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Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil — Two Incredible Cultivars of the Philodendreae Tribe

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Today, we have Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil. Both are among the most beautiful climbing/trailing plants of the Araceae Aroid family.

They make an excellent choice for your homes and offices. If you have a perfect place for hanging baskets or sturdy support for them to climb on, you can easily steal the show 😏.

But before jumping into the battle between Silver Stripe and Brasil, let’s take a brief look at the genus Philodendron.

Philodendron Plants

Many of you have probably heard about this genus. It is one of the largest plants genera with a diversity of epiphytes, Hemi epiphyte, and a few terrestrial plants.

Philodendrons have been thriving for generations, and according to WSCP (World Checklist of Selected Plant Families), 882 species are recorded. Out of which, around 489 are accepted.

Irrespective of the number of species, it takes second place in the Araceae family.

This distinct genus refuges many unique species. Some are used as ornamental plants in homes and offices, while others as outdoor beauties. They are perfect for beginners ‘cause they can quickly adapt to new conditions and remain evergreen indoors.

Many people are often wrong while guessing the correct variant of Philodendron Brasil.

P. Brasil is the most commonly used and base cultivar of the whole package, while the others are its mutated variants, also called the sport mutations.

I have thoroughly explained the primary difference between Brasil, Silver Stripe, Rio, and Cream Splash in the earlier article.

On that note, let’s get straight into the field and get an idea of the basic similarities and differences between Philodendron Silver Stripe and Brasil.

Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil

Both are native to tropical regions of North and South America. They are perennial, climbing epiphytes, mainly used as indoor embellishments.

Since the Silver Stripe is an altered variation of Brasil, both are strikingly similar regarding primary caring conditions, tolerance, and overall shape and size, with only a slight difference in variegation pattern.

First, let’s see the Philodendron Brasil.

1. Philodendron Brasil

The scientific name of Philodendron Brasil is Philodendron hederaceum ‘Brasil.’ It is an excellent illustration of vining cultivars. At first, people believed it was also a sport mutation of P. hederaceum.But later, because of its stability and stylistic diversity, it was approved as the base variety.

Philodendron Brasil Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil 2
Philodendron Brasil via Reddit

You can see that the leaves of Philodendron Brasil have striations of all types of P. hederaceum. Most of the leaves have a light and green combination, which is not consistent throughout the plant.

A few of them are creamy lime-colored, just as the Cream Splash. While some also appear as P. Gabby.

However, there are no silver stripes on the leaves. You would rarely see any silver striations among them. The variegations on Brasil are distributed randomly.

Also, there is much stylistic diversity. That means some of these plants have a darker green color (this picture) in the full foliage, while some have more light green (above picture).

They also resemble Pothos in many ways. Well… that’s because the Pothos also originates from the same family, Araceae.

However, the stems in Pothos plants are a bit bumpy, and I haven’t seen any limy creamy central stripe variegations in Pothos. They can have striations having the same color but not the exact location and diversity.

2. Philodendron Silver Stripe

The scientific name of Philodendron Silver Stripe is Philodendron hederaceum ‘Silver Stripe.’ It has the most breathtaking variegation pattern among the whole group.

The array starts from a thin light green color central stroke, followed by a slight cream-colored touch, then comes the sharp silver stripe, and finally reaches a dark green canvas.

This arrangement is much consistent throughout the whole plant, and because of that, Silver Stripe is also a relatively stable P. hederaceum.

Philodendron Silver Stripe Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil 2
Philodendron Silver Stripe via Reddit

Also, if you heed the shape of these leaves, the leaves of the Silver Stripe are much slenderer than the other variants. Especially from the Philodendron Brasil.

It is also primarily native to Mexico and Brazil.

It is also very convenient in terms of taking care and management. You should swiftly go for this one if you are a beginner.

And that’s pretty much it.

Now that we have finished talking about the background and looks of the plants. We also need to know the best conditions for the plants to flourish.

Although Silver Stripe and Brazil are considerably resilient plants, they also need good caring to thrive on their maximum potential.

They are fast growers and are on a little succulent side.

Let’s see what conditions would be the best for your Philodendrons.

Caring Conditions for Philodendron Silver Stripe and Brasil

Since this is a Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil, I’ll clarify that it’s a tie regarding care. Both of them have the same degree of potency and strength.

With that said, let’s open with lights.

1.   Lighting Conditions

Light is an essential aspect of proper growth. You should always place your plant in bright, indirect/filtered sunlight.

