Split Leaf Question
My 10-year-old outdoor split leaf has 4 stems in various heights from 30″ to 36″. Its leaves are coming out of only the upper portion of the stems with the bottom being bare as the leaves no longer droop low enough to reach the ground.Can I cut it back near the ground and have new stems come up without killing it? Thanks, Bert.
Answer: I’m not an expert on tropicals, although I do like to grow them as houseplants. I have checked with a few resources but I have no definitive answer, because there is limited information available. I can offer a few suggestions. Yours sounds like a “tree” variety of philodendron, that actually produces more of a trunk than do other varieties that tend to be more of a vine. There are hundreds of species within the genus. Since I am not sure of the variety you have, here are a few options. If yours looks like the typical houseplant variety and landscape variety of the South, then these suggestions should work. Philodendrons are pretty easy to take cuttings from. Just make sure you have at least two joints or leaf nodes, root them in a sand and peat moss mix or in water. Then you could take these cuttings and start the plant over at the smaller size. One reference did say to just cut the plants back, again rooting the part cut off to start more plants. I would suggest for either option to try this first on just one of the four stems to test the plant. According to another reference, some varieties are able to withstand light frost that kills the top growth but they recover from the below-ground root system.
I would also add that unless they are just becoming too large for the space, let them remain in a more tree form and plant something interesting underneath them to cover the trunks. There are a number of cordylines or dracaenas, grasses, ferns, rosemary and crotons that might work and would be a nice visual contrast.
Hope this helps and good luck. Karen
