A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Transplanting philodenrons

Split leaf philodenrons to be specific.

I have about 5 of these gorgeous plants in various locations around my yard. Since trying to reorganize and relandscape, I need to move them to a new location. Under normal circumstances, I would understand this process and have successfully transplanted many other types of plants in the past...but the roots of these plants are a new thing for me.

I have prepared the new planting area by adding potting soil, black Kow and some compost to the area. It is a low light (well draining) area, very similar to the areas they are already living in. The questions are...how do I go about moving them? How deep should I expect the roots to go? How careful must I be with the external roots? How much of the root system should I replant and can I rebalance the plant by burying a bit more of one side or the other when I replant it? (These things tend to grow in curves if they don't have the space and at least one has outgrown it's current space.)

If it matters, these guys are a pretty good size. The smallest is about 3feet wide and high, the largest is closer to 5-6 feet wide. Each have at least 10-12 leaves.

Thanks in advance!

Well..first off, I do know how to spell philodenDron...LOL

I called into our local "Garden Rebel" show on the AM talk radio station and asked him about these plants. He said that the 'rope roots' (my term not his) were not the primary root system for the plant and that they could be cut if needbe. Otherwise, just gently pull them loose from the soil and transplant them with the plant.

Uprighting the plant and changing the positioning was fine as well.

He said that these plants have a 90% transplant success and are very hardy (lucky for me...I don't have the greenest of thumbs. lol

Thanks all for humoring me....I had to find the answer though, as I did a 'bougainvilla rescue' that needed to go where the philodendrons are (close to the same area anyway...more in the sun though.)

Perhaps this info will be useful to someone else in the future.

Well, certainly glad you found the answer to that! I have 3 philos to plant myself. They came from a vocational-technical school here in NPR, who recently dropped the horticulture program. They had a plant sale, and when it was done, I was allowed to get what I wanted of the leftovers. I got a truck bed full of plants...philos, ficus trees, salvias, honeysuckle, and some I still have no clue! But a lot them are severely rootbound, so your piece of info there is very helpful! Thanks for posting it!!!