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Heartleaf philodendron

Philodendron hederaceum

A trailing aroid very like pothos and just as forgiving, with softer matt heart-shaped leaves rather than pothos's glossy marbled ones. Scoped deliberately to this one species: Philodendron is an enormous genus whose members range from small trailers to trees, and their requirements do not transfer.

Position
Bright, out of direct sun
Water
moderate demand
Drainage
Free-draining
Grows to
20–40 cm × 100–300 cm
Frost
Frost tender
Difficulty
Straightforward

August

Take cuttings

Heartleaf philodendron’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

ActivityJFMAMJJASOND
Take cuttingsApril. May. June. July. August.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light
Partial shade, Dappled shade
Frost
Frost tender
Grows best at
18–27 °C
Soil
Peat-free compost
Soil pH
5.5–7
Drainage
Free-draining
Water needs
moderate
Drought
moderate tolerance
Waterlogging
poor tolerance
Heat
good tolerance
Wind and exposure
poor tolerance
Where these figures come from
LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Philodendron hederaceum — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

SoilVerdictWhy
Heavy clayWorks, with one conditionHeartleaf philodendron will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
SandyGrows well hereHeartleaf philodendron grows perfectly well on sandy without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Chalky and alkalineWorks, with one conditionHeartleaf philodendron will crop on chalky and alkaline, but one thing has to be dealt with first. The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5.5 to 7, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5.The pH is the obstacle. Small shifts are achievable and slow; large ones are not. On chalky and alkaline the dependable answer is a container of the right compost rather than an attempt to change the ground.
LoamPrefers this soilLoam suits Heartleaf philodendron as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
SiltyPrefers this soilSilty suits Heartleaf philodendron as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 7, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acidWorks, with one conditionHeartleaf philodendron will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rockGrows well hereHeartleaf philodendron grows perfectly well on shallow over rock without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose.
Made ground and urban soilWorks, with one conditionHeartleaf philodendron will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. For a crop lifted before winter the risk is not rot but the season: waterlogged ground is cold and unworkable in spring, so sowing is late and germination patchy.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height
20–40 cm
Mature spread
100–300 cm
Rooting depth
15 cm
Where these figures come from
Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

In a container

Minimum volume
3 litres or more
Minimum depth
15 cm
Where the container figures come from
Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

MethodSuitabilityWhat it needs
Indoor potWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

ContainerWell suited
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Indoors, or outdoors in summer only
WindowsillWorkable
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

HydroponicsWorkable
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Open groundNot suitable
source

Sourced guidancemoderate confidence

  • Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability

Checked 2026-08-13

Tender: will not survive a British winter outdoors.

Growing it

  • PruningPinch the tips to keep it full. Like pothos it goes leggy and bare-stemmed with age, and the cuttings root readily enough to plant back into the same pot.
  • SupportIt can trail or climb. Given a moss pole the leaves become noticeably larger; left to trail they stay small, which is a legitimate choice rather than a failure.
  • WateringWater thoroughly and allow the top few centimetres to dry before doing it again; this is a plant far more tolerant of drying out than of sitting wet, and one kept permanently moist develops soft blackened stems at the base. From October reduce clearly — a trailing philodendron in a cool room in midwinter may want water every two or three weeks rather than weekly. Long bare stems with leaves only at the far end are a light problem, not a water one; cut them back hard in spring and the plant rebranches from the base.
  • FeedingHalf-strength balanced feed monthly through the growing season, stopping at the end of September. It is an undemanding plant and the visible response to feeding is modest — longer stems and slightly larger leaves. What actually improves a straggly one is pinching the growing tips out through the summer so it branches, which no amount of fertiliser will do on its own.
Where this guidance comes from
PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — care

Checked 2026-08-13

SupportSourced guidancehigh confidence
  • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — support

Checked 2026-08-13

WateringSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Philodendron hederaceum

Checked 2026-08-13

FeedingSourced guidancemoderate confidence
  • Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Philodendron hederaceum

Checked 2026-08-13

Where to make a pruning cutFour stems compared. The first is cut cleanly on a slope about five millimetres above an outward-facing bud, sloping away from it, and is labelled correct. The second is cut too far above the bud, leaving a long stub that dies back. The third is cut too close, into the bud itself, which loses the shoot. The fourth is cut sloping towards the bud so rain runs onto it rather than away, which rots it. In every case the bud points outwards, away from the centre of the plant.Correct5 mm, sloping awayToo highstub dies backToo closebud lostSloping inrain sits on the bud
The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.

Safety and edibility

Cats and dogsPainful or persistently unwell; veterinary advice worth taking

Listed as harmful to cats or dogs

Heartleaf philodendron is listed as harmful if eaten. All parts carry needle-shaped insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which drive into the soft tissue of the mouth on contact. The pain is immediate, which is why an animal rarely takes a second bite and why fatalities are rare — but the drooling and swelling that follow are real and distressing.
source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

  • ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center — toxic and non-toxic plant list — American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Philodendron hederaceum — toxic plants list

Checked 2026-08-13

Affected parts: all parts.

  • Pets and livestockpetschildrenContains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, causing burning and swelling of the mouth when chewed. Trailing stems put it within reach of cats.
    source

    Sourced guidancehigh confidence

    • Royal Horticultural Society: Philodendron — toxicity

    Checked 2026-08-13

    Hang or place out of reach of pets and small children.

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.