{"product_id":"gloriosum-philodendron-philodendron-gloriosum","title":"Gloriosum Philodendron - Philodendron gloriosum","description":"\u003cp\u003eGloriosum is a crawler. It has no upright stem and no interest in a pole: a thick rhizome creeps across the surface of the mix, and the leaves rise from it one at a time, each a broad heart of matte deep green velvet with ivory veins and a pale rim. New leaves open with a coppery pink cast before they darken. Because the rhizome keeps walking, the plant slowly travels in one direction, and the whole way you grow it follows from that habit. It comes from Colombia and is grown in Australia almost entirely as an indoor or shadehouse foliage plant. The leaf surface has a soft sheen like suede and shows the veins in slight relief, and that texture is what people buy it for.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eA long pot and a rhizome left on top\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlant it in a wide, shallow pot or a rectangular trough rather than a deep round one, with the old end of the rhizome against one side so the growing tip has room to move forward. Leave the rhizome sitting on the surface, or barely pressed in, with its roots going down; buried, it stays wet and rots. Use a light, airy mix of bark, perlite and some coir or sphagnum that holds a little moisture yet drains straight away, and water when the top couple of centimetres have dried. The leaves come broad and the veins crisp in strong light that never lands on the leaf itself; a patch of direct sun bleaches the velvet quickly. In the ground it is a Queensland plant only, for a humid, frost free, shaded spot, and most people keep it inside.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the rhizome reaches the far rim, cut through it with a clean knife so the front piece keeps at least one leaf and some roots, then lay that piece back at the starting end of the trough or in its own pot; the old section usually sprouts again from a dormant bud at a node behind the cut, so leave it at least one node. Wear gloves for that cut, since the sap irritates skin, and keep the trough out of reach of cats and dogs, because calcium oxalate in the leaves makes a chewed one painful. Feed lightly, with a diluted liquid fertiliser about monthly while it is in growth, and flush the pot with plain water every few months so salts do not build up and brown the leaf edges. Thrips and mealybug occasionally mark young leaves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHumidity, and why new leaves fail\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe common complaint is a new leaf that will not open cleanly. In dry indoor air, especially with heating on in winter, the emerging leaf sticks inside its sheath and tears, or comes out with brown, crisp edges, and that damage stays for the life of the leaf. Keep humidity up by grouping pots together, standing the trough on a tray of wet pebbles, or growing it in a bathroom or enclosed sunroom with good light. Water the mix rather than misting, because droplets left on velvet can mark it. Expect patience as well: in a cool house a mature plant may only produce a handful of leaves a year, and each new one tends to replace an old leaf at the back end of the rhizome.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGloriosum against the climbers and the rosettes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you want a philodendron that grows up rather than along, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/silver-sword-philodendron-philodendron-hastatum-silver-sword\"\u003eSilver Sword Philodendron\u003c\/a\u003e climbs a moss pole with narrow silvery leaves and takes up floor space only at its base. If you want one that stays exactly where it is put, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/fat-boy-philodendron-philodendron-martianum\"\u003eFat Boy Philodendron\u003c\/a\u003e sits in a tight rosette on thick swollen stalks and copes with drier air. Gloriosum asks for more fuss than either and gives the most dramatic single leaf. More foliage plants for inside the house are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/indoor-plants\"\u003eIndoor Plants\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 300mm, at $109.00 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":67670906765681,"sku":null,"price":109.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/gloriosum-philodendron-philodendron-gloriosum.jpg?v=1791517449","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/gloriosum-philodendron-philodendron-gloriosum","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}