If you were to remove the plant from its pot when you notice visible roots, you would see that the roots are entangled in a heavy coil of soil which hinders the spreading of roots, causing yellow leaves.
Repotting will not be a frequent occurrence due to the slow-growing nature of P. gloriosum.
When you see that it’s time to repot your philodendron use a pot that is a bit bigger than the previous one and don’t forget to make sure that it is able to drain water.
Spring and summer and hot months are the best times to go about repotting your Philodendron gloriosum.
Propagation Of Philodendron Plants
When you propagate Philodendron gloriosum plant, plant cuttings are ideally taken from the mother plant. Stem cuttings can be found in sections between the plants’ magnificent leaves, and they can be used to grow a new plant.
This process is fairly easy, and it is a lovely opportunity to develop fresh new baby plants free of charge. They would make a great gift for fellow plant lovers.
Since these houseplants are quite pricey on the market, propagation makes for a great saving opportunity.
Grab your mother plant and simply cut out a stem cutting from a section between the leaves. Make sure the section has at least two nodes.
Propagate from a fairly large parent plant, as you don’t want to weaken the status of the original plant by removing too many cuttings.
Next, you should place your cutting in water and let it sit there for a couple of weeks — this process may also take a couple of months, so be patient.
Once you notice roots breaking through and emerging from the nodes, the plant will slowly start to become water rooted.
Give the roots time to reach the length of several inches, after which you can pot the cutting into potting mix which is well-draining, of course. And voilà, you will soon have a brand new baby plant ready to grow and become a part of your world of philodendron plants.
Be careful when watering the potted cutting. Baby plants are quite a bit more sensitive than mature plants, and they need a lot more tenderness, love and care.
You may also be interested in further Philodendron information;
Philodendron Billietiae
Philodendron Bipennifolium Care
Micans Philodendron
Philodendron Lemon Lime
Care of Pink Princess Philodendron
Care of Philodendron Cordatum
Philodendron Florida Ghost
Pests
Like several other indoor plants, the Philodendron gloriosum is also susceptible to plant pests and plant diseases. And it is not always that easy to get rid of these sneaky organisms that can be quite damaging to your plant.
The commonly occurring little unwanted creatures include aphids, mealybugs, sucking insects like spider mites, whitefly, scale, and pesky fungus gnats.
Other problems include root rot and leaf discoloration.
When you notice a plant pest infestation on your P. gloriosum, don’t sweat, there are ways to get rid of them. It is just important that you do so in a timely manner before your plant is too damaged to be saved.
Neem Oil
This is a natural substance that you can spray on your plant to get rid of plant pests. It is quite expensive, but due to its natural components, it will not be harmful to you, your surroundings or to your plant.
If you get pure neem oil, be sure to dilute it before spraying it on your plants and continue spraying neem oil for about two weeks or until the pests have cleared.
You can also use it as a soil drench to get rid of fungus gnats if they become a problem.
Rubbing Alcohol
This substance is very effective in getting rid of plant pests, and it is very easy to use. Simply apply some rubbing alcohol onto a cotton swab and put it onto the parts of your plants where pests are visible, so that the alcohol comes into direct contact with the unwanted bugs.
Keep this up for about two weeks. Be patient and don’t lose hope, this process takes time!
Conclusion
Keep this exotic plant happy, and it will, in turn, bless you with spectacular leaves. Their deep velvet veins will make a great addition to a cozy plant collection and leave any plant-loving visitor in awe and jealous of its striking and eye-catching beauty.
Don’t forget to make sure to create the perfect tropical growing conditions for your adorable plant whether you are growing it in an outdoor garden or as indoor house plants and this creeper plant will definitely not disappoint.
Not rocket science right?
Well, there you have it. All you need to know about the basic Philodendron gloriosum care which will aid in making your plant become of excellent plant health.
