Houseplant · Araceae
Heartleaf Philodendron
Philodendron hederaceum
Forgiving, fast, and happy in a shady corner, the heartleaf philodendron asks for little more than the odd drink.
Bright indirect
50–84°F · 10–29°C
USDA 11–12
3–13 ft · 1–4 m
Overview
The heartleaf philodendron is the plant people reach for when they want green that won't quarrel with them. Its glossy, heart-shaped leaves trail from a shelf or climb a pole, and it grows fast enough to fill a space in a single season. It comes from the forests of Mexico and tropical America, where it scrambles up tree trunks toward the light.
What makes it a favorite is how little it minds. It puts up with low light, dry air, and the occasional missed watering, which is why it turns up in offices and dim hallways where fussier plants sulk. Give it medium to bright indirect light and it rewards you with closer leaves and faster growth, but it won't punish you for less.
One thing to know before it joins the household: every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, so it's an irritant to pets, livestock, and people alike. Hang it high or set it where curious mouths can't reach, and it's an easy, generous plant for years.
Care
The short version: give it bright indirect light but expect it to cope with less, water only once the top inch of soil dries, and feed lightly through the growing season. Keep it warm and out of reach of pets and children.
Light
It does best in bright indirect light, near a window but out of the direct sun that would scorch the leaves. It will hold on in medium light or even a dim corner, but the growth slows and the stems stretch, so brighter is better if you have it.
Water
Let the top inch of soil dry out before you water again, then water until it runs from the drainage holes. Ease off through winter, when the plant drinks less. Soggy soil is the fastest way to kill it.
Soil
Plant it in a rich, well-drained potting mix. The roots need air as much as moisture, so a loose mix that drains freely keeps them healthy and rot at bay.
Temperature
Normal room warmth suits it, anywhere from 50°F to 84°F (10°C to 29°C). Keep it above 50°F and away from cold drafts and heating vents, since sudden chills set it back.
Humidity
Average household humidity is fine, so there's no number to fret over. It enjoys a more humid spot and grows a touch faster there, but it won't sulk in dry winter air.
Feeding
Feed monthly through spring and summer with a dilute water-soluble houseplant fertilizer. Stop in autumn and winter while growth slows, and go light rather than heavy, since too much salt browns the leaf tips.
Pruning
Pinch the stems back to keep the plant full instead of letting it run thin and leggy. Snip just above a leaf node, and a cutting you remove can root straight into a new plant.
Repotting
Move it up a pot size every 1 to 2 years in spring, or sooner if roots creep through the drainage holes and the soil dries out fast. A pot only slightly larger than the last keeps the roots from sitting in wet, unused soil.
Size & spacing
As a trailing or climbing vine it can stretch 3 to 13 feet (1 to 4 m) given support, spreading 3 to 6 feet (90 to 180 cm) across. Give it room to drape from a shelf or a pole to train it upward.
Troubleshooting
Most trouble with this plant traces back to watering or light, and it tells you early. Yellow leaves, stretched stems, and the odd pest are the usual signs. Match what you see below and act before a small problem settles in.
Mushy brown roots and a wilting plant
Soil that never dries out invites root rot, the most serious problem this plant faces. Slide the plant out of its pot, cut away any roots that have gone brown and soft, and replant in fresh, well-drained mix. Water less from then on, since soggy soil is what started it.
Fix:
- Unpot and trim rotted roots
- Repot in fresh well-drained mix
- Reduce watering
Lower leaves turning yellow
Yellow leaves near the base almost always mean overwatering, with too little light a close second. Check whether the soil is staying soggy, ease off the watering can, and make sure the pot drains freely. Moving the plant somewhere brighter, but out of direct sun, usually settles it.
Fix:
- Reduce watering
- Ensure drainage
- Move to brighter indirect light
White cottony tufts tucked into leaf joints
Those little cotton-like clumps in the leaf axils are mealybugs. Touch each one with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, then follow up with insecticidal soap to catch the rest. Keep the plant away from your others until it's clean.
Fix:
- Dab with alcohol-dipped swab
- Apply insecticidal soap
- Isolate plant
Fine webbing and speckled, dull leaves
Spider mites move in when the air turns dry, leaving fine webbing and a stippled, faded look on the leaves. Rinse the foliage well, treat with insecticidal soap or a miticide, and check the undersides where they hide. Raising the humidity makes the plant far less inviting to them.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage
- Apply insecticidal soap or miticide
- Raise humidity
Hard brown bumps and a sticky residue
Immovable brown bumps along the stems are scale insects, and the sticky honeydew they leave behind is a giveaway. Scrape them off, then treat with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap to reach any you missed. Set the plant apart while you work through it.
