Araceae

Philodendron

A very large genus, split roughly between climbers and self-heading types. More forgiving of lower light than Monstera or Alocasia, which is most of why they became houseplants.

Native to Tropical Americas and the Caribbean

Species

No species published in this genus yet. Its photographs are in the gallery.

How Philodendron generally wants to be treated

Species pages start from this and record only where they differ.

Light: Bright indirect, but genuinely tolerant of medium light. Crawlers such as gloriosum and verrucosum burn in direct sun more readily than the climbers do.
Water: Keep evenly moist without being wet. Water when the top 2-3 cm has dried; the thinner-leaved species wilt visibly and recover quickly, which makes them easy to read.
Humidity: 50% is enough for most. The velvet-leaved species want 60-70% and show it immediately when they do not get it.
Temperature: 18-27 °C. They stop rather than suffer below about 15 °C.
Substrate: Airy and bark-heavy for climbers; a slightly finer mix with more coir for the crawlers, which root along the surface rather than down.
Fertilizer: A balanced feed at half strength every third watering in growth. Velvet-leaved species are sensitive to over-feeding — the leaf edges go first.
Propagation: Node cuttings for climbers; for crawlers, cut the rhizome between leaves leaving at least one node and one root per piece.
Dormancy: None, but growth slows in winter. Reduce water and stop feeding.
Common problems: Yellow leaves with brown wet spots are overwatering; yellow with crisp edges is usually underwatering
Velvet-leaved species mark permanently if water sits on the leaves
Long gaps between leaves and small leaf size mean the plant wants more light or something to climb
Thrips are the usual culprit behind stippled, silvery new growth

These are the Philodendron defaults. The rules that hold across everything — what bright indirect actually measures, when to water, what humidity does and does not do — are on the general plant care page.