Philodendron heterocraspedon is a rare and much sought-after climbing houseplant. It has lovely long, oblong-elliptic, quilted, semi-glossy to velvety dark green leaves that will make it stand out from the rest.
This easy-to-care-for plant makes a perfect addition to your residential or commercial establishment, giving it that tropical allure. Also, it is air purifying.
Discover more about Philodendron heterocraspedon: appearance, care, prices, and where to buy it. We will also talk about its hybrid with Philodendron scherberichii and how it differs from Philodendron patriciae.
About Philodendron heterocraspedon
Philodendron heterocraspedon Croat & D.C.Bay is a recently accepted species, first published in 2008, listed in the Near Threatened (NT) category by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Its epithet comes from two Greek words, hetero and craspedon, meaning differing border or edge, referring to the sulcate petioles with one very acute margin and the other bluntly rounded.
- Scientific name: Philodendron heterocraspedon
- Common name: None
- Lower classification: P. Subg. Philodendron, sect. Philodendron, subsect. Philodendron, series Fibrosa
- Family: Araceae
- Native habitat: Colombia
- Care level: Easy or low maintenance
- Toxicity: Mild to moderately toxic to humans, cats, dogs, and other pets since it has a severe oral irritant – insoluble calcium oxalates.
- Propagation: Stem cutting in water or soil, air layering
1. Growing habits, size, and growth rate
Philodendron heterocraspedon is an appressed climbing hemiepiphyte that may occasionally grow as a terrestrial plant. It occurs where tropical rainforests transition to premontane at elevations of 50-270 m (164-886 feet) above sea level. However, collections have been made in steep forested road banks and primary and regrowth forests.
Heterocraspedon has a moderate growth rate and can grow as high as 65 feet tall in the wild. However, this plant will be 6 to 8 feet tall at home and need a place to climb to reach these heights.
2. How to identify Philodendron heterocraspedon plants
Consider leaves, stems, flowers (if you are lucky), or inflorescence to easily identify this plant.
a). Stems
The scandent or appressed climbing stems have short, dark green internodes whose epidermis has coarse white ridges that become brownish and scurfy with fine transverse fissures. Preadult plants have white streaks at the apex.
Nodes have few aerial roots, and the D-shaped, 2.4 – 11.4″ long, medium green, sometimes reddish, persisting intact (at the base) cataphylls are sharply single or double ridges
b). Leaves
Heterocraspedon plants have pendent to reflex spread, often clustered at the apex. Juvenile plants will have smaller, oblong-elliptical leaves, which become more elongated as the plant grows.
On the other hand, mature Philodendron heterocraspedon has large oblong-elliptic, sub-leathery leaves, semi-glossy to velvety dark green above, semi-glossy, paler below with an acuminate apex, obtuse to truncate and sometimes weakly somewhat cordate base.
New emerging leaves may appear bronzish tinge but gradually turn dark green as it matures and hardens.
Here are additional features of the leaves:
- Leaf size: 15.0-31.1″ long by 2.4-6.3″ wide, usually 4-5-6.5 (sometimes up to 8.9) longer than wide, and 1.4-2.4 (sometimes up to 3.1) times longer than petiole.
- Midrib: paler and convex above, darker and bluntly acute below
- Primary lateral veins: 19-47 primary lateral veins per side, 0.71-0.79 inches apart, arising at a 45° angle near the base, 20-25° angle toward the apex, downturned at the midrib, and gradually curving out to the margin. These veins are narrowly sunken above, making the leaf look quilted or pleated and convex and darker below.
- Basal veins: 1-3 basal veins per side, all free to base
Lastly, this aroid has finely striate, dark green petioles with a C-shaped cross-section and a terete geniculum. These petioles are 4.7-19.3 inches long with broadly sulcate at their base with one acutely sharp margin, the other bluntly rounded, and narrowly flattened apex.
c). Flowers
Mature Philodendron heterocraspedon will produce 1-5 inflorescences per axil with a short, whitish to medium green, finely striate peduncle, a spadix, and a non-constricted spathe.
The spathe is matte to slightly glossy, pale to whitish green outside, with the spathe tube being greenish-white inside and the spathe tube red-violet to cherry-red to magenta inside.
Philodendron heterocraspedon vs. patriciae
Philodendron patriciae Croat is a lovely plant native to Colombia with long quilted leaves. Some people may confuse it with heterocraspedon. However, you can easily tell the difference from an eye that knows where to look.
Philodendron heterocraspedon has persistent intact (at the base) shorter, single or double-ribbed dark green, sometimes reddish cataphylls, while in patriciae, they are green, longer, unribbed and persist up to 9 nodes down.
P. heterocraspedon has smaller (up to 31 inches long) oblong-elliptic, moderately leathery leaves (semi-glossy to velvety above, semi-glossy below) with an acuminate apex, truncate, obtuse, and sometimes weakly, nearly heart-shaped base. In contrast, P. patriciae has large (up to 38 inches long), thinly leathery, oval-lance-shaped to elliptic leaves (matte above, glossy below) with a rounded or nearly heart-shaped base with a cuspidate apex.
