Philodendron strawberry shakes are one of the most beautiful variegated plants. If you love collecting rare and exotic items, then these variegated plants would be the best option to amuse them in your rare collection. These gorgeous plants have multi-colored variegated plants, which is the main beauty of these plants.
These plants are only available in some specialized stores because these plants are very hard to find. However, they can be found naturally in the southern tropical rainforest in the United States of America.
What Is Philodendron Strawberry Shake?
Philodendron strawberry shake plants are very rare and have different kinds of colors, such as yellow, orange, and red, on their leaves. The leaves of these plants are very large and elegant. The stem of these plants is also colored red, so they can be a greater aspect of the interior decoration of your house.
These philodendron strawberry shakes need proper care if you want to keep them at your house. You must use a pot enriched with soil that contains perlite and compost. Sunlight is not required directly to these plants try to place them near windows. Fertilize them once a month so that they can take essential nutrients from them. Below is a brief guide on how to take care of these plants and show every aspect of their requirements.
How to Take Care Philodendron Strawberry Shake?
Taking care of these plants is very necessary because they can suffer from various problems. Factors like light, temperature, humidity, fertilizers, pruning, potting, repotting, pest, and diseases can play an important factor in the caretaking of these plants.
Light Requirement
Philodendron strawberry shakes do not require direct sunlight; instead, they need indirect light. Therefore, try to place these plants a little far away from the windows of your house so that when the sun is very harsh at the time of 12 AM – 4 PM, it will help to prevent them from harmful ultraviolet rays.
Direct sun will make soil dry more quickly and make leaves scorched. Direct light does not affect these plants in any way, but it can make your plant look dull and unattractive. Philodendron strawberry shakes make several new colors in low light conditions, and the size of these variegated plants is smaller than other philodendrons.
However, in case you use synthetic light, it might now no longer be a problem. You will want fluorescent lights or LED development lighting if your home would not have sufficient windows; otherwise, you need to maintain the vegetation inside the internal room of your own home.
Water Requirement
Philodendron strawberry shakes need very less water during the winter seasons, around once in 10 – 15 days, but in the summer or spring season, it requires water once a week, which is around two times more than in winter. Make sure not to let your plants suffer from water logging, but you can still keep your soil moist. Root rotting can be caused due to water logging in plants.
If you are not sure about the time when you should water your strawberry shake, then you might use an old technique to check the water in the soil, use your fingers to check the tip most the soil in the pot, and if it feels wet then you don’t need to water your plant, but if it feels dry, then you can water your plant. Make sure to let your soil dry completely before watering them again. The best method to water the philodendron strawberry shakes is the soak and drain method, and below are some tips on how to use this method.
To soak the substrate completely, you should pour water on the base of the plant very slowly.
After that, water will drain from the drainage holes, which is done while potting. Let them sink entirely until they get dried 100 %. Then, do the process of drying in the kitchen sink or bathtub.
You can put plants back in their try after this whole above process. This method is a copy of their natural method, which is during heavy rain in the tropical rain forest.
Soil Requirement
These plants are also known as aroids; this is the family name of philodendron strawberry shake. A well-drained soil that contains a high amount of organic matter. The normal mix that you use in your house plant mix would be ideal for these variegated plants, but they need some substrates like compost and perlite. You can also use a mix suggested that is suggested by an expert.
- One part of a coir
- One part of perlite for some extra drainage
- To increase the acidity of soil and to provide them aeration, use one part of orchid bark.
- To help philodendron strawberry shakes reduce impurities and increase the porosity of the soil, you can use one and a half parts of horticulture charcoals.
- Use ½ part of worm casting to prove a nutritional boost to your plants as they are rich in nature.
Temperature Requirement
All philodendrons can be found in sub-tropical and tropical regions, so they prefer warmer temperatures. Therefore, you should maintain the temperature of your house between 54 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit because this is the perfect range for these plants to survive and for better growth. Try to keep your plants away from locations that are drafty.
Humidity Requirement
Philodendron strawberry shakes love to survive in a high humid environment and maintain an average 60 % to 70 % of humidity level. You can also run some tools like humidifiers near plants. These tools will only provide humidity to plants and will not make your whole house humid.
Fertilizer Requirements
Fertilizing these philodendron strawberry shake plants is very necessary to work to do because they need regular nutrients. They need to fertilize once a month during their growing season. You can use any normal fertilizer which is produced in the market for normal indoor plants and will be necessary for the job done.
Some experts also recommend diluting the fertilizer to half strength before applying them to your variegated plants. It would be ideal to stop fertilizing philodendron strawberry shake during the late fall and winter season because, at this time, these plants slow down their growth and require very less nutrition at this time.
Make sure not to feed salty fertilizers to these plants because more salt in their soil can develop toxins in the soil. And if your soil is already salty, then try to rinse the soil for a few minutes by placing it in the sink for a few minutes. Let the soil drain completely before putting the plant in its original location.
There are few signs which point toward nutrient deficiency
If the leaves of your plant start to turn yellow or growth is stunted, it means there is a deficiency d nitrogen in your plant.
Leaves becoming older and turning to dark green color or even dropping off the leaves mean that your plant is suffering from phosphorus deficiency.
Turing of older leaves in brown color and become wilt then it suffers from potassium deficiency.
Calcium deficiency can be seen if plant new growth is stunted
If yellow edges start to appear on the leaves of these variegated plants, that means they are dealing with magnesium deficiency, and sulfur deficiency can be seen if new growth turns yellow.
Pruning
Philodendron strawberry shakes do not need some specific pruning needs. But still, pruning is necessary for all plants, and dead leaves should be removed in order to prevent plants from wasting nutrients. If your leave turns yellow, then they won’t survive.
Potting
This is one of the most critical processes while planting philodendron strawberry shakes. You have to be extra careful while doing this process. First of all, gather all the materials that you will need while potting these plants. The basic material for potting is a pot, new potting soil, and water. Select a pot of normal size to provide these variegation plants with proper spaces to grow. Now choose the fresh soil for your plant and fill your pot with them.
Check the roots of your plants properly before planting them in the soil, and if you see any kind of problem, you must cut those roots till that problem attacks another root. After all of these processes, provide a proper amount of water to your plants.
Repotting
Repotting philodendron strawberry shake – If you want that your plant grows older, then you might repot your plant annually. While repotting, you often divide your plant into multiple other small plants. Repotting would be ideal for your plants when they are at their growing stage or season, mostly in summers or late falls. This will allow for growing healthy with plenty of growing time.
When Should You Repot Philodendron Strawberry Shakes?
Before you repot your plants, experts recommend checking the roots of plants to confirm that they are started wrapping around the edge of the previous pot. If this happens, then this would be the perfect opportunity to repot your plants because your plant has already grown its root throughout all the sand available in your previous pot. Here are some common signs when you know to repot your plants
- Stunted growth of your plant
- Roots are around the edge of the soil
- Some roots are also coming out of drainage holes
- You can do it annually if you want a larger growth of your plant
How Can Repotting Be Done?
After checking all the signs, you can follow