Houseplant · Araceae
Split-leaf Philodendron
Philodendron bipinnatifidum
Broad leaves slashed into deep lobes rise from one thick, upright stem, giving the split-leaf philodendron its bold, cut-leaf silhouette.
Bright indirect
65–85°F · 18–29°C
USDA 9–11
4–15 ft · 1.2–4.6 m
Overview
The split-leaf philodendron carries huge leaves cut into deep lobes, each one fanning outward from a single stout, upright stem. On a mature leaf the divisions run deep toward the central rib, so the broad blade reads as a series of long, finger-like segments rather than a solid sheet. It belongs to the arum family and grows in South America as a wide, semi-woody shrub rather than a trailing climber.
Age reshapes the plant in plain sight. The lowest leaves drop away one by one and leave behind a thick, trunk-like stem ringed with the scars of old leaf bases, while fresh leaves keep unfurling at the top. The result is a broad, deeply cut crown of foliage held up on a single sturdy column, closer to a small tree than a soft, leafy houseplant.
For all its bold looks, the plant is armed at a level too small to see: every part is loaded with calcium oxalate crystals that sting the mouth and leave skin irritated. Snap a leaf or the stem and the sap that beads up carries that same irritant. That makes it a poor fit around pets or small children who chew leaves, and a reason to wear gloves before cutting into it.
Care
The short version: bright indirect light, steady warmth above 65°F (18°C), and soil held evenly moist but never soggy keep the big cut leaves coming, alongside monthly feeding and high humidity in the growing season.
Light
In bright indirect light the leaves grow to full size and hold their deep divisions. The plant takes a range from partial sun to deeper shade, but harsh midday sun bleaches and scorches the exposed blades, while a dim corner draws out thin, small, widely spaced leaves.
Water
The soil stays evenly moist but never soggy, and the pot never sits in standing water. Let it dry to drought and the leaf edges suffer; let salts build up and the tips brown. Watering eases back through winter as the plant slows and pushes fewer new leaves.
Soil
The roots want a rich, moisture-holding mix that still drains freely and runs high in organic matter. A general potting soil serves an indoor pot well. Texture barely registers to this plant, which takes clay, sand, or loam from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline.
Temperature
Steady warmth between 65°F and 85°F (18°C to 29°C) keeps the leaves expanding year-round. Held above about 70°F (21°C) in summer and above 60°F (16°C) in winter, it stays in growth; a hard chill or frost blackens and kills the tender tissue, so container plants come inside before the cold.
Humidity
As a tropical plant it drinks up high humidity, and the broad leaves look their smoothest and most turgid when the air around them stays moist. It gets by in ordinary room air, but dry indoor winter heat can leave the foliage looking tired and edge-worn.
Feeding
A monthly feed through spring and summer, while new leaves are forming, keeps growth full. A dilute water-soluble houseplant fertilizer or a slow-release product is enough. Overfeed it and salts collect in the soil, browning the leaf tips.
Pruning
Little cutting is needed. The yellowed, damaged, or spent lower leaves are the ones to take off, cut close to the base where they meet the stem. Wear gloves and keep the sap off your skin, since it can raise a rash.
Repotting
Repot only when the roots fill the pot, circling the surface and threading out through the drainage holes. Large, thick-stemmed specimens are moved rarely. A general-purpose potting soil is what goes in when they are.
Overwintering
Where frost reaches, the plant comes indoors before the cold, since its tender leaves will not take freezing. It is hardy outside only in roughly zones 9 to 11, so a movable pot lets you hold it above 70°F (21°C) in summer and above 60°F (16°C) in winter.
Size & spacing
Kept in a pot the plant stays modest, but set loose in a frost-free climate it climbs to 4 to 15 feet (1.2 to 4.5 m) tall and spreads its crown 6 to 15 feet (1.8 to 4.5 m) across. A mature specimen carries those big cut leaves far out from the stout central stem, so it needs a wide, open footprint.
Troubleshooting
The plant wears its health on its leaves and hides its worst troubles down in the roots. A change in the color, firmness, or surface of the foliage is usually the first thing you notice. Match what you see below and act while the damage is still small.
Blackened, mushy roots and a slumping plant
Soil that stays wet and airless rots the roots to a soft, dark mush and can bring root rot to even a heavy, established plant. Tip it out and feel the roots: sound ones are firm and pale, failed ones are brown, slippery, and sour-smelling. Cut the dead tissue off, reset the plant in fresh free-draining mix, and water less from then on.
Fix:
- Reduce watering
- Repot into fresh well-draining mix and trim away rotted roots
- Ensure the container drains freely
Lower leaves yellowing from the bottom up
When the oldest, lowest leaves fade from green to yellow, the cause is nearly always overwatering or too little light. Let the soil surface dry between waterings, make sure the pot drains freely, and move the plant into brighter indirect light. A leaf that has yellowed through will not green up again, so cut it away at the base.
Fix:
- Let excess water drain and allow the soil surface to dry slightly before rewatering
- Move to a brighter spot with medium to bright indirect light
- Remove badly yellowed leaves
Honeydew, webbing, and specks moving on the leaves
Dry indoor air brings aphids, mealybugs, scale, thrips, and spider mites, which leave sticky honeydew, pale stippling, or fine webbing strung across the undersides. Wipe a light outbreak off by hand, then treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Keep the plant away from the others until the leaves come clean.
