Philodendron Florida Ghost
The Florida Ghost is to the best of my knowledge a hybrid plant developed by crossing the Philodendron Pedatum and Philodendron Squamiferum. The leaves are where the action is on this plant rather then the flowers. Double lobed in shape that get bigger as the plant ages the real beauty in this plant is in the colour of the immature foliage. As you new leaf emerges from its cataphile it is a wonderful creamy white colour, this is where the “Ghost” part of the name comes from added to that the petiole is a bright scarlet colour and in combination they really do look amazing. Over time the leaves will become more and more green until eventually the leaves will be fully green. This is not variegation it is the natural growth of the leaf. There is a variegated version of this plant and its called the Philodendron Florida Beauty. This plant is a true climber and will be at its best if given a structure to climb.
The creamy white foliage is the reason why people are so drawn to this plant, my specimen will keep its pale foliage for several weeks before it starts to slowly darken. However, its not guaranteed that all new leaves will merge pale in colour. I have a second plant that has given me two dark green leaves in a row, without even a hint of the ghost colouring. The difference between the two plants I have is the amount of light they receive. The one that gives me big creamy leaves are in really strong LED lighting (6-7000 LUX), this has resulted in a compact growth form where there is little growth between the nodes and the pale leaves we are looking for. The second plant is in good light but by no means a s strong (2,500-3,000LUX) and this is far more leggy with the darker leaves. It is clearly reaching for more light. There are other opinions on what the key is to the encouraging pale leaves but I’m happy that for me the bright light has been the key for me.
Lighting,
If you don’t have the luxury of having LED lighting then placing your plant close to a window that receives lots of indirect sunlight will have the same effect although in winter you will likely see a slow down. Direct sunlight is fine in my experience but only in the early or late part of the day, any sunlight between 11am and 4pm has been to strong (hot) for my plants and has resulted in the leaves burning or going crispy at the edges.
Potting mix,
Soil mix for my plants is my standard Aroid mix, I think I added a little extra charcoal to the mix for these plants (only because I did not have enough orchid bark) and they are doing well in it. Adding larger chunkier particulate is god but I have found that a good portion of smaller particle size material like Coir is important to help retain some moisture to keep the plant going between watering days. Its takes a lot of water to help produce those large leaves after all.
Humidity,
Humidity is an interesting one for me with the Ghost, I do like to keep all of my plants in high humidity if possible and this particular plant started out life in my Ikea greenhouse cabinet. This has a humidity of about 70-80% and the plant loved it, so much so it soon out grew the space and had to be moved on. Now it lives in my office where the humidity is about 60% and its very happy and growing just as well, I have not noticed a negative difference in its growth. I honestly think that light is more important to this plant than high humidity and as long as its environment is stable your plant should thrive.
Watering,
Watering is as I have already eluded to very important if you want to encourage the leaves to grow large. I water mine twice a week and do this by watering until water comes through the base of the pot, ensuring the mix is thoroughly drenched. I will leave the pot to stand for a few minuets to make sure the excess water has run out of the pot before retouring it to its home. Watering this much is directly related to your soil mix and also I think the light you are able to provide For more information have a look at my watering post.
Temprature,
Temperature is another case of stability is more important tan the number I think. I try to keep mine at 21-23°C as much as possible through the year, in the summer this will go up but I make sure it does not drop below this. Keeping this temperature encourages the plant to continue to grow all year in association with stable light levels.
2 comments on "Philodendron Florida Ghost"
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Hi,
How long will the leaves stay white? Mine go green very quick.
Thank you, James
HI James, I have found them to stay cream/white for several weeks but only if you keep them in bright light. At this time of the year (Winter in the UK) I have to grow mine under a light to keep this kind of foliage colour.
I hope that helps. Mark