Philodendron Squamiferum
Philodendron Squamiferum
Philodendron squamiferum
❦ ❧ ❦
Difficulty — IntermediateA philodendron with a flair for the theatrical. Her glossy, lobed leaves are handsome enough on their own, but the true spectacle is below them: petioles clothed in soft red bristles, as though each leaf-stalk had grown its own velvet sleeve. She is a climber and a collector's delight — unusual, characterful, and not nearly so demanding as her exotic looks suggest.
Notes on Cultivation
☀Light
Bright, indirect light keeps her compact and brings out the colour in those famous fuzzy stems. She manages in medium light but grows lankier for it.
❦Water
Water when the top inch or two dries. Even moisture in growth, free drainage always — a philodendron left in standing water is a philodendron lost.
☁Humidity
She prefers 60% and upward, growing larger and lusher with it, though she adapts to average rooms with reasonable grace.
✵Temperature
Keep her warm, 65 to 80 Fahrenheit, and shielded from cold below 55.
❧Soil
A chunky aroid mix of bark, perlite, and coir gives her climbing roots the air they crave.
❀Fertilizing
Feed monthly through spring and summer with a balanced fertiliser at half strength to support her larger leaves.
✿Propagation
A stem cutting with a node roots readily in a clear cup of moist Fluval Stratum, our signature method. Read the full field method.
Field Observations
Give her a moss pole and she rewards you handsomely — leaves enlarge and lobe more deeply as she climbs, and the red-bristled petioles grow all the more striking.
Those bristles are entirely ornamental, by the way; she is simply showing off. A characterful plant, and a fine conversation piece for any collection.
— faithfully recorded by Mr. Phileas Plant
✿Have one of these at home?
Mr. Phileas now travels in coat pockets — both kinds, as of August. The Plantry app identifies your plants from a photo, keeps care notes like these with you, and lets you ask him anything — free, on iPhone and Android. Step into the greenhouse →
