Philodendron Pink Princess Care, Water, Pruning, Propagation

Last Updated on January 12, 2022 by Grow with Bovees

Welcome to our Pink Princess Philodendron care page.

Pink Princess Philodendron is perhaps one of the most stunning houseplants to have in your home.

This plant is always a hot seller, so much so that many nurseries can’t manage to keep it in stock!

Philodendron Pink Princess is a man-made hybrid that’s made by cross-pollinating philodendron erubescens (fil-oh-DEN-dron er-yoo-BESS-kens) — a flowering plant species in the family Araceae.

This tropical perennial’s genus name — philodendron, comes from the Greek, and means tree-loving, which is apt, given that philodendrons naturally climb up trees in the wild.

The specific epithet — ‘erubescens’ indicates the reddish-colored undersides of the leaves of the philodendron pink plant.

There are several other erubescens hybrids sold under different names, most notably; Red Emerald Philodendron, Red Leaf Philodendron, and Imperial Red Philodendron.

Even though it’s fairly easy to look after, there are few important steps you do need to adhere to when focusing on their care.

Native to Ecuador and Columbia, Pink Philodendrons feature a mix of; bright pink, dark green, and chocolate brown leaves.

Philodendrons typically like to grow under trees, and thrive in areas with high humidity levels and bright, indirect light, making them a beautiful potential addition to your indoor garden.

It’s worth mentioning that Pink Princess is not to be confused with Pink Congo — a philodendron that displays ‘unnaturally produced’ pink foliage, the color of which doesn’t last long.

This is in comparison to the naturally occurring pink variegation and waxy olive green foliage of Pink Princess Philodendron plants.

Without further ado, let’s move on to the Philodendron Pink Princess care tips that The Bovees Team recommend for increased longevity of these prized pink variegated plants.

How Much Sunlight to Provide for Pink Princess Philodendron?

Pink Princess should be kept in a location that receives medium or bright indirect light. You shouldn’t place them under direct sunlight for longer periods of time, as doing so might scorch the leaves.

You can however place Pink Princess Philodendron under direct sunlight for approximately two to four hours in the morning.

It’s recommended that you provide some shade for your Princess Philodendron plants if they’re placed in a very sunny location such as a south-facing room, but really rather set them in an east-facing or west-facing room that gets sunlight for only a part of the day.

How do I Tell if my Plant is Getting the Correct Bright Indirect Light?

There are several ways to tell if your Princess Philodendron houseplants are getting too much or too little sunlight, most notably their leaves turning yellow or brown.

The amount of sunlight that Pink Princess Philodendron receives, directly affects the color of its leaves. For example, if you provide too much light such as between four and six hours, it will lead to philodendron leaves with olive-green spots instead of pink spots.

And if you provide too little light (less than two hours), the Pink Princess plant will grow dark brown leaves.

If you notice a few leaves turning yellow, there’s no need to break a sweat just yet, but do move the Pink Princess Philodendron plant to a shaded location as soon as possible.

Remember, the leaves of any houseplant do start to yellow as they age, but you don’t need to worry as long as the other leaves are green and healthy.

Should I Keep My Princess Philodendron Plants Indoors or Outdoors?

Philodendron Pink Princess plants can’t survive without a few hours of bright indirect sunlight per day. So, as long as you can provide the plants with the essential sunlight they need, you can keep them indoors or outdoors

Depending on the climate zone that you live in, you may want to bring Philodendron Pink plants inside during the winter, and place them in an area that’s away from hot radiators, and not close to direct heat or cold drafts for extended amounts of time.

By the same token, in the summer, don’t place your pink philodendron plants near air conditioning streams or beside any open windows that could cause a draft.

Pink philodendron plants can thrive year-round indoors without any fuss and under the right temperature conditions, but it’s a good idea to give them an occasional sojourn outside, placing them in a nice shady location when the weather permits.

What is the Ideal Temperature for Philodendron Pink Princess Care?

Pink Philodendron Princess specimens love temperatures in the range of 13 and 35 degrees Celsius (55 – 95 deg Fahrenheit) with their ideal daytime temperature being between 18 and 26 degrees Celsius (64 – 79 deg Fahrenheit).

