Plant Info
The Philodendron Silver Sword is a wonderful little plant that is an extremely fast grower. The baby leaves have a pretty standard “leaf” shape — but as the plant matures, especially if you give it some support, you’ll see the leaf shape change, ending with two lobes and a long spear-shaped leaf blade, which is what hastanum means!
Common Name(s)
Philodendron Silver Sword, Silver Sword
Botanical Name
Philodendron hastatum
Botanical Family
Araceae, the arum family
Mature Size
Very large! Leaves can be 2′ long, vines can grow more than 10′ long.
Lighting
Watering
Humidity
Adapts to household humidity, but prefers higher
Soil Mix
Flowers
Small and insignificant!
Hardiness
Keep above 15C/60F to prevent damage.
Native Region
Southeast Brazil
Toxicity
Mildly toxic to pets and people alike!
The leaves — especially juvenile leaves — have a wonderful silvery sheen to them that catches the eye easily, leaving this philodendron a great choice for a statement plant in a bright section of a room, so long as you give it some support to crawl up! Remember, in the wild, these philodendrons climb up trees looking for more light, and mature as they climb!
Like most houseplants, Silver Swords need bright, indirect light! Unlike some, though, you don’t need to worry about super high lighting — a medium-bright spot in a room will do it fine!
Make sure to check out our general article on lighting!
Like most philodendrons, your Silver Sword needs to dry out 1/3 of the way, approximately, between waterings — oxygen is important!
Make sure to check out our general article on watering!
While, as with all houseplants, higher humidity will always be appreciated, your Silver Sword will do perfectly fine in household humidity.
Make sure to check out our general article on humidity – including a couple common myths!
The Philodendron Silver Sword is (sometimes described as semi- or hemi-) epiphytic — meaning that it very often spends at least part of its life entirely in the trees, taking root in the crooks of trees. Because of this, their root systems aren’t generally very large, but they do need to have a lot of oxygen around their roots — so they need a well-draining mix (to give them that oxygen), but with things to grab on to.
Suggestion: Start with 2 parts peat-based potting mix or coco coir, mix in 1 part perlite, and 1-2 parts orchid bark.
Don’t know why you’re adding these things? Check out our article on potting mixes!
There aren’t really any different types of Philodendron Silver Sword!
….Yet!
Want more baby plants? You can easily propagate with stem cuttings, the exact same way as you do with most vining houseplants!
Simply cut off a section of stem with a few leaves, just above a node (where the leaves meet the stem), take off the lowest leaf or two (making sure to leave at least one leaf on it, but ideally a few), and then stick it in water or a moist substrate, making sure that at least one node stays moist. Put it in a bright spot for a few weeks, and you’ll see roots forming!
Check out our articles on water propagation, soil propagation, or air layering for more details on common propagation methods!
As with most houseplants, the most common problems are
All houseplants are susceptible to pests, including mealybugs, spider mites, and more. This plant isn’t known to be particularly susceptible to any specific pest!
Complete Care Guide: Philodendron Silver Sword
Complete Care Guide: Silver Sword Philodendron
Plant Info
Care Guide
Types
Propagating
Common Issues
Care Guide
Types
Propagating
Common Issues
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In this article, you’ll find…
Lighting
Watering
Humidity
Soil Needs
Take a look at this care guide as an infographic!
Lighting
Watering
Humidity
Soil Needs
Tags
- Aglaonema
- Alocasia
- Anthurium
- Apocynaceae
- Araceae
- Asparagaceae
- Calathea
- Croton
- Ctenanthe
- Dracaena
- Epipremnum
- Euphorbiaceae
- Hoya
- Marantaceae
- Philodendron
- Scindapsus
- Spathiphyllum
- Stromanthe
- Syngonium
- Zamioculcas