Philodendron Royal Queen : Dark Elegant Climber

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Philodendron Royal Queen is a new hybrid that comes with a wonderful and glossy dark leaves. The new plant of philodendron royal queen will grow into delicate deep and colored leaves, fading to black and finally to a dark green when the plant is maturing. There is one thing incredible about this philodendron. That is the multitudes of different colored leaves which are only on a single plant.

To understand deeply about philodendron royal queen, let’s find all the details here in the review below that includes lots of valuable information about environment needed by the plant, watering, lighting, soil requirements, propagation and fertilization. There are also other related information that will enrich you with the best guidance to take care of the plant.

Overview

Scientific name : Philodendron Royal Queen
Family : Araceae
Lighting : Medium, bright, indirect sunlight
Soil : Well drained & well aerated such as a mix of perlite, hydrotone & peat

Environment

Philodendron Royal Queen will basically grow in an environment with the medium light and bright indirect sunlight. This plant still tolerates low light but the stems would be probably leggy. Thus, you are recommended to move the plant into a brighter place.

This philodendron like to grow in a potting soil along with a good drainage. This way, soil with high organic matters are preferable. This plant can also grow in sphagnum peat moss. One thing to avoid planting this philodendron is alkaline soil.

Philodendron Royal Queen will grow perfectly in moist environment. In the winter, the air inside the home may be too dry. Thus, you should keep the plant moist. This way, don’t water the plant too much.

Philodendron likes humidity and tropical climate. Therefore, maintaining the humid environment is important by misting the plant frequently especially during the growing season. In the winter, you should mist it every three to four days.

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Care

There are special tips to care for philodendron royal queen. These tips are dealing with how to take care of the plants every day.

First, place the philodendron royal queen in a location with 70%-80% light intensity.

Second, provide the plant with good growing medium. You can use a mixture of perlite, hydrotone and peat.

Third, water the plant twice a week so that the growing medium will not be too wet. This is due to the fact that philodendron royal queen doesn’t need much watering.

Fourth, fertilize the plant once a week using the liquid organic fertilizer. This way, you can dissolve the fertilizer in water and spray it on the growing medium.

Propagation

If you are wondering how to propagate Philodendron Royal Queen, here we have several steps to follow. In these steps, the plant can be propagated by stem cutting.

  1. Prepare a pot with good growing medium.
  2. Choose the stem of philodendron royal queen that has wind (aerial) roots.
  3. Make a clean cut of the stem by using clean and sterilized cutting tools.
  4. Put the plant horizontally on the growing medium.
  5. Give enough water.
  6. Put the plant in a shaded place but make sure it receives enough sunlight (bright indirect light preferred).
  7. You will notice the new shoots after three weeks.

Propagation stem cutting is just common for most philodendron. It is also considered as the easiest way of propagating the houseplants such as philodendron.

Fertilization

If you have already planted a Philodendron Royal Queen in your home garden, don’t forget to give the suitable fertilizer to allow the plants for growing well and healthy. In this case. Most potting soils will come with the ample nutrients that will be used by the plant to promote new growth.

This is the way you fertilize the plant well without any hassle:

  • Mix the right amount of fertilizer with the water based on the packaged instructions.
  • Pour the fertilizer over the soil.
  • Avoid giving too much fertilizer on the stems and leaves.
  • Continue adding the fertilizer to the pot until you see it is running out of the drainage holes in the bottom.

Read also : Philodendron Elegans: The Unique Skeleton Leaf Plant

Water Requirements

Philodendron royal queen needs 0.8 cups of water every 9 days especially when it doesn’t get enough direct sunlight and it is planted on a 5.0 inch pot. This way, you may use water calculator to adjust the watering recommendations for all your plants.  

There are some methods of watering philodendron royal queen you to choose including watering over the soil, bottom watering and water bath.

Water Over The Soil

If you water philodendron royal queen, there are four simple steps to carry out:

  • Pour water over the soil with your watering can.
  • Keep watering the pot until it runs out of drainage holes.
  • If you have a tray under the pot when you are watering, remove all of the accumulated water afterwards. Remember, never let your philodendron sit in water.

Bottom Watering

If you prefer watering the philodendron from the bottom, here are the steps to follow:

  • Fill the tray with water.
  • Check and make sure that the soil is in contact with the water on the tray.
  • Leave for around 1 minute.
  • Check the soil whether the water is absorbed sufficiently. If the soil is moist, remove any excessive water out of the tray.
  • If the soil is still dry, you may add more water to the tray.
  • Leave about 20 minutes before you remove the excess.