Please make sure that you protect the leaves from getting exposed to the sun’s direct rays. That can burn up the foliage, and leaves would get scorched.

However, being indoor plants, they can tolerate low to medium lighting. That’s probably the main reason for their vast diversity.

It would be best for you to place them at least 5 to 6 feet away from the South-facing window.

Your Silver Stripe and Brasil will thrive to their maximum level if you feed them with adequate morning and evening sun.

Therefore, you can shuffle up the positions: Place them in front of the East-facing window (Few feet away, so direct light cannot touch the leaves.

You can also use the curtains if the sun is pretty bright) during the day, and when the sun goes down, you can move them to the Westside window.

Generally, some old leaves in Philodendrons tend to turn yellow. If the number of yellow leaves increases, especially if young leaves turn yellow, that might be because of too much lighting.

On the contrary, the stems get thin and long if your plant lacks enough light.

Hence, it would be best to place them in bright but not direct sunlight.

2.   Temperature

The annual average temperature in the native tropical regions of the plant ranges from 22°C to 26°C (72 to 79°F).

There are not many temperature variations, but there is much variation in the rainfall.

This graph shows the average temperature range of the Brasília:

Temperature Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil
Image via climate-data.

October is the hottest month at a mean temperature of 24°C (75°F). The lowest average temperatures occur in July when it is around 20°C (68°F) annually.

These are the stats of the central tropical state of Brazil, the native zone of Philodendrons. Thus, keep your plants at 25° to 30°C in upper extremes and 18°C in lower.

It would not survive outside during winter, as the temperature tends to go lower than 15°C, and maybe even lower if you live in temperate regions of the world.

As they are perfect for indoors, it is best to keep them at room temperature.

3.   Humidity

There is much more rain in summer than in winter in these tropical rainforests. That’s why the humidity increases during these months.

Also, plant uses much less water in winter than on arid days.

This graph shows the average monthly humidity of Brazil:

Average humidity in Brasilia Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil
Average humidity in Brasilia Image via weather-and-climate.

It remains fairly consistent from January to April at 77-78%, then decreases to almost 50% in August and reaches a highest of 80% in Dec.

Therefore, the plants originating from such regions would love moderate to high humidity. It is best to keep them in 65 to 75 percent humidity.

You can move them to places like a bathroom or a kitchen during dry seasons. These places have much more water vapors than the other areas in the house.

It is always better to group all moisture-loving tropical plants to the same place.

4.   Soil

A good and proper soil mixture always keeps your plants away from diseases. In the case of Philodendrons, it can also keep them away from pests.

If the soil mixture is extremely heavy, it results in waterlogging. As a result, the roots get chocked up and cannot respire, leading to root rot.

Some plants use unique pores called hydathodes to pump out excess water.

This water on the leaves calls many sap-drinking pests.

Therefore, you need to use a perfect, light, and arid mix for either of your Silver Stripe or Brasil.

Here’s the recipe:

  • First, fill 1/3rd part with an all-purpose potting mix. Also, add a few grains of perlite and a good amount of organic matter.
  • Then, add 1/3rd peat moss. Soilless combinations like peat vermiculite and peat perlite are also a good fit.
  • Fill up the rest with half potting and half bark mix. You can use orchids or pine bark.

That creates an ideal soil mixture for growing your P. hederaceum. It is breathy, arid, and lightweight.

5.   Watering

If you want to take your plants to a higher level, you should water them on schedule.

Proper watering and an ideal soil mix is a dream team for most plants.

Keep the soil slightly moist but not drenched with water. Allow the soil to dry out before watering.

Watering every 3 to 4 days works best.

Pro tip: Wait for the top third or 2-3 inches of the soil to get dry before giving it another shot of Hydration. You can check it by sticking your finger in it.

Sagging leaves means that the plant is getting too much or not enough water. So always maintain the water timings.

They are pretty tolerant and reshape themselves after getting back on schedule.


Conclusion

Philodendrons are among the family’s most potent and widely variegated plant species.

With that said, now you have all you need to know about the Philodendron hederaceum and its mutated variants.

Let us know in the comment section if you liked our Philodendron Silver Stripe vs Brasil blog post. Please keep us updated with your precious reviews.

Don’t forget to share this piece of information with your friends and family.

I have talked all about Philodendrons in one of my previous articles. You can check it out here: Philodendron Silver Stripe — An Ultimate and Comprehensive Manual.

It includes info about different kinds of plants related to this diverse genus.

Regards, Mahad H.