Philodendron Melanochrysum
This stunning Philodendron is epiphytic in its habit with mature leaves that can be as much as 100cm long. The foliage is a ochre colour as it emerges for the first time, this colour will transition to almost brown and finally becomes a dark velvety green as it matures. The leaves on adult plants look like they have flecks of gold running through them when viewed in sunlight, the word Melanochrysum translates to “Black Gold”. The natural range of this Melanochrysum stretches from Costa Rica to Peru via Ecuador at an altitude of around 500m.
Like many Philodendron that are climbers this plant will produce its best foliage as it matures and this is best achieve if it is given a totem of some sort to climb. My plant has gradually gained larger leaves over the last six months but only since I gave it a moss pole to climb. It has set areal roots into the pole very quickly and this is where I water my plant from daily rather than directly into the substrate.
So lets get down to the nitty gritty then.
Substrate and watering,
Like all my climbers I have this in my standard Aroid mix, although I have added a little more Coco Coir to this plants mix than usual. Although the fast draining characteristic is very important as the plant does not want to be soggy I have found this to be a very thirsty plant. If you don’t have some material in the pot that will hold onto to moisture for a few days you may well find the plant requires watering a lot more often that you think. Producing those large leaves take up a lot more water than you may imagine and my own plant requires watering every two to three days. I only ever use rainwater for my plants as my tap water is quite hard. I have herd of people using 100% sphagnum moss as a substrate for this plant but its not something I am a fan in general for mature plants. I find it holds to much moisture when first watered and then it will dry out very quickly in my grow room. I am sure in other environments it works very well but its not for me.
Watering as I have already mentioned is something I have to do every two to three days. I have my plant in a grow tent during the winter months which simulates as close as I can its natural environment, the effect of this is too optimise growth all year round and this requires it to be watered more than it would in your home environment. If you have this plant in your house at ambient humidity and temperature then you will need to follow a different set of rules. I do subscribe to the stick your finger in the substrate school of thought with most of my plants and this one is no different. I talk about my watering schedule in my post “The great watering conundrum”. Generally I will let the top inch of my pot become quite dry before watering, I would not say completely dry but if the substrate is not sticking together then its time to water.
Temperature and Humidity,
Temperature and Humidity rules for this species are very much the same as most in my collection. Ideally an ambient temperature of between 21°C and 28°C (70°F – 90°F) with a humidity any ware north of 60% being ideal. If you lucky enough to live in a climate where these numbers can be reached outdoors then pop your plant outside and watch is grow like crazy!
Lighting,
Lighting is where I diverge a little from most schools f thought. In my experience this plant really does thrive with quite high light levels. Direct sunlight is not desirable especially during the middle of the day but in the early morning and late afternoon my plant positively thrives on it. In nature the habit of this plant is to reach for the sky and in doing so it is clearly looking for as much light as possible. I have my plant situated next to a southeast facing window where it gest full sun (assuming there is any) until about 10am during the spring and summer, then I move it to my grow tent and the light level in there is about 6000 LUX and I have not seen any adverse effects at all.
Fertilizer,
I use a dry fertilizer that I mix with water at 50% strength every Sunday watering. I do this all year as I am able to more the plant to a grow tent in the winter but if you don’t have that facility I would only fertilize during the spring and summer.