Philodendron Verrucosum Care Guide: 12 Tips for a Healthy Plant

Philodendron verrucosum is a standout tropical plant with enormous, heart-shaped leaves. Also called the Ecuador philodendron, it’s a vining perennial for gardens in Zones 9–11. In addition, you can grow this type of philodendron as a houseplant with some special needs outlined in our care guide below.

Plant collectors, take note! Philodendron verrucosum is usually a rare find in local nurseries; therefore, it’s an expensive plant. Fortunately, the head-turning style of this tropical beauty is worth the cost if you can provide it with the proper care.

This philodendron needs high humidity and bright, indirect sunlight to thrive. So, keep that in mind before planning to grow one yourself.

Read on to learn more about this striking philodendron, plus 12 tips for a healthy plant.

What Is a Philodendron verrucosum?

• Botanical name: Philodendron verrucosum
• Common Names: Ecuador philodendron, velvet leaf
• Plant Family: Araceae
• Plant Genus: Arum
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 9–11 for outdoor plantings, though you can grow it as a houseplant in any Zone
• Plant Type: Vining
• Growth Habit: Upright
• Size at Maturity: 2-3 feet tall, up to 2 feet wide, with vining stems that grow up to 2 feet long
• Foliage: This tropical plant has heart-shaped, velvety (from fine hairs) and dark green leaves. The leaves also have light-green veining on top and either green or reddish coloring underneath. In addition, this plant’s hair-covered leaf stalks (petioles) become hairier as it matures.
• Flowers: The outdoor plants may produce small inflorescences in pink and white. The houseplants rarely produce flowers.
• Toxicity: P. verrucosum tissues contain calcium oxalate crystals that make this plant toxic to humans and pets if ingested. Additionally, the sap from this plant could cause skin irritation and rash.

P. verrucosum is an aroid plant native to Central America. Aroids are herbaceous perennials with the following traits:

• According to the International Aroid Society, a distinctive feature of aroid plants is their flower-like structure called an inflorescence. The inflorescence is a petal-like spathe curled around a cream or yellow spike called the spadix. The colorful spathe gradually opens and flattens.

• Aroids contain clear or milky sap, a sought-after meal for plant pests like spider mites and thrips.

• Another example of an aroid plant is the peace lily, recognizable by its beautiful inflorescences with creamy white spathes.

The P. verrucosum is also a type of plant called a hemiepiphyte, which means it grows on another plant for part of its life. For example, a P. verrucosum plant found in a tropical forest often begins as seeds germinating in the crowns of trees where they are much closer to sunlight. As they grow, their long roots make their way down into the soil below.

Because P. verrucosum is a vining hemiepiphyte, providing it with a structure to climb is essential.

Philodendron Verrucosum Care Guide: 12 Healthy Plant Tips

Keeping a Philodendron verrucosum healthy can be challenging, especially if growing this tropical plant outside of tropical climates. However, the 12 healthy plant tips below will help you provide this philodendron with the care it needs for a long, happy life.

1. Soil Type

Provide your Philodendron verrucosum plant with well-draining soil that is light, loose, and chunky. This type of aerated soil optimizes the flow of air and water through it.

Loamy soil mixes work well. You can also create well-draining soil mixes by adding some of the following aerating elements to your potting soil:

• Charcoal
• Orchid Bark
• Peat moss
• Perlite
• Vermiculite
• Sphagnum Moss

Avoid sandy soil and any soil mixes that get very dry or muddy. These soils don’t have the proper aeration for this plant.

P. verrucosum prefers neutral to slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5–6.

2. Where to Plant Your Ecuador Philodendron

If planting the Philodendron verrucosum outdoors in Zones 9–11, place it in well-draining soil near a structure it can climb. Or plan to provide stakes for the plant to vine around, which is also necessary for growing this plant indoors.

Moss poles make ideal stakes for this type of philodendron because they mimic the texture of mossy bark on tropical trees. A moss pole is a moss-covered pole, stick, or pipe that provides your philodendron with vining support. You can buy moss poles at plant nurseries or make a DIY moss pole of your own.

When growing P. verrucosum indoors, use a well-draining pot one size larger than it currently needs. This size allows the plant space to grow without crowding the roots.

3. Repotting Needs

When growing an Ecuador philodendron as a houseplant, repotting every 2–3 years is necessary as your plant gets bigger. This tropical plant’s roots grow rapidly, so prepare to replace their pot with the next size up every couple of years.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not grow this philodendron in a container that is much larger than it needs in order to avoid having to repot it. All that extra space in the pot may collect water and cause your plant’s roots to rot.

