Question
I have an indoor philodendron bipinnatifidum that is 34 years old and I have re-potted it into bigger pots about three times.  The pot it is in now is as big as I want it to be in.  The plant has about twelve leaves, is probably six feet across and four feet tall. It is very happy where I have it yet it is now drooping mostly to one side due to the length of the 'stem' coming out the soil. The stem has slowly grown longer as dead leaves have fallen off(it's about 8 to 10" out of the soil now). My question is this. Can I take it out of the pot and cut off the roots so it will sit in the pot lower and grow upright again allowing the leaves to fall symmetrically around the pot? Will 'burying' it deeper kill it?  Lots of sentimental attachment to this plant and just don't want to kill it. Thank you for your information and the confidence I can attain following your advice.

Answer
Hi Tricia,

Your Philodendron is healthy and growing as it should. Of course, that means that it does grow an ever-longer bare stem with the foliage all at the end. It is possible to keep the stem upright, rather than leaning, by rotating the plant so that it gets equal light from all sides. Leaning can also be prevented by moving the stem to the vertical as soon as it starts to lean just a bit. Once it starts to lean, gravity starts to take advantage and the lean increases.

That's the background. You have a couple of options now that your Philodendron stem is leaning. If the lean is not too severe, you can pull the rootball up out of the pot a few inches and then reset it in the same pot at a slight angle so that the stem is exactly vertical. Push the soil down in space alongside the rootball so that the angled rootball stays in place and level off the surface soil. This is a physical solution to a leaning plant that I have used many times and it is often the easiest way to solve a leaning stem problem.

Another option is just to leave the plant as it is. It is healthy now and the lean will not affect the health of the plant adversely in the future.

The riskiest solution is what you are proposing. That does not mean it cannot or should not be done. Essentially, it involves cutting off the top portion of the stem and propagating it as a large cutting. You would need to use a smaller pot so the new roots that form can fill the pot quickly. If you succeed with this approach, your plant will get a new start with virtually no bare stem above the soil and the lowest leaf stems resting lightly on the rim of the pot. The difficulty is that you have to keep the stem in a porous potting mix that stays damp but not wet. Too dry and roots will not form; too wet and the stem will rot.

So those are your options. You will have to decide how important eliminating the leaning stem is to you and how much risk you are willing to take.

I have written an article on plant propagation that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who sends a request to me at [email protected].

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

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