Lastly, heterocraspedon leaves have more (19-47 per side) primary lateral veins arising at 45° or less, while Philodendron patriciae has a few 12–19 per side, primary lateral veins arising at 70–75º angle.
Philodendron heterocraspedon x scherberichii
Philodendron heterocraspedon x scherberichii is a hybrid by an unknown creator with oval, elliptical quilted leaves. The plant borrows from both parents, i.e., leaves are slightly broader and shorter than heterocraspedon but are thinner and longer than scherberichii.
This rare hybrid costs about $60-$120, with very few people having it on sale. You have to dig deeper if you need one.
Caring for Philodendron heterocraspedon
Heterocraspedon needs a warm, humid place with bright, indirect light. Grow it in a well-drained, airy, and humus-rich potting mix and water it when the top few inches of the potting mix feel dry. Also, it needs feeding, pruning, repotting, and support or sake.
Here are the necessary Philodendron heterocraspedon and growth requirements
1. Growing conditions: Temperature, humidity, and light
Philodendron heterocraspedon grows best in a warm 55-80°F place. Avoid sudden temperature fluctuation, cold drafts, or spots near heat-emitting appliances, sources, or vents, as they will stress this plant.
This aroid loves high humidity, i.e., 60% or more. However, it can tolerate up to 40% humidity. If yours is lower than this, get a humidifier, have a pebble tray, mist your plant or try other ways to raise humidity.
Ideal lighting should be bright and indirect but can tolerate medium. Please don’t place your plant on a spot it receives direct sunlight as it will burn leaves. And if your house is dark, get grow lights, or your plant will grow slowly, be leggy, and have smaller, paler new growth.
Lastly, people in the USDA hardiness zone 10-11, tropics and subtropics, can grow this plant outdoors. Select a shaded place and take any potted plant indoors when the temperature goes below 50°F,
2. What is the ideal soil?
The ideal soil for heterocraspedon should be well-drained, aerated, and rich in organic matter with a slightly acidic to neutral pH (5.5-7.0). I buy my aroid mix from Etsy.com or make one at home.
Mix 50% potting soil with perlite, coco coir (or peat moss), bark chips, and compost (or worm castings) to make one. A little horticultural charcoal will only make things better.
3. How do you properly water P. heterocraspedon
Watering is one area you cannot afford to go wrong. Too much, and your plant has root rot. Too little will also affect growth and your plant’s health.
I water my plant only when the potting mix feels dry past my first finger knuckle or when my soil moisture sensor (XLUX) reads three or fewer. Don’t follow a schedule, as water needs vary. Instead, test the soil.
When watering, slowly and evenly saturate the potting mix until excess water flows from drainage holes. Then, don’t forget to discard any water that collects on the saucer.
4. How to feed this aroid
Since it is a moderate feeder, I normally feed it once a month with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer during the growing months only. An NPK 10:10:10, 15:15:15, or 20:20:20 is perfect. However, if you take dilute ones like Miracle-Gro (NPK 1:1:1), you can feed more often.
Still, you can use unbalanced or slow-release formulas for potted or houseplants. They will still work well.
5. More care needs
- Pruning: Regularly check for and prune dead, damaged, or diseased leaves with sterilized gardening shears. You can cut back a few stems during growing months to control size, shape, or growth.
- Repotting: Repotting occurs every 1-2 years or if rootbound, i.e., when you see roots circling inside the pot and growing from drainage holes. Use a pot 2-3 inches larger than the previous one.
- Moss pole: Since it is a climber, get a moss pole, totem, or trellis and train this plant on it.
Problems and issues
| Issues | Comment |
| Pests (aphids, spider mites, scale insects, and mealybugs) | Uncommon. Use horticultural oil spray, insecticidal soaps, or neem oil to manage them. |
| Diseases (fungal and bacterial leaf spots, southern blight, etc.) | Uncommon. Isolate new or infected plants and practice proper sanitation. |
| Root rot | Relatively common if you overwater the plant or your potting mix does drain. |
| Leaves curling or plant drooping. | Most likely underwatering, low humidity, too much light, or heat stress. But it can be disease, pests, or roto rot. |
| Leaves turning yellow | Overwatering is the main cause, followed by too little light. All reasons that cause leaves to curl or plant to drop above may be responsible too. |
| Brown leaves, including tips and edges | Possibly an issue with direct sunlight, low humidity, heat stress, or underwatering. But it can be fertilizer burns, pests, diseases, etc. |
Where do I buy P. heterocraspedon plant?
Are you interested in buying Philodendron heterocraspedon plant? Start with Etsy.com, eBay, Facebook, and Instagram. These places have vendors from across the globe.
Other places include Carnivero and Ecuagenera. Also, try searching on the internet for any vendors near you. You will not fail to get one or two.
Caring for Philodendron heterocraspedon
Yes. Philodendron heterocraspedon is a very rare houseplant that only rare aroid plant collectors and vendors have, especially online. I doubt you will find it even in tropical plant specialty stores, and none of the large-scale houseplant growers have it.
Philodendron heterocraspedon prices vary greatly, ranging from as little as $50 to $500 in the US. In Australia, some vendors sell it for as high as A$ 1800. R 2,480.00 in South Africa and CAD$ 179 in Canada.