During the nighttime, pink philodendrons should ideally be set in areas that receive around 16 degrees Celsius (61 deg Fahrenheit) for them to get a good night’s sleep.

Do not expose your Pink Philodendron Princesses to frost! In fact, ideally don’t let them stay for any great length of time under 15 degrees Celsius (59 deg F).

What is the Best Potting Soil Mix for a Princess Philodendron Plant?

The potting mix you use for your Princess Philodendron houseplant should be rich in nutrients, able to retain moisture but not be allowed to become soggy.

To grow a Pink Princess plant well, the ideal indoor potting mix is a peat-based soil with a perlite substrate or other substrate suited to orchid-type shrubs. This combination is extremely fertile, retains moisture, and provides good drainage.

Furthermore, Pink Princess Philodendrons have aerial (exposed to the air) roots just like other philodendron erubescens. These roots grow on the stems of the plant and draw moisture from the air, not from the ground.

So, Pink Princess Philodendron houseplants will also grow well in 100% sphagnum peat moss or in other soil-less mixtures such as a peat-vermiculite or peat-perlite potting mix.

What is the Best Fertilizer for Pink Philodendron Houseplants?

Fertilizer is yet another important Pink Princess Philodendron requirement in order to encourage healthy growth.

The best fertilizer for Pink Princess Philodendron plants is one that’s a well-balanced liquid fertilizer with both; micronutrients such as calcium & magnesium and macronutrients.

Steer clear of cheap fertilizers, as they contain heavy salts that can damage or even kill the roots of your Philodendron Pink variegated plants.

The best time to fertilize Philodendron Pinks is every four weeks during the spring and summer, and then stop feeding them during the fall and winter when growth slows down.

When it comes to fertilizer, more is not always good as overfertilizing your Philodendron Pink Princess houseplants can cause a buildup of mineral salts, resulting in root rot.

To prevent the accumulation of fertilizer salts, it’s a good practice to flush the soil every three to five months by running some water through the potting mix for approximately two minutes.

After flushing, you can switch back to your regular watering and fertilizing schedule once the top one inch of the soil has completely dried out again.

The Philodendron Fertilizer (amazon link), comes highly recommended for Philodendron Pink Princess plants and features a 3-1-2 miracle ratio for the optimal life of your specimens.

Philodendron Pink Princess Care Watering Schedule

One of the biggest reasons your PPP (Philodendron Pink Princess) specimens may lose their appealing variegated color is due to under watering.

Even though Philodendron Pink Princess could be described as a hardy plant, under watering may cause the leaves to turn dark green, and lose their pink color.

A pro-tip to make sure your Philodendron Pink Princess plant gets just the right amount of water is to water it again as soon as the top one inch of the soil completely dries out.

When you do water the Philodendron Pink Princess plant, pour water into the top of the pot until it drains out the bottom through the drainage holes.

Watering thoroughly by ‘feel’ rather than watering a little at a time on a schedule (shallow watering) ensures that the roots of your Philodendron Pink Princess get the right amount of moisture.

Thoroughly watering Philodendron Pink Princess plants after the top layer has dried will also result in fewer chances of the onset of pests such as fungus gnats and other bugs that typically thrive in the top one inch or two inches of damp soil.

How to Prune Pink Princess Philodendron?

It’s important to regularly prune your plant in the spring or fall to manage variegation.

While Philodendron Pink Princess owners love having leaves that are all pink in color, there’s a big downside to this as ‘all pink’ leaves have little or no chlorophyll in them, and plants need chlorophyll for energy to grow, so your plant definitely needs some green on its leaves!

However, at the same time, if too many ‘all green’ leaves start to appear then the plant may revert to ‘Philodendron Erubescens’ and stop producing ANY pink leaves.

If you don’t prune properly, you may have to bid adieu to Pink Princess and welcome Green Princess, and we’re sure you don’t want that!

The goal of pruning, therefore, should be to achieve a balanced mix of; variegated pink & green leaves, with some completely pink leaves, and some completely green leaves.