Fix:
- Scrape off scales
- Apply horticultural oil or insecticidal soap
- Isolate plant
Long bare stems with leaves far apart
When the stems stretch and the leaves thin out, the plant is reaching for light. Move it into medium or bright indirect light and the new growth tightens up. Pinch the leggy stems back to push fresh, bushier shoots from lower down.
Fix:
- Move to medium or bright indirect light
- Pinch stems to encourage branching
Brown, curling tips on the leaves
Crisp brown tips point to fertilizer salts building up in the soil after overfeeding. Flush the pot with plain water until it runs freely from the bottom to wash the salts out. Then cut back how often and how strong you feed.
Fix:
- Flush soil with water
- Reduce fertilizer rate
Clusters of small insects on new growth
Aphids gather on the soft new growth and leave a sticky film behind. A firm rinse under the tap knocks most of them off. Follow with insecticidal soap if a few hang on.
Fix:
- Rinse off with water
- Apply insecticidal soap
Toxicity
This is not a plant to keep within reach of anyone who might chew it. Every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that bite into the mouth and throat, bringing on burning pain, heavy drooling, and swelling. It's an irritant to cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, livestock, birds, and people, with no part safe to eat, so place it high and out of the way and wash your hands after cutting it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
A cat that bites a leaf gets a mouthful of sharp calcium oxalate crystals. Expect drooling, pawing at the mouth, vomiting, and swelling of the lips and tongue.
Dogs Moderate
Chewing brings on intense oral burning, heavy drooling, and vomiting. Some dogs gag or struggle to swallow as the mouth swells.
Horses Moderate
The same crystals irritate a horse's mouth and throat, leading to drooling and trouble swallowing. Keep the plant well clear of paddocks and feed.
Rabbits Toxic
Every part holds the irritating crystals, so a nibble leaves a rabbit drooling and off its food. Don't keep this plant anywhere a rabbit roams.
Livestock Toxic
Goats, sheep, and cattle react to the oxalates with mouth pain and refusal to eat. The plant has no place near grazing animals.
Birds Toxic
A curious bird that chews the foliage suffers the same burning irritation and swelling. Hang or place the plant where birds can't reach it.
People Caution
No part is edible. Biting a leaf burns the mouth and can swell the lips and tongue, and the sap may leave skin itchy, so wash up after pruning and keep it from small children.
Sap may irritate skin; wash hands after cutting stems
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Beyond the plain green species, growers have picked out a few cultivars worth knowing for their color and leaf texture.
'Brasil'
Its green leaves carry a bright lime-yellow stripe running down the center.
'Micans'
The leaves are velvety and shimmer bronze-green, with reddish undersides.
'Lemon Lime'
The whole plant glows in bright chartreuse to neon yellow-green.
'Rio'
Cream and silver variegation streaks down the middle of each leaf.
How to propagate
Few houseplants are easier to copy. A single cutting in a glass of water gives you a new plant in a few weeks, and a longer vine can be air layered if you want a bigger head start.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring or growing season · Roots in 2-4 weeks
This is the easy way, and almost everyone uses it. In spring or through the growing season, cut a stem just below a node that carries a leaf or two, then stand it in water or push it into moist potting mix. Roots form in about 2 to 4 weeks, and you've got a whole new plant.
Air layeringModerate
Growing season · Several weeks
Air layering is the slower, more deliberate route, worth trying during the growing season on a longer vine. You wound a stem and wrap the spot to coax roots out before you cut, and over several weeks a rooted section forms that you can pot on its own.
Myths
Philodendrons clean the air in your home.
The idea comes from a sealed-chamber lab test, not a real room. A peer-reviewed analysis found the amount of VOCs a potted plant removes is so small that opening a window does far more. Grow it because you like it, not to filter the air.
Heartleaf philodendron and pothos are the same plant.
They look alike but belong to different genera. Philodendron petioles are smooth where pothos petioles are grooved, and new philodendron leaves push out wrapped in a papery sheath that pothos never forms.
This plant is a deadly poison to children.
The insoluble calcium oxalate crystals cause real, painful mouth irritation, but they are classed as low-severity, and serious outcomes are rare. Keep it out of a small child's reach and treat a chewed leaf as something to rinse and watch, not an emergency.
It thrives in a dark corner.
It will hang on in low light, but it does best in medium to bright indirect light. Tuck it into deep shade and the stems stretch thin and the leaves grow sparse.
It needs high humidity to survive.
Extra humidity makes it happy, but it gets by fine in ordinary household air. You don't need a mister or a pebble tray to keep one alive.
Sources
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (NC State)
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Pet Poison Helpline
- University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions
- Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
- Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- Cummings & Waring 2020, J Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (PubMed/NLM)
- Atlas of Florida Plants, Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida