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#292082
Aug 10th, 2009 at 04:37 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
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I have an Elephant Leaf Philo it is quite tall and has about 20 leaves which are huge....it is also sending out roots from it's stalk.....is it ok to cut off these roots or will it kill the plant????? They are snaking around the baseboard of the sunroom and climbing the walls...I love the plant but it is creeping out everyone who sees it....HELP!!!!
Last edited by Bill; Aug 10th, 2009 at 06:14 PM. Reason: Changed subject line and moved it
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 30,001
A Gnome's Best Friend
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A Gnome's Best Friend
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 30,001 |
Calla1 First let me welcome you to the Gardenhelper   , Secondly,,, perhaps one of our moderators will move this to the houseplant thread so it will get more views and responses. maybe it's air roots ?? I don't know about cutting them off. maybe the pot it's in is too small?? Not sure??? But I'm sure other members will help you once this has been moved, hang in there you'll get some answers soon :wink:
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 14,430 Likes: 1
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Joined: Aug 2002
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 You can trim the air roots to keep them from wandering, but never cut them back too far! (no more than a third of their length at a time, and never trim more than half of the roots at a given time,
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Deep Purple
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Deep Purple
Joined: Jul 2005
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those roots are actually trying to find support so the plant can continue to grow upwards.
that's what most philodendron do - grow up!
best to leave them on and put in some kind of totem or board (2 x 4 would work fine) so the plant can grow onto it instead of the baseboards or walls.
the plus with putting in a totem is that the plant will grow up it and as it grows upwards, it'll mature and when that happens it'll morph and develop the adult leaves. the adult form usually varies dramatically from the juvenile form - it's like having two completely different plants at once because you usually end up with younger growth (sprouting from below) along with the mature growth that's at the top!
if you want to keep it in juvenile form and/or keep it under control in the room, you can cut the vine and root it next to the mother piece or in a separate container...i'd still put in some kind of totem/board though so as to keep it neat-looking.
i'd be interested in doing a trade to get a cutting of it.
Zone 6b
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The only trouble I've ever had from triming back my philodendron's aerials is timing -- I usually reduce them by about a third and try to only do it in the fall -- no matter how tempting it is to cut them back in the summer when they really take off, that's always been a bit of a mistake -- they get revenge and grow back faster, branching out from above the cuts. So you're timing is perfect. Don't be afraid to cut off entire roots, either, that can be better than merely trimming a root as they can branch out from those ends, getting even more unwieldy. Maybe give it a weak feed shortly after while it adjusts.
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