Fix:
- Wash or wipe off light infestations
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Isolate affected plants until controlled
Crisp, curling brown leaf tips
Tips that curl and dry to brown usually trace to fertilizer salts building up in the soil, sometimes crusting white on the surface. Stop feeding and pour plenty of plain water through the pot to wash the salts out the bottom. Feed again only well diluted.
Fix:
- Stop fertilizing
- Leach the soil by flushing thoroughly with water
- Resume feeding only at a dilute rate
Bleached, papery patches where the sun strikes
Pale, scorched patches burned into the most exposed leaves are the mark of too much harsh direct sun. Move the plant into dappled light, part shade, or bright indirect light. For a sunnier spot, step up the exposure slowly so the blades can harden to it.
Fix:
- Move to dappled sun, part shade, or bright indirect light
- Acclimate gradually before increasing sun exposure
Dark, spreading spots across the blades
Leaf spot, fungal or bacterial, shows as dark blotches on leaves left wet in still, stagnant air. Water at the soil so the foliage dries fast, open up the space around the plant for moving air, and pick off the marked leaves.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation
- Keep foliage dry when watering
- Remove affected leaves
Toxicity
The danger sits inside the tissue itself: every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, sharp microscopic needles that fire off an immediate burning of the mouth, heavy drooling, and swelling the moment they are chewed. No part is safe to eat, and the sap alone can irritate and redden skin. Wear gloves when you prune and keep the plant out of reach of pets and children.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Toxic
The moment a cat's teeth break a leaf, the calcium oxalate crystals drive an immediate burning through the mouth. Thick strings of drool, frantic pawing at the face, vomiting, and hard swallowing follow fast. The mouth and throat can swell, and in rare cases that swelling tightens breathing.
Dogs Toxic
A dog that crushes any part between its teeth is left drooling, gagging, and rubbing at a raw, sore mouth, with vomiting and a sudden flat appetite behind it. The signs usually stay mild and fade within a day, but rare swelling of the airway is worth a vet call.
Horses Toxic
The crystals bite into a horse's mouth and lips the same way, setting loose a stream of drool and a firm refusal to eat. The tissue swells and stays sore, keeping the horse off its feed until it settles.
Rabbits Toxic
A rabbit's small mouth burns on the crystals as any animal's does, so the plant stays well out of reach. Look for drooling and a rabbit that stops eating, a heavy risk in so small a grazer.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep that tear off a mouthful meet the same burning, drooling, and swollen mouth. Most spit out the bitter leaf after one taste, but the plant should never stand where they graze.
Birds Toxic
A pet bird chewing the leaves feels the same raw irritation through the mouth and throat, drooling and plainly uncomfortable. Keep the plant well clear of any bird loose to roam and forage.
People Caution
No part of this plant is food, and a single bite sets the mouth, lips, and tongue burning, with swelling and drooling close behind. Even bare-handed contact can redden and irritate the skin, so wear gloves to prune and keep it away from small children.
Wear gloves when pruning; the sap can cause skin irritation/contact dermatitis. Keep out of reach of pets and children
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Named forms are scarce, but one compact cultivar is distinct enough in size to be worth a look.
'Lundii'
'Lundii' is a compact selloum whose smaller, tighter frame of cut leaves stays well below the size of the species.
How to propagate
New plants come easily from the offsets clustered at the base, and only from seed when nothing else is left to try.
DivisionEasy
Spring to summer during active growth · Several weeks to a few months
The easiest new plants come from the offsets that cluster low around the base of the parent stem. Lift and separate them in spring or summer while the plant is in active growth, and pot each one alone. Each division needs several weeks to a few months to root down and take hold.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Any season, best under warm growing conditions · A few weeks to root
A stem cutting or an air-layered length of stem is the other route, workable in any season but rooting best in warm air, with a cutting taking a few weeks to throw out roots. The thick tree and selloum types are slower to root than the slim climbing philodendrons, so this method is the less certain one here.
SeedDemanding
When fresh seed is available · Slow and variable
Seed is possible but seldom worth it at home. The seed loses viability quickly unless it has been properly processed and vacuum-packed, and the seedlings come up slow and uneven. Keep it for the rare time fresh seed is on hand and the simpler methods are closed off.
Myths
Split-leaf philodendron and Monstera deliciosa are the same plant.
Look closely and the two part ways, even though both belong to the arum family. The name split-leaf philodendron gets pinned on Monstera deliciosa again and again, yet their leaves tell them apart. Monstera opens true holes inside its mature leaves, while this philodendron only slashes its leaves into deep lobes with no holes at all, and it rises on a stout, trunk-like stem.
The genus Thaumatophyllum is the last word on this plant's name.
A 2018 study split a group of philodendrons off into the genus Thaumatophyllum, so some databases now write it as Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum. Kew's Plants of the World Online still treats that name as a synonym and keeps Philodendron bipinnatifidum as the accepted name, so the label is far from final.
Sources
- Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS FPS473)
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Pet Poison Helpline
- Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder