Here are 3 of the more distal nodes with new growth sprouting. There are 11 total, with maybe 3 more about to erupt. Should I cut up the plant so each new vine can root? I don't like that idea, but I'll do what I have to do!

Hi Kacy,

I'm not sure where you got that name from. It looks a lot like a Monstera deliciosa to me.

In nature, these plants grow long stems that run along the damp rainforest floor and put down roots at each node or they climb wet tree bark using the same technique. When moved to pots, they are unable to do this. Consequently, you end up with very long and often leafless stems.

I suggest that you take stem cuttings just below each node where new growth is emerging. Insert these cuttings in the existing pot. With proper light and moisture, each of the cuttings will produce new stem and leaf growth. Put them all in the same pot so you will eventually have a nice full plant with multiple stems. Going forward keep then pruned back.

The new leaves will be adapted to the light available when they emerge. They will have trouble adapting to significant changes in light. Outdoor light is much more intense than indoor light. If your local climate requires you to move them indoors in the fall, then it might be better to do that now or keep them well shaded outdoors so they won't have to struggle to adapt when the light is reduced.

~Will

There is a latent bud just above each of the old leaf bundle scars. The plant produces a growth regulator, auxin, mostly in its apices (growing branch and stem tips) but in leaves, too. Auxin suppresses lateral growth; it stops side branches from developing. When the main source of auxin is eliminated or the plant partially defoliated, one or more of the latent buds will be activated by another growth regulator, cytokinin, that becomes prevalent due to the decrease in auxin. The result is, the emergence of the new branches.

You could have terminated the main vine at any time, and the plant would have responded by back-budding. If you want a really full plant, allow all the new branches to develop at least 4 leaves, then cut them back to 2 leaves. New branches will occur in the leaf axils of the two branches you left.

If you want to, truncate the main vine just above one of the new branches and initiate the pruning plan I laid out above.

Once you understand how plants work, a whole new way of looking at and manipulating plants emerges. 99% of those that grow houseplants cater to the plant's will when it comes to appearance. Lassoing it and tethering it to a stake doesn't count as manipulation, BTW. When you DO learn how to use the plant's growth habits to bend it to YOUR will so it's pleasing to your eye, you've moved up a step on the ladder because you have gained an additional source of satisfaction from the growing experience.

Al

This post was edited by tapla on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 23:08

wow, how did you figure out that it was a monstera?
i'd think new growth on monstera would be a bit larger ;)?!
i searched for the name - the more accepted one is ph. consanguineum. it's common in cuba, puerto rico and other west indies. did yours look like this pic?
it's rather large if mature, but it's nowhere like monstera.
i'd suggest laying the long vine on a circle on top of long fiber sphag moss (keeping it moist), slightly burried into moss, but not packed tight, very airy. you can use shallow plastic liner or tub positioned next to the pot for sphag. just make sure it does not flood or dry out.
it'll produce aerial roots into sphag very quickly. once you have sev roots 1-2" long at each node with a leaf - you can cut the vine in pieces and pot them together.
philo prefer very bright light. dappled moving early or late sun is very good.
just keep it away from hot afternoon overhead sun.

Here is a link that might be useful: ph. consanguineum

I agree with Petrushka, hard to imagine that being a Monstera. The stem should be a lot thicker. But in any case, keeping the humidity up should get you a lot of root growth. Then you can cut up the vine and have lots of plants. Too much direct sun can stress and damage the plant, so some shade, particularly around the middle of the day, is a good idea.

Thanks everyone! This is fantastic advice. Al, I am an animal developmental biologist, so your explanation makes a ton of sense. In our old place I had the pot at one end of the fireplace and let the vine crawl along the mantel over to the window, which was fun to watch, but you are right that it will be more rewarding and attractive to help this become a fuller plant.

Looking at the pictures, I'm pretty sure it's ph. consanguineum and not Monstera. I will move it into more shade, get some sphagnum moss, and plan to prune and pot together once I have roots. Thanks everyone!

I figured you for a science background when you used the word 'distal'.

A given volume of soil is only capable of supporting a given amount of plant mass. Probability is high that root congestion would be the most limiting factor, followed by being able to get enough nutrition to the plant and probably the ability to keep it hydrated once the roots get badly congested.

30 years ago, I might have started a bunch of cuttings in order to try to make the planting full. Today, I'd never even think of doing that. As noted, you can't get your plants to be any fuller, even if you plant 20 in the same pot, than you can if you pinch appropriately, and you have much more control over the appearance of a single plant than you do over a dozen.

Here's a coleus - one plant that was pinched:
{{gwi:52201}}

A pilea:
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A ficus in training:
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streptocarpella
{{gwi:13160}}

snapdragon
{{gwi:3254}}

torenia
{{gwi:2013}}

All of there are single plants that have been pinched. It's hard to imagine they could be any fuller in some cases.

Tips: how large your pot can/should be is determined by soil choice, not the size of the plant.

To keep your plant growing with the vigor Mother Nature programmed it with, plan on using a large pot with a fast (draining) soil, feeding often, and repotting regularly (as opposed to potting up. Repotting includes selective root pruning and ensures your plant can reach its potential within the limits of other cultural influences, potting up ensures it can't.

The most rapid advancement a beginning grower can make comes from understanding how water/soil relationships impact growth rate/ appearance/ vitality. In case you're interested, I'll leave a link that gets into some detail that I believe will be a considerable help to you.

Best luck.

