How to grow a new Split-leaf Philodendron from cuttings (with pictures)

I got bored. I decided to go ahead and start up another split-leaf philodendron from the one that’s growing so well at the restaurant that I work in. I kind of regret not taking photos of the actual cutting process, but I’ll walk you through the process to the best of my ability. Here we go.

I took these two cuttings from the plant you see above — The picture is actually from about two months ago, taken right before I took three cuttings to make the other one that I have to the right of my couch already. I put the cuttings in some water to keep them from drying out – I was dragging ass and it took me a few minutes to get to my apartment. Each one of the cuttings branches off into two stalks, each with their own leaf, which is why it looks more like four.

The stalks should be cut directly below the root to get growth going as efficiently as possible. If you look closely at this picture, you can see the root right at the bottom. It looks like a little dull thorn. I used a decent pair of scissors to get this task accomplished. I did not, however, use a decent camera for this picture. You can see it in the direct foreground of the upturned plastic cup, though. I cut it at a diagonal, for no specific purpose other than I just feel that it’s the right thing to do. Putting them in water was another thing that wasn’t truly necessary, but I’m just being cautious. I don’t want to fuck this all up – even though there is very little effort involved in this project, there should be a lot of care taken!

I got out a pot big enough to support the massive root system these plants are known to have. I’m actually using the same pot that housed the dracaena massangeana (corn plant). I really like this one because it’s pretty ornate, and it happens to have a drainage dish attached to it. I did clean it out thoroughly awhile ago, and used it to sit under the repotted corn plant so it didn’t stain my carpet… but that was hella tacky, and a waste of a perfectly good pot. Wasting pot is horrible.

I filled the pot about 4/5 of the way up with the Miracle Gro® potting mix that I have sitting around for purposes like these, and I patted it down a bit so everything wouldn’t sink and displace once I watered it in the last step. I dug out a little hole in the middle of the pot, just big enough to stick both cuttings in. They’re only supposed to be stuck about an inch or two into the soil, but they still have to be sturdy – the stalks grow in “V” shape, so this causes a little instability when planting. I was going to use a shoestring to tie them together, but they actually look like they’re going to be fine the way they are!

Once you have the cuttings positioned exactly as you want them, hold them into place and grab a few fist fulls of the potting mix and top off the pot. You’ll want to pat the mix down, especially in the area of the stalks, to make sure they’re secure. Once you’ve done that, give the pot a light shake to make sure the cuttings don’t move around. You definitely want this wild fucker to be stable from the start!

Congratulations! You now have a new monster for your place of residence! These things apparently will bear fruit under the right conditions, although I must say – I really don’t care. I’ve never even seen the fruit produced from one of these, and if it happens, it does… if not, oh well – I have a beautiful addition to my indoor green scene. One of the leaves looks like it wants to “grow” a hole in one of the leaves, but to be completely honest, it looks more like leaf burn… Or abuse from one of the restaurant’s customers. I actually witnessed one of those fools pouring what looked like iced tea into one of the ficus pots… Some people.

Be sure to comment – offer suggestions, advice, whatever! There’s nothing wrong with following my blog either… As a matter of fact, I think you should! I’ll see you soon!