4. Fertilizing

Fast-growing Philodendron verrucosum performs best when fertilized only during its natural growing season. Toward that goal, add a balanced fertilizer to the plant’s soil once per month through spring and summer.

The best fertilizer (plant food) for P. verrucosum is one formulated for aroids and tropical plants.

5. Sunlight Needs

Bright indirect sunlight is best for Philodendron verrucosum plants. So, keep this tropical houseplant close to a window where the light that hits it is filtered by something transparent in its path. An example of bright indirect sunlight is light that moves first through a sheer curtain before reaching your plant.

Unfortunately, the P. verrucosum can be very picky about its sunlight needs. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use a light meter app to analyze the intensity of sunlight the plant receives.

To determine sunlight intensity, you use a measurement called a foot candle. The University of Missouri Extension explains that a foot candle is “the amount of light received by a 1-square-foot surface that is 1 foot away from a light source equivalent to one candle of a certain type.”

An ideal number of foot candles for P. verrucosum sunlight is 850 (the same as 9146 lumens), which a light meter app can detect.

6. Water Needs

Generally, the Philodendron verrucosum needs more water when its soil’s top inch or two is dry. Hydrate it regularly, but don’t leave this plant in standing water for long.

7. Humidity Needs

Having the ideal high humidity level is a very big deal to the Ecuador philodendron! A humidity level between 65% and 80% is the sweet spot for this tropical plant. Running a quality portable humidifier in the same room should help keep your Equador philodendron happy and make maintaining this humidity level possible.

8. Ideal Temperature

Because the Philodendron verrucosum thrives in warm weather, the best temperatures for this plant are between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. So, growing this plant outdoors or in front of a drafty window in colder months could harm it unless you live in a tropical climate.

9. Pruning

If your Ecuador philodendron starts getting leggy, you can prune the plant to manage its size and shape. It’s also important to remove dead or yellowing leaves and stems on a regular basis.

To prune a philodendron stem, cut it back to one of the nodes or, if necessary, all the way back to the base of the plant. Be sure to use a knife or a pair of pruning shears that is sharp and clean.

10. Propagating

It’s easy to use cuttings to propagate a Philodendron verrucosum plant. Or you can reproduce this philodendron by planting seeds or by a practice called air layering.

1. Cuttings: Choose a section of stem with 2-4 leaves and cut it just below a node. Place your cutting in a container of water, making sure the leaves of the cutting are not resting in water. When the cutting produces roots in a few weeks, plant it in soil.
2. Seed: Growing a philodendron seedling from seed takes about a month. It also requires a lot of attention to make sure the seed soil stays warm and moist. To grow plants from seed, place the seeds in well-draining soil at a depth twice their diameter in a loose potting mix formulated for tropical plants.
3. Air Layering: You can form new roots at the nodes of stems before you cut them off the plant. Do this via a propagation method called air layering. You air-layer a plant stem by wrapping a bit of damp moss around the node, where you will eventually take the cutting from the plant. Cover the moss with plastic and keep the moss moist until roots form over the next few weeks. Sphagnum moss is ideal for the air layering method.

11. Pest Control

The sap of P. verrucosum attracts plant pests like spider mites, thrips, mealybugs, and whiteflies. Check your plants for pests regularly, so you can remove them with a damp cloth.

You can also spray your plants with a natural pest repellant like neem oil for philodendron pest prevention.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful when using neem oil and other pest-repellant sprays in a home with young children and pets. Though neem oil is supposed to be non-toxic for mammals when used as directed, overuse can be toxic to humans and pets.

12. Disease Prevention and Care

Root rot and fungal leaf spots are common diseases caused by overwatering the Philodendron verrucosum. These are also common problems for this plant if the soil isn’t draining well and regularly.

For Root Rot Care:

1. Remove the rotted roots from the plant.
2. Let your remaining plant roots dry outside the pot for 24 hours or until they are no longer wet.
3. For houseplants, replant them in fresh potting soil in a well-draining pot.

For Fungal Leaf Spot Care: Trim away the spotty and yellowing leaves from the plant. Follow up with an adjusted watering practice and ensure the plant soil drains well.

Conclusion

With its massive heart-shaped leaves and beautiful coloring, it’s no wonder the Philodendron verrucosum is a prized tropical plant. Though it can be a rare find and requires extra care, many plant parents think it’s worth the extra effort.

We hope this Philodendron verrucosum care guide with handy tips helps your plants thrive for years to come.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Firn/Shutterstock.com