Note: this technique of watering philodendron royal queen will not wash away the salts and other minerals from the soil.

Water Bath

The third watering method for philodendron royal queen is water bath. There are surely eight steps to water bath the plant.

  • First, fill a bucket using lukewarm water.
  • Lower the whole pot down in the water and stop at the base of the plant’s stem.
  • Make sure the growing media surface is under the water
  • See if the water start bubbling. If yes, wait until the water stop bubbling.
  • Take out the pot and let the excess drain off.
  • Put your philodendron royal queen back on the tray or in the cache pot.
  • Check it regularly in 1 hour to make sure your pot doesn’t have stagnant water.
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Light Requirements

Basically, the plant’s growing potential depends on its location and humidity. Philodendron Royal Queen loves bright indirect light. So you can locate it under the window facing the sun. Just make sure that the plant will get enough light in order to grow well.

Repotting

There are two options to consider when you are reporting philodendron royal queen. Use a bigger pot or the same pot with new soil.

If you use a bigger pot, your plant will grow well because the roots will have more space to grow and develop. If you use the same pot with new soil, you won’t have a bigger plant (This is a good method if you want to keep the current size of your plant).

The pot size is important. To plant philodendron well, you had better use bigger pots than the last one. However, if the pot you pick is too big, it will be too risky for the plant since the new soil might hold too much water which can lead to root issues.

This is how you repot the plant:

  • Water the plant in order to loosen up the soil out of the pot.
  • Remove the pot slowly. Avoid pulling on the branches or trunk. If the pot is hard to come off, cut the soil loose from the pot’s edges using a small knife. Alternatively, you can also tap on the outside of the pot gently using a tool.
  • Prune the roots. This way, remove anything that looks wither, moldy and rotten. If the soil and roots looks fine, don’t touch the root ball since it can cause the plant to feel stress. If you find any thick roots, you can loosen them simply with your fingers or just cut them off.

If you use the same pot, here are the repotting steps to follow:

  • Clean the pot from old soil by washing it with soap, rinsing it well and drying it. Repotting with dirty pot is too risky as it can develop micro-organism alive and infecting your plant.
  • Pour the soil in the pot’s bottom part and make sure you are adding the right amount of the soil.
  • Put the plant on the soil and make sure it is in the center of the pot before you add more soil.
  • Add soil around the plant in the pot ad tap it gently using your fingers. This will firm the plant.
  • Water the plant and let the water excess exiting the drainage holes.

Note : repotting is stressful for philodendron royal queen. It takes around one month for the plant to recover. In this period, make sure that you put the plant in a bright sheltered place. Water the plant based on the suggested instructions and don’t feed the plant too soon. The new soil has already been filled with plant food. If you add fertilizer, you will just harm the plant and cause the roots to be stressful.

Read also : Philodendron Cordatum : Easy Guide To Grow & Propagate

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much water does the Philodendron Royal Queen need?

A: Philodendron royal queen likes adequate watering. Not too much and not too little. You can try to stick your finger deeper into the soil and feel it. If it feels dry in the surface and feels moist in the deeper part of the soil then it is the right time to do the watering.

Q: How Much sunlight does the philodendron royal queen need?

A: Royal queen philodendron really loves bright indirect sunlight. Remember to put it under a shade. If you expose the plant in a bright direct sunlight it might cause issues such as burning leaves.

Q: Is Philodendron royal queen toxic?

A: Most of the philodendrons contains calcium oxalate crystal which is toxic to humans and pets. You need to be careful when holding it, we suggest you to use gardening gloves to prevent issues. You also need to keep it away from children and pets because if it’s ingested it will cause more problems.

Q: What kind of soil will be suitable for philodendron royal queen?

A: Philodendron royal queen will grow well in the well-draining soil. In this way, the good soil will have lots of organic matters such as perlite, vermiculite and coco coir to help with the good drainage.

Q: How should I fertilize the soil?

A: Remember that fresh potting soil has already nutrients that the plant needs. So, you need only to replace the old soil with the new one to keep the plant fresh. To add more nutrients to the soil you can also use liquid fertilizer or slow release fertilizer, which one you prefer most.

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Final Words

Overall, philodendron royal queen is easy to care for. It doesn’t need special maintenance. The plant will grow well as long as you give regular watering, provide indirect sunlight and have good humidity.

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