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Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy – 8 Best Tips For Plant Growing

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Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy is a beautiful philodendron with creamy variegated foliage. It grows in clusters and boasts heart-shaped leaves that can be easily propagated to share with friends.

The leaf plate is arrow-shaped, elongated, with depressed veins, which creates a corrugated effect. The backside of young leaves is dark grayish-green with silver veining and well-defined light green veins. The leaf plates are tightly clustered, giving this philodendron a stunning rich appearance.

This is a genuinely unusual landscape plant with a root system, which is branched and primarily superficial. The formation of air roots, which extract moisture and nutrients from the air, is characteristic.

They also attach the plant to the support. The air roots are very thin, and they easily penetrate the bark, growing to the trunk.

Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy 1
Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy via Reddit

Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy Care Rules

For the successful cultivation of Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy, it is necessary to provide it with conditions as close to natural as possible. This include:

1. Lighting

Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy is considered shade-tolerant, so it feels excellent in less light. Exposure to direct sunlight in spring and summer causes yellowing and drying of foliage, loss of its shape and color.

The best place to grow is in a room with east or west-facing windows. In winter, a location near south-facing windows is allowed.

For example, with a substantial lack of lighting, in the depths of the room, internodes are stretched, the leaves become smaller, remaining in the juvenile form. In variegated philodendrons, they lose their colorful color.

2. Temperature

In summer, the recommended temperature for Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy is from 18 ° C to 30 ° C, and in winter, it should not be lower than 15 ° C.

The soil temperature should be the same as the air temperature. Do not keep them on cold windowsills. It is fenced off from cold glass with a heat-insulating material in winter.

3. Watering

In nature, the high humidity of tropical forests allows the Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy to grow large leaves, but the philodendron has to adapt to drier conditions at home. The plant constantly loves moist but not wet soil.

To avoid waterlogging, use pots with drainage holes and water after the topsoil has dried. Remember that the soil dries more slowly in plastic and ceramic glazed pots than in clay and terracotta pots. In winter, when the plant slows down, watering is slightly reduced.

4. The soil

Use light and well-drained soil mixes. A mixture of garden soil with peat, pine bark, and perlite is right. It is allowed to use ready-made soil mixture for Saintpaulias. Also, valuable additives are charcoal and sphagnum.

5. Humidity

To provide the Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy with high humidity, it is necessary to spray the green mass regularly. In spring and summer, moisturize every day, and in winter, every 2-3 days is enough.

With the arrival of winter cold, it is better to place the plant further from the heating radiators. It is also preferable to arrange a cool shower to refresh the plant and wash the dust from its leaves.

The Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy can also be placed in a larger container filled with expanded clay or small pebbles and water.

The bottom of the pot should not be immersed directly in water, as this can lead to the decay of the roots. Shower the plant regularly, as the dust accumulated on the leaves makes it difficult to gas exchange.

Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy 2
Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy via Reddit

6. Fertilizer

Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy feeds on animal excrement, rotted tree foliage, insect waste products, rainwater, and dissolved dust in tropical forests.

In home care, Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy responds well to fertilizers with equal nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.

But the concentration of the solution should be 20% weaker than that indicated by the manufacturers, and the more often the feeding, the weaker the concentration should be.

The dormant period for the Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy is weak, but it falls in the winter. Therefore, feeding is temporarily stopped after a new year, and watering is reduced until mid-March.

7. Top dressing

Caring for a Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy at home includes top dressing, which in nature receives with rainwater, from decayed foliage near the roots and with the waste products of insects.

During the growing season, fertilizers are applied every 10-14 days. It is best to use a liquid balanced mineral fertilizer for decorative deciduous plants, but the concentration is slightly reduced.

At the end of autumn and winter, fertilizer is not used in the care of the philodendron. Fertilize the soil mixture from May to September, two to four times a month.

As a fertilizer, use an organic compound, highly diluted with water (30-50% of the usual dosage). The rest of the time, feed the plant 1 or 2 times a month with a mineral complex. Young plants planted in fertile soil need additional feeding much less often.

8. Transplanting

From time to time, when the roots are entirely entwined with an earthen ball, the Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy is transplanted into a larger pot but not too large.

This is because the green mass grows best when the roots are crowded. The best time to transplant is late winter or early March.

The Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy soil should be light, breathable, and fertile.

A soil mixture based on a substrate is ideal for representatives of orchids (50%) with equal parts of high-moor peat or a unique substrate based on it, universal flower soil, and vermiculite.

At the bottom of the pot, be sure to lay out a drainage layer of fine gravel or expanded clay.

Supports are also crucial in Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy care, as they stimulate mature foliage in vines and support long shoots.

The support is installed during transplanting, guiding along with it. An alternative is to grow small Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy with juvenile leaves in hanging planters.

Reproduction of Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy

This plant propagates by seeds, cuttings, trunk fragments, roots, and air layers. Cuttings should not be germinated in water but wet sand. 

Thus, the top of the cutting will be in moist air, which will lead to the early formation of a root panicle. The container with cuttings should be in a room with at least 25 degrees Celsius air temperature. 

In addition, cover the cuttings with glass jars or transparent film. They should be ventilated at least once every two days. As soon as the emergence of new leaves begins, the root panicle has formed and can be planted in separate pots at least ten centimeters high.

If you decide to propagate a Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy using a piece of the trunk, then this is done like this. The cut pieces should be laid out in the wet sand to keep the buds on top. 

After that, you need to pour a thin layer of sand on top, moisten it and cover it with a film. The film can be removed for airing once a week until sprouts appear. 

When shoots appear, this should be done daily. After the first leaves appear, the plants can be planted in pots.

Pests and diseases

If the Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy is correctly looked after and all requirements are met, harmful insects will not attack it. But in principle, there are several enemies for this type of plant. 

The most dangerous is the scabbard. It is dangerous because it is not visible at all in the first intervals when it appears; it is so scanty. 

But having settled on the plant’s leaves, the scale insect begins to suck the juice, which dries up, the leaves wither, and in the end, the plant dies. Spider mites and thrips are other nasty enemies that wreak havoc on the plant.

Sometimes Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy leaves start to turn yellow. This usually happens if the soil underneath is too wet. Inexperienced growers, as a rule, make this mistake in the winter. 

It can also occur if the room is too cold. The appearance of even a very small yellow speck on the leaves of a Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy should be taken as a signal and immediately provide the plant with proper care. 

If the castings are starting to fade, it means there is too much light for your philodendron. It also happens that drops of moisture appear on the leaves of the philodendron. This indicates excessive humidity in the air. If you do not take action, the plant will start to rot.


Conclusion

Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy is a unique plant, which is attractive to every gardener. Its stems are fleshy, lignified at the base, the leaves are alternate, petiolate, and large.

Sometimes, they go up to two meters long. The leaf plate is oval. On the same plant, young and old leaves may differ not only in size but also in shape.

The color of the leaves is also varied, but the color of the upper side is always darker than the lower one.