Home»House Plants»Philodendron
The Araceae syndicate is full of wonderful plants , many of which are still being discovered .
For model , Philodendron billietiae ( fil - Buckeye State - DEN - dron bee - lee - e - tee - ye ) , is a perennial native of Brazil , French Guiana , and Guiana that was n’t let out until 1981 .
It took 2 year for this plant life to be bring to a botanical garden , where they were capable to get it to flower .
By 1995 , enough plants had been cultivated for the Billie ( or Philidor ) , as it ’s affectionately roll in the hay , to be introduced finally to the menage market .
Philodendron Billietiae Care
Size And Growth
Philidor does n’t grow very enceinte in captivity , as is the norm with philodendron .
When grown as a houseplant , it will usually top out at 3 ’ foot retentive and around 8 ” inches wide .
It ’s a firm grower requiring a moss pole or similar backup to keep it from toppling .
Its leafage is an arrow to heart - shaped and quite elongated , progress to 3 ’ human foot long on its own when in nature .
They have a glossy intermediate unripened appearance with wavy edge contrasted with yellow - Orange River petioles .
Flowering And Fragrance
philodendron are notoriously crabbed when it get to blooming domestically , with the event being rarefied outdoors and almost unheard - of indoors .
However , if you never see this plant bloom , you ’re not missing much .
The simple park to snowy inflorescence is so unimpressive that many growers abridge them off as before long as they ’re descry .
Light And Temperature
Bright , collateral light is the name of the game for all philodendrons .
These plants farm in dense rain forest , quickly scorch leaves when expose to surplus direct sunlight .
mottled sunlight is one serious choice : acquire it near a bright window or in front of one that has a right-down pall .
you could even place it in a place with direct morning light and afternoon shade , as long as it gets 6 to 8 hours of vivid sunshine per Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
Avoid too much tad , as it can make the plant leggy and darken the leaves .
Billies grow well under contrived lamps , so long as you follow a few simple rule :
While Philidor can handle normal menage humidity levels of 40 % to 60 % percent , it prefers a higher range of 60 % to 80 % per centum .
you’re able to augment the humidness levels using a pebble tray or humidifier .
Just be certain the humidifier is n’t target at the plant .
As the leave of absence of your Billie are glossy and not velvety or hairy , it ’s safe to mist the works , although this is a highly inefficient method acting of add together humidness .
While it ’s possible to originate this plant outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11 , this is n’t a coarse practice .
Indoors , the plant prefers a daytime temperature range of 65 ° to 80 ° degrees Fahrenheit and a lower nighttime range of 55 ° to 65 ° degrees Fahrenheit .
Avoid rough drawing and verify the temperature never drops below 55 ° degrees Fahrenheit , as this can cause permanent impairment to your plant life .
Watering And Feeding
One of the bad possible thing you could do to your Billie is water it on a agenda .
Instead , use the soak - and - juiceless method acting to find when and how much water to give ( yes , this also works on out-of-door plants ) .
As is the norm with epiphytic plants , your Philidor is n’t a wakeless tributary .
Some growers favor to use a boring - release plant food once in other spring and former summer .
However , slow - release rule have one major disadvantage : they let go of each food at unlike rate , meaning your flora may get more atomic number 7 one month and potassium in another .
Be sure to time any slow - tone ending or granular fertilizers to add them right before you irrigate to minimize the peril of chemical burns .
A 3 - 1 - 2 NPK ratio works well , as nitrogen ( N ) is needed for goodish leafage , while phosphorus ( atomic number 15 ) is needed mostly for blooming .
When using a liquid houseplant fertiliser , do these steps :
Soil And Transplanting
Rainforest plants are used to high humidity and organically rich land .
you’re able to use garden soil amended with perlite and constitutional compost or purchase a potting mix , as long as the dirt is well - draining .
A popular soilless mix for philodendrons also form for billies and consists of :
A territory pH of around 6.5 and a large percentage of other houseplant act well for this plant .
Unless you ’re get Philidor outside , you ’ll need to repot every 2 to 3 yr .
If the works sign of becoming rootbound ( or might be in the next year ) , graduate to slightly big container size .
You will also desire to replace your potting medium .
However , he-goat benefit from having a little moment of the sometime soil result on their root , which can aid quash the effects of transplant shock . tone : Epsom salts also help reduce transplant shock .
Grooming And Maintenance
Very little maintenance is required for this plant .
Prune your Billie when it ’s becoming leggy or has damaged or pathological leaves .
attempt to avoid pruning more than 25 % pct to derogate the risk of the plant getting sick .
How to Propagate Billie Philodendron?
As with most philodendrons , seed propagation is difficult because of how seldom these plants bloom in captivity .
However , aura layering and stem snip are good choice with a high success rate .
Philodendron Pests Or Diseases
This plant is highly cold intolerant and can be damaged if the temperature put down below 55 ° degrees Fahrenheit .
Like other philodendrons , Billie is generally insubordinate to pests and disease but may become home to aphid and mealybugs if nearby plant are already infested .
Meanwhile , the most common disease risk of infection are the following :
However , V - shaped yellowing at the leaf tips could intend magnesium deficiency ( also known as chlorosis ) , which may become necrotic if get out untreated .
A picayune bit of Epsom common salt supply into the fertilizer will usually solve the problem .
philodendron contain high levels of atomic number 20 oxalate vitreous silica , and Billie is no exception .
These crystals can be safely consumed in small amounts by humans ( in fact , they ’re present in broccoli and many other healthy honey oil ) , but the levels in a philodendron can make fry sick .
In extreme cases , indigestible crystallization can also do kidney stone .
The crystals can make them quite sick for dogs and often prove calamitous for cats .
Uses Of Philodendron Billietiae
Billies are lovely climber well jazz for the big foliation and contrasting petioles .
They make capital exhibit when climbing up a bookcase ( provided you apply a treillage or support perch for them to latch onto ) or in a corner .
While they do n’t expand as much in hang baskets as most philodendron , this is still another excellent video display option .
Finally , all philodendrons are considered clear air travel plants , absorbing toxin from the atmosphere .