Al

it's quite pointless to pinch philos. they won't branch. often when you cut off the tip growth they will produce the basal growth. or may be just one bud at the cut tip.
the fact that yours grew new leaves at many nodes at once is perhaps due to the fact that most leaves burned and died.
the only way to make it look bushy is to plant sev starts together.
some mature vines branch, but that is not so common with juvie houseplants. it happens mostly on wooded stems, that are climbing into canopy.
tropic,
you probably have much more experience with philos!
have you been able to induce them to branch?

I am not sure, but I think it's a Monstera, but it is growing badly since the baby tears invaded it. It will grow nice and thick once it get big. Each time I put at the baby tears, they grow back and now I am ready to just throw in the towel and spray the whole thing with round up killing it and be done with baby tears and plant something else.

it's a ph. bipinnatifidum.
baby tears hurting a giant philo? it does not add up!

Here is a link that might be useful: this is a monstera deliciosa

Petrushka, they seem pretty reluctant to branch. Except perhaps with extreme events. I had a very tall P. lacerum up high in a coconut. Lightning struck that coconut plus 5 others nearby. The coconuts were cooked (reddish brown ooze seeping out of the trunks) and the stem of the P. lacerum was jellified. But strangely enough there were signs of shoots in some of the leaf axils that seem to have survived. Only 2 of those ended up surviving to today (about 5 years after the lightning) but they're still very small, about 20 cms stems. They must have been already developing before the lightning strike, but no idea how the current passed down the main Philo. stem and by-passed them.

I've found that sometimes when a (Philo) vine is covered with mulch new shoots are produced in the leaf axils. Although, when I had a 4 metre long stem (from a fallen tree) I laid it on the ground in a mostly shady spot thinking I'd get a whole lot of new plants from each leaf axil. The growing tip rocketed off, the rest of the stem rotted.

So, I mainly rely on outright cuttings, greater chance of success. There's a few where I've placed the pot at the base of a tree and when the plant get up a metre or two I cut it away and let the base in the pot resprout. And just recently I cut a gap half way through the stem of a P. lacerum and will see in time whether it branches, or just heals.

Yes, that Philo in the last photo is a Tree Philo, P. bipinnatifidum. They're one you can't grow from cuttings, unless the "cutting" already has established roots. But there's no reason the small plant/ground cover around it would be harming it.

Using the name provided, according to ITIS, the accepted name is Philodendron consanguineum.

the fact that yours grew new leaves at many nodes at once is perhaps due to the fact that most leaves burned and died. Yes, this was explained by Al above. The fact that many potted specimens aren't given the cultural conditions necessary to do it is irrelevant. If a vine is in search of more light, side branches are unlikely to form.

Are you able to take a pic showing the whole thing - 20 feet? I'd love to see that!

Some how the baby tears chock the life out of the plant. It get better when I remove them, but they can't be removed all the way and always grow back.

perhaps, they rob the soil of nutrients? are you using any fertilizers? does it get enough water?

I think they block the air to the roots. The feeding and water is ok. At first I thought they were a cute ground cover when they showed up, but I regret allow them to take over. I could have stopped them before it got out of control. It was been three years already and now way to get rid of them. The plant is very big and mature itself. I hate to sacrifice it, but I don't know how else to kill them. I was able to get rid of them in the rest of the garden, but they only remain under that one plant. The soil is too hard for them to be dug out.

KacyM, my previous comment was in regard to your plants' name. This has gone offtrack a bit.

tropic_thought, you could smother that stuff easily, with leaves, grass from mower bag. Do you ever add organic matter to the soil (surface?) That helps keep the ground soft and moister in times of little rain, more easily drained in time of too much, the result over time (depending on weather and how much/what kind of OM is used,) is dark and fertile soil, with plenty of humus. The info in this short vid explains this in greater detail.

baby tears might gobble up all the fertilizer applied on the surface. and suck up most of the water at the surface level too. does tree philo have shallow roots?

since baby tears likes to stay moist, how about putting gravel as mulch, after you remove the baby tears, at least some what?
rhs says heavy mulch will smother it.

on DG forum smbody posted:
triclopyr (Ortho BrushBGone for poison ivy/oak) and surprisingly it killed the Baby Tears very quickly with no harm to the grass, but unfortunately many months later it started appearing again in the area treated.
don't know if and how it'll effect your philo, though.
or if you can get it in cali. perhaps in fl forum smbody will know?

Here is a link that might be useful: uk RHS advice

glyphosate is also recommended for eradication.
i found a study done in fl - for management of everglades and parks with exotics that are choked by air-potato (vine).
philodendrons/monsteras were present there. they treated with glyphosate - so, it should be safe.

Here is a link that might be useful: weed vines in fl

Generally speaking, applying nonselective herbicides to any plants in pots is a very bad idea, especially in aerosol solution (spray). Any green stem or leaf tissues (of plants in the ground, too) will absorb them as a systemic toxin. The only way you MIGHT be able to use it in some cases is by gloving up and using a cloth dampened in Roundup or other herbicide with glyphosate to lightly brush the toxin over leaf surfaces of the offenders, and then not water for several days - at least not from the top. I've had to use this method from time to time when I got plants from others who thought sagina looked cute in their pots, 20 years ago - and now they're still battling it. You can do follow-up treatments on a plant by plant basis with a Q-Tip.

Some herbicides are selective, acting only on dicots or monocots, or even targeting certain species of one or the other, which explains why a particular chemical might kill baby tears but not grass. However, since baby tears and philos are both dicots, what is toxic to one would almost certainly be toxic to the other - especially so within the confinement of a container.

Al