One of the more rare philodendrons, ‘Splendid’ was created by plant breeders in Australia in the 1980s. By crossing Philodendron melanochrysum and Philodendron verrucosum, plant breeders were able to create a new plant, combining the best features of its parents. As a result, Philodendron ‘Splendid’ has magnificent large heart-shaped leaves with luminous light green veins highlighted against a rich emerald green backdrop. It’s not only gorgeous to look at, but has a fine velvety texture to its leaves. On a mature plant, the leaves can grow up to two feet long and one foot wide. 

This beauty is a climber, so use this to your advantage by training it up a wall or bookshelf for maximum impact - great for creating a lush, jungly look. It does the job of filtering the air in your home environment too, making it not only beautiful but functional. 

Philodendron ‘Splendid’ will need more frequent watering during spring and summer but depending on the heating levels in your home, this will become less frequent throughout autumn and winter. Make sure it drains well after watering so that it doesn’t sit in sogginess. Keep that humidity up. We don’t recommend misting in this instance, because the velvety texture of the leaves of this plant means water may end up sitting on their surface for too long. This could make them vulnerable to fungal diseases and scorch. You will know if it isn’t getting enough humidity if its leaves start to go brown and crispy around the edges. Place your pot on a tray filled with pebbles and topped up with water that will slowly evaporate. 

Happiest in bright, indirect light, your plant will enjoy an east facing window, giving it a good dose of light in the morning and more gentle rays throughout the rest of the day. They’re quite temperature sensitive so a consistently warm room is ideal. Raise it up off a cold floor in winter to avoid stressing the roots, and avoid positioning it right near a radiator or aircon as it won’t like the dry air. 

Did you know?

In their native habitat, the seeds of philodendrons would usually grow in the crevices of trees, high up in the forest canopy.