{"product_id":"fat-boy-philodendron-philodendron-martianum","title":"Fat Boy Philodendron - Philodendron martianum","description":"\u003cp\u003eFat Boy gets its name from the leaf stalks. Each one is swollen, smooth and spongy, close to the thickness of a thumb at the base, and it carries a long, oblong, leathery, glossy blade that points upward and outward from a single tight crown. It has no climbing stem and sends out no runners. It sits in its pot as a compact rosette and adds new leaves from the centre slowly, so what you buy now looks much the same next year, only fuller. That stillness is the reason to choose it: a sculptural philodendron for a low plant stand, a floor spot beside a chair or a shaded courtyard step, where a sprawling plant would be in the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBotanically it is Philodendron martianum, from south eastern Brazil, and it is often sold under the misapplied name Philodendron cannifolium. The thick, leathery leaves and stout spongy stalks make it more forgiving of a missed watering than most of its relatives, and less forgiving of being kept wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePlump stalks need a bright room\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBright indirect light is what holds the shape. Near a bright window that never throws a direct beam onto it, the stalks stay short and plump and the crown stays tight. Put it in a dim corner and it survives, but each new stalk comes out longer and thinner as it reaches for light, and within a season or two the plant looks like an ordinary green philodendron with a few fat old leaves at the base. Too much sun is no better: a western window in summer bleaches the thick blades in yellow patches. Outdoors it belongs in a frost free garden, mainly Queensland and coastal New South Wales, in a shaded courtyard or under a verandah, and it is safer in a pot than in the ground unless the bed drains freely.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRot at the base is how most are lost. Those spongy stalks sit right at the surface of the mix, and if the mix stays wet and cold through a southern winter they soften, darken and collapse one by one, starting with the outer leaves. By the time a stalk folds over, the damage has usually reached the crown. Pot it in coarse orchid bark mixed through a good potting mix, in a pot just wider than the rootball, and wait until a finger pushed into the mix comes out dry before watering. Through winter, water less often again. A plant that is slightly too dry shows nothing; a plant that is slightly too wet shows it all at once.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFat Boy beside the other self heading types\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you want broad leaves and quick coverage, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/imperial-green-philodendron-philodendron-imperial-green\"\u003eImperial Green Philodendron\u003c\/a\u003e is the obvious alternative: also self heading, but with broader, thinner leaves on plain, unswollen stalks, and it fills a floor position far sooner. The \u003ca href=\"\/products\/birkin-philodendron-philodendron-birkin\"\u003eBirkin Philodendron\u003c\/a\u003e is the other compact choice, smaller in the leaf and marked with cream pinstripes, and it wants bright light to keep those stripes. Fat Boy is the one bought for form rather than colour or speed, and more of the genus sits in the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/indoor-plants\"\u003eIndoor Plants\u003c\/a\u003e range.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMealybug in the crown, gloves for trimming\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause it grows slowly, it needs little. A weak liquid feed every four to six weeks through the warm months covers it; skip winter altogether. Repot only when roots are circling the base, which takes a few years, because it sits happily in a snug pot. Dust settles on the upturned blades and dulls them, so wipe them over when you water. Check the crevices where the stalks meet the crown for mealybug, which hides there as white fluff, and dab it off with methylated spirits on a cotton bud. Cut spent outer leaves at the base with clean secateurs. Wear gloves for that, because the sap stings skin, and keep the pot away from cats, dogs and small children: a chewed leaf or stalk releases calcium oxalate that swells and burns the mouth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 300mm, at $159.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67670794174833,"sku":null,"price":159.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/fat-boy-philodendron-philodendron-martianum.jpg?v=1791515848","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/fat-boy-philodendron-philodendron-martianum","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}