There are several sure shot signs to alert you when your philodendron pink plants need pruning.

Firstly, as mentioned above, if you’ve got all green or all pink leaves, secondly if you have any leaves that appear yellow or are dying.

To prune Philodendron Pink Princess plants, make clean cuts with your hand pruners or a pair of sharp scissors just a bit above the node where the leaves attach to the stem.

This will encourage new pink and green leaves to grow from the node.

How To Propagate Pink Princess Philodendron?

Like all philodendrons, a Pink Princess Philodendron is pretty easy to propagate and create new plants.

Propagation by Stem Cuttings

Start by cutting the stem slightly below a node where the leaves are growing.

Pick a stem that has at least three healthy leaves that are rich in variegation.

Get a jar or vase, fill it with water, and place the stem cuttings in it.

Replace the water every two to three days.

The roots should begin to appear within two or three days, and you can plant the cuttings in your pot with soil after the roots have grown a couple of inches long.

You can even plant the stem cuttings directly in the soil instead of putting them in water.

This method will need a bit more work, because you have to keep tabs on the potting mix to ensure that it is fairly damp to encourage rooting.

How to Repot Pink Princess Philodendrons?

You can repot pink philodendrons once a year when they’re still in their infancy and every two years after that.

There are myriad benefits to repotting philodendrons such as a chance to refresh the potting mix, encouraging new growth, and preventing the plants from getting root bound (when the roots of the plant have completely taken up space in the pot that contains it) for better drainage.

Here are the steps to repot philodendrons:

1. First, thoroughly water the pink philodendrons 24 hours before repotting, to help reduce stress.

How to Encourage Pink Variegation in My Philodendrons?

To encourage stunning pink variegation in your philodendrons:

Provide the philodendrons with an ample amount of bright indirect sunlight either under grow lights or a south-facing window.
Plant the philodendrons in the right potting mix such as organic soil, perlite, coco coir. Make sure the soil is airy and well-drained so that the roots can expand outwards.
Prune your philodendrons as per the above advice, to produce maximum variegated growth.
Provide your philodendrons with at least 65 percent humidity for the pink leaves to unfurl smoothly and without kinks.

Why do Philodendron Pink Princess Plants Cost So Much?

One of the biggest reasons pink princess plants are expensive is due to their rarity.

Like some other special philodendron species, they require a fair amount of effort in crossbreeding them, for special attributes such as shape and color.

The fact that many home gardeners don’t choose to propagate a pink princess vining plant, but prefer to buy them from reputable nurseries is because of the delicate process required in altering the plant’s genes to achieve different colored zones on the stems, leaves, fruits, or flowers.

The extensive time required to carry out this delicate process obviously adds to the high price tag.

Another reason this pink vining plant can cost upwards of $2000 is that there is a high percentage of substandard plants involved.

No matter how experienced you are at the process, and despite investing considerable time, effort and expertise into the propagating process, there’s still no guarantee that the plants will turn out pink enough to sell them as Pink Princess Philodendron houseplants.

For that reason, unfortunately, many newly propagated Pink Princess plants have to be disposed of, even though the mother plant may have been a perfectly beautiful, richly variegated pink specimen.

There are many types of philodendron available that will not set you back so much as this one. For instance, a Philodendron Micans is a very beautiful plant. Likewise, a Philodendron Florida Ghost, and will cost much less.

Is Pink Princess Philodendron Toxic to Pets or Humans?

Pink philodendrons are beautiful plants, but the big question is are they toxic to pets?

The short answer is yes, philodendrons can be poisonous to dogs and cats when ingested.

Chewing or biting on philodendrons releases insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that may cause drooling, vomiting, oral pain, and/or decreased appetite in pets. In the event your pet ingests philodendrons, it’s recommended that you seek veterinary care immediately.

Final Thoughts

The Pink Princess Philodendron species are one of the most beautiful houseplants in the plant world, and basic care of them is pretty straight forward.

However, if you follow our Pink Princess Philodendron care advice above you should end up with ‘extra stunning’ specimens!