Complete Care Guide for Philodendron Moonlight

Even after providing all the care, your Philodendron Moonlight can still act up by showing symptoms like spots, curling, and yellowing of the leaves due to mishaps in requirements.

Read the article till the end if you do not want your Philodendron Moonlight to suffer due to your negligence or overcare.

Overview of Philodendron Moonlight

A native to tropical America and the West Indies, Philodendron Moonlight is a hybrid variety belonging to the Araceae family.

Complete Care Guide for Philodendron Moonlight

The Philodendron Moonlight variety can live for years while retaining its original texture and foliage with proper care.

1. Light & Temperature

Like most other tropical houseplants, Philodendron Moonlight enjoys bright indirect light and a warm temperature of 65-80ºF.

However, it would be best to avoid direct sunlight exposure, which results in leaf discoloration and can cause drought stress.

Also, the Moonlight is very sensitive to low temperatures (<55ºF) and frost as it stunts the growth and leads to the curling of leaves as a defense mechanism.

So for best, place it in an east-facing window. Using a translucent curtain, you can also place it a few feet away from a south-facing window.

During the winter days, you can cover the Philodendron Moonlight with a frost blanket and keep heating mats under the pot.

As for darker rooms, you might need to install grow light.

2. Water & Humidity

The Philodendron Moonlight is also said to thrive in average household humidity. However, it might not reach its full potential in such an environment.

Keep the air and soil moisture in check by installing an electric humidifier or misting the plant daily with tepid water.

A terrarium and pebble tray method is also a great way to maintain humidity while adding style to your living room with a bottom water approach for watering.

Also, do not overwater them as it can lead to root rot and yellowing of the leaves, while underwatering makes the plant droop and turn brown.

Check the 1 inches top soil for any moisture by using a wooden stick or index finger before watering.

3. Soil & Fertilizer

Whether your Philodendron Moonlight will thrive or not depends on what kind of potting mix you choose and how often you feed them.

Prepare your DIY mix using a regular potting mix, peat moss, and perlite in a 1:1:1 mixed with a handful of organic compost.

Alternatively, you can opt for commercial mixes like Philodendron Potting Mix, Premium Aroid Potting Mix, and Miracle-Gro Indoor Mix.

Remember to check the seal pack for any added fertilizer before feeding the mixes, as it can burn the roots and leaves of the Moonlight due to salt decomposition on the soil.

However, if you start seeing signs like stunted growth and small yellow leaves, fertilize them immediately, as they might be under-fertilized.

Alternatively, you can use organic fertilizer like blood meal, manure, or compost as they are slow releases.

In winter, you can reduce the fertilizing schedule to once every two to three months.

4. Potting & Repotting

When planting, using the right-sized pot of about two inches large than the diameter of the plant spread is equally important as using the right potting mix.

However, given the growth pace of Moonlight, you need to choose a pot two inches bigger than the previous one for repotting every two years.

The rootbound plant shows signs like tight soil, less draining soil, roots poking from the drainage hole, and stunted growth with yellow leaves.

So perform repotting Philodendron Moonlight in early spring, just as its dormancy ends, or if you notice the first sign.

Start by dislodging the plant from the pot gently without making much movement.

Trim out any rotting or damaged roots, which you can differentiate by looking at the healthy, firm and white roots.

Then, place about one-third of potting soil mix in the bottom of the new pot. Set the Philodendron in the pot and fill it with the mix.

Lastly, water the plant thoroughly until the excess water comes from the drainage holes and let it rest under indirect bright light.

It’s best to do the repotting in the daytime when the temperature is around 70-75° F.

5. Occasional Pruning

Unlike most other Philodendrons, Moonlight does not need excessive pruning. It can be attributed to its shrub-like appearance.

However, once you notice yellow, damaged, diseased, and dead leaves, you might have to prune the plant.

Mealybugs and spider mites can occasionally lead to the white cottony substance underside of the leaves, yellow spots and silky webs around plants.

