Plant Feature of the Month! 🪴 | New Series Featuring Philodendron El Choco Red | Episode 4

[@oOOoOphidian]

I got mine as a tiny tissue culture baby 6 months ago and it's climbing a moss pole. It finally matured to the red cataphylls and slightly larger leaves, so hopefully in the next 6 months it'll keep getting bigger, but it's such a cutie. I'm glad yours is thriving, it looks so beautiful

[@plantsbymelissa]

That's awesome!! I'm happy yours is growing well ❤️

[@mzimsosupadope]

This has been on my wish list forever! So I just got one last night in a FB group. I'm glad you have yours in Pon. I think I'll do that as well. I use super thrive too. So anymore tips with having this in Pon?❤

[@lynettestewart5118]

Can you please tell me what group you purchased your El Choco Red in?!

[@carolstuff]

Beautiful Philo; good thing you stuck with trying after root rot. Thanks for sharing Melissa!

[@janene5046]

Absolutely stunning!!! 😍You’re doing all of the right things! Your Choco is breathtaking!!! ☺️

[@dwightphillips2556]

OMG that is so gorgeous. Melissa, you have a way with plants. Your collection is magnificent.

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you so much Dwight 🥹

[@ThatGirlShelbyy]

I got a pot full of small (obviously tissue cultured) plants, and absolutely love it! I'll be separating out some of the plants whenever I go to repot it, and I'm super excited to have it! They're so beautiful 😻

[@plantsbymelissa]

aw that will be so much fun to separate them all out 😍 good luck with yours they are so beautiful! ❤️

[@marisolcorona9728]

Gorgeous plant 🪴 Thank you for sharing the good and the bad, we are plant nurses 😉 It’s fun to figure out what’s going on with our plants and so rewarding when we finally do and the plant starts to respond with new growth and starts giving us new and larger healthy leaves, it just never grows old! It’s a joy to see your success and by sharing your ups and downs you are guiding us to be the best plant nurses we can be! 😍🥰💚🪴🌱👩🏻‍⚕️

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you so much! It really is fun and challenging at the same time. Sometimes I refuse to give up growing a certain plant until I can lol so it's nice to try new things too and yes so rewarding once they grow 🥰

[@kristathompson9888]

I finally ordered some Pon and can’t wait to pot up my El Choco Red. Hopefully it will do well in Pon for me.

[@plantsbymelissa]

yay! I hope yours does well for you and good luck with the transition to pon 🫶

[@dora9368]

Oh boy, the El Choco Red is really enjoying life right now 🎉 Im thankful you found what works best for her. I love all your videos, but once in a while I'll forget to leave a comment. My memory is failing me but just know I watch almost all of your videos...unless It's holiday related because I don't celebrate holidays. Like I think I forgot to comment on your house plants tour, but I watched it and loved it. You have the most beautiful house plant collection!!! TFS Melissa 😊

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you so much for your continued engagement and support Dora 🥹 It really does mean a lot 🫶

[@ThePattiable]

She's looking so good, wow!!

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you!! She's grown well these past several months!

[@ilovechickenss1]

I ordered mine yesterday from Etsy. I’m so excited for it to come!

[@plantsbymelissa]

Yay! So exciting!! 🥳

[@planty_quest]

I just finished your last video while I'm doing plant chores, this is awesome! Double feature for me 😂 ❤🌱

[@plantsbymelissa]

haha yay!! Thank you so much! 🫶

[@pudik2008]

Just WOW!! 👌🏻🌟 Perfection! It’s all due to the love and care you put into it! 💚💚💚🪴🌿

[@Horsewoman-pt2ku]

I love those pillowey philodendron leaves. I am just starting to move my Hoyas and Alocasia over to pon. Trying to figure out sizes I need as many self watering pots are very shallow however the ones with water meters seem bigger and deeper. Tfs

[@plantsbymelissa]

haha it's so satisfying!!

[@Yambataller]

Even peeling the cataphyll sounds like opening a huge chocolate bar 😂

[@sherrybomb499]

The list of things you do to your water is intimidating but I know I’ll get to that point someday. I’ve added osmocote to my planters and I’m sure super thrive is not far behind from being added to my Amazon cart lol. Thanks for so much helpful info! 💕

[@plantsbymelissa]

oh I was so overwhelmed with pon and trying out a completely new regimen. I used slow release for so long and the only thing I knew how to use. I did a lot of research and I feel more confident with it now but it's taken a while! Everything I use definitely isn't necessary though 🫶

[@cheesechaos]

Ayy, I've been eyeballing these for a while and finally decided to pull the trigger. It's on the way, so the timing of this video couldn't be better! 💚🧀

[@plantsbymelissa]

Yay! I hope you love having one! It really is such a beautiful plant ☺️

[@KC-gj4bi]

This is stunning 🤩

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you so much! It really is such a pretty philo 😍

[@amelieachim5903]

Your el choco red is really nice! It’s one I do not have yet and considering it. I just need to keep in mind the space that it will eventually take.

[@jackiesmithwinkworth3085]

Amazing! When you upsize are you getting another self-watering pot from Amazon? It’s hard to find larger pots. I know you got some a bit ago from there for your Micholitziana.

[@plantsbymelissa]

I bought the expensive lechuza pot for the micholitziana so I really don't want to spend that much again. I'll try and find a knock off one. I haven't searched yet but if I find some I'll share ❤️

[@florentplantier4833]

Gorgeous plant !!!! Why didn't you put it on a moss pole ?

[@lindabezet3139]

That’s a good question.

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you! No reason really.. I have too many moss poles now haha. I'll probably just add a stake for support once it gets taller. It's already growing big leaves without moss.

[@biancaboba97]

Hi Melissa! Thanks a lot for making this video, your El Choco looks stunning! I see yours is grows quite straight and steady - I gave my El Choco (which is still quite juvenile) a moss pole, which it's not using at all (and producing no aerial roots) so I am considering removing it, especially after seeing how yours is doing. Do you have any thoughts on using a moss pole for this philodendron? thanks in advance!

[@plantsbymelissa]

No reason other than I already had so many moss poles - It's growing really well without one so I'll just use a stake for support once it gets taller. Some philos are really stubborn to root into the moss pole without putting tape around the node and extra humidity.

[@biancaboba97]

@@plantsbymelissa thanks!! and good luck with your new business :)

[@dawnmcdonald6152]

Hi Melissa I’m enjoying videos and I’m learning so much! Im curious how do you process your fallen leaves for framing?

[@lindaedwards4632]

It’s growing beautifully 😀🇨🇦

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you!!

[@ConnieP92]

Great going El Choco! She's stunning and glad she came good for you esp for the amount you paid for her 🫢👏🏼🫶

[@Plantloverliana]

She looks amazing! Would you say all philodendron s would benefit from pon? Thanks Melissa.awesome video ! ❤

[@renatecormick7399]

Hi Melissa. Glad you mentioned the things with lower PH causing less calcium being taken up by the plant. I’ve been aiming for PH less the 6.0 so will try for about 6.5 in future and see how my plants react to the change. Thanks for pointing this out.

[@plantsbymelissa]

Glad it was helpful! 🫶

[@MyLocsMyPlants]

gorgeous! 😍

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you!! 🥰

[@silke21]

She is such a gorgeous plant.😍 Where do you find the 10-inch self-watering pots?

[@neynahnehnah1485]

Hey, Melissa. ❤ I am a new subscriber. Wish you the best honey, a fan from Iran.

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you so much! Happy to have you here 💖

[@lindabezet3139]

I passed one up about a week ago at a local nursery. 😫😫 Tag said El Choco. Are there regular ones and then red ones? I need to go back and see if they still have them. Yours is 🔥🔥.

[@plantsbymelissa]

oh no, maybe they'll still have it 🫶 I'm not sure if there's other varieties I just know of this one.

[@lilcj222]

Hey Melissa! I’m curious, what happened to the White Knight you had on the pole??

[@plantsbymelissa]

Hey there! I showed it in my houseplant tour recently. I still have it but it's been neglected and overgrown. I'm taking it off though and chopping it up because it's one I'm going to let go. I may eventually purchase one more variegated down the road.

[@Lalalala-yy5jd]

I saw your photos moss pole video loved it were did you purchase the clear poles and what brand

[@lisaanglim9588]

Hello Melissa. Good morning

[@plantsbymelissa]

Hi Lisa!! 🥰

[@Ilovehellokitty12341]

I just got an el choco it’s a baby still it was given to me for free from a friend her cat messed up some leaves and she already had a bigger one! I hope mine gets this big one day 😍 I also have a verru that is a pain but I love the look

[@caitlinbender5105]

I’m sure you’ve said this in previous videos but how much of the foliage pro are you using for your aroids typically? I’m going with the “water weakly weekly” method for all my plants but trying to find the balance is hard. Currently using 1/8 teaspoon per gal and then adding .5 ml of a magnesium/kelp supplement. Also using the stress coat and lowering my pH for healthy soil biome and hopefully good nutrient uptake. Love any advice for even more beautiful plants thank you :)

[@swimsuitissue123]

Thanks for this video! I use a DIY pest spray on my el choco red (I have soft water and it’s just the well known Castile soap/essential oil//alcohol mix) but I notice that my leaves don’t look as velvety after spraying them. I rinse off the mix with water after a while because I’m worried about it damaging the leaves. Is there a way to keep the leaves looking velvety. I know they don’t love getting their leaves wet but I had some signs of thrips so I need to keep treating at the moment. Thanks.

[@BekahMarie11]

Hey Melissa! Is fertilizer the same as plant food??

[@AlyssaCarter-m1i]

OMG I wish I could share mine with you. They’re huge. Considering putting one of them on a moss pole next week. Mine are just flourishing inside of my greenhouse cabinets. I just have them in a chunky mix similar to yours. It’s honestly one of my best growing plants. 😭 I bought one of mine for five dollars and the other one for 15. Then I ended up chopping one and after about a year it finally started growing so now I have the three. And I’m probably gonna sell two of them because I just don’t have space.

[@plantsbymelissa]

That's amazing! You can email me photos or dm me on insta if you want to share. What a price on those too lol 🙌 Space is definitely an issue when they start getting big 🥲

[@jimmyjo1375]

Are you a fan of the long rectangle planters where you sorta lay the philodendrons down for support? I need to do something with my gloriosum

[@plantsbymelissa]

I have some and going to pot my crawlers into them when I get time. I have 3 I'm going to do in pon that I have been long overdue 😅

[@rebeccaparis6470]

💚💚💚

[@mxj28]

Got mine a week ago and it’s been dropping leaves left and right. I have 2 leaves now. She came w crispy roots so she also lost a lot of root in transit. I just moved her to moss and perlite. I’m hoping she makes it but I’m highly doubtful.

[@mavisb6198]

Mine got badly infested with spidermites so I chopped off all the leaves, and now it is shooting a new leaf! 🎉🎉

[@plantsbymelissa]

oh no! Glad it's shooting a new leaf now 🙏

[@Akimills_84]

🌱💚🌱💚🌱

[@valgibbs9986]

I am getting into beefy leaf philo . What one do you recommend for a first large leaf philo?

[@plantsbymelissa]

Philo splendid or majestic! So pretty and easy going 😁

[@gailjoubran7292]

I have a two year Old El Choco red, But I am having problems with the leaves unfurling they tear. Any suggestions?

[@DoraTheExplora50]

Pretty 😍🥰😍

[@plantsbymelissa]

Thank you!!

[@katieschaap5834]

😍😍😍

[@luluan1228]

Idk why my plants in Pon have a white moldy layer on top😢 any ideas? Idk if its bad for them or not Thank you so much ❤❤

[@plantsbymelissa]

probably need more air circulation. I can get this too especially if it's more humid. I have a fan on 24/7 but sometimes it still gets moldy. It could be some dead plant debris as well that got moldy.

[@yebincho373]

Help! Mine is not maturing. It’s growing but it gives me tiny leaves. It’s currently in Lechuza Pon.

[@cherylegger5908]

Have you tried one on a mosspole yet?

[@plantsbymelissa]

This is my only one and I decided to not do a pole for it - it's growing well without one :)

[@cristinaardelean5064]

❤

[@plantsbymelissa]

🥰🫶