Meanwhile, the small dark green leaf spots, wet sloppy look, rotten smell, and falling off leaves indicate Bacterial blight and leaf spot disease.

As for the diseased plant, prune off the diseased part and apply copper fungicide to prevent future spread.

Ensure you perform the pruning right during the growing season to avoid stressing the plant.

Philodendron Moonlight: All About Growth

Philodendron Moonlight has a unique color-changing foliage that appears reddish to chartreuse neon at a young age and turns into the emerald green on maturity.

The leaves are elongated to oval in shape that turns to have a rugged texture as time passes and gives out the prominent veining.

In proper environmental conditions, the plant blooms beautifully to give out a 6 inches flower that lasts more than a month.

The flower has a white spadix in the middle, surrounded by a pink to reddish spathe.

Propagation Methods for Philodendron Moonlight

While you can propagate some plants through leaves and seeds, the best way to propagate your Philodendron Moonlight is through its stem.

Propagation can be done multiple times over its lifetime and gifted to your plant-loving friends.

Propagating Philodendron Moonlight through Stem Cutting

Among the different methods, stem cutting is the easiest to perform and handle, allowing rapid growth of the new plant.

Prepare the stem for propagating your Philodendron Moonlight.

• Find a leaf with a node attached to the main stem and mark the cut area.
• Snip a couple of inches below the node using the sterilized scissors and pruning shears.
• Aim for a quick cut at a 45° angle and avoid any sawing motion.
• Don’t let the stem get compressed or damaged.
• Let the cutting sit for a few minutes until the end is dry.

You can now use potting soil or a vase of water to propagate your Philodendron Moonlight and provide optimum care.

Propagation in Water

Follow the steps below to propagate your plant in water:

• Place the cut stem in a clear vase with clean water.
• Put enough water to cover the cutting node but do not let the stem base touch the vase base.
• You can use a rooting hormone in the water for rapid growth (optional).
• Place the vase where the plant can receive bright indirect sunlight.
• Check the water every few days and change it when it gets murky.

Wait till the root grows about two to four inches to transfer your cutting into a potting mix.

A pot two to three inches bigger than the root system is best for its growth.

Propagation in Soil

Soil propagation is similar to water propagation. However, instead of placing the cutting in the vase, you put it in soil.

Follow the steps below to propagate your Philodendron Moonlight in soil.

• Take the appropriate node cutting off your Philodendron Moonlight.
• Place the stem cutting in a pot filled with its appropriate potting mix.
• Be sure to let the potting soil cover the node of the stem.
• The pot should be kept in a moist place where the plant can receive indirect bright light.

After a few weeks, the roots will grow two to three inches long.

You can begin watering once every 4-5 days at this stage and enjoy the growth of your new plant.

Take reference from the video for visual help!

Philodendron Moonlight Toxicity

If you have children and pets at home, you might need to reconsider keeping Philodendron Moonlight as an indoor plant.

When ingested, common signs of toxicity include difficulty breathing, swollen lips, swollen tongue, and vomiting in humans.

Animals show signs of drooling, pawing at the mouth, decreased appetite, and vomiting.

The plant sap can also cause skin and eye irritation.

So, if you see any of the above symptoms in your pets or child, seek medical attention or contact the immediate helpline numbers.

• Pet Poison Helpline: 855-764-7661
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: 888-426-4435

Where to Buy Philodendron Moonlight?

Philodendron Moonlight being a new variety, makes it rare to have easy access to.

So look at the site below to get Philodendron Moonlight at an affordable price.

FAQ About Philodendron Moonlight

Is Moonlight Philodendron rare?

Philodendron Moonlight is a newly introduced variety from Costa Rica, making its availability rare in most markets.

However, a person with their hands on Moonlight can still propagate and share with the circle.

Is Philodendron Moonlight a climber?

Philodendron Moonlight being a self-heading makes it unique and different from other members of Philodendron as it is not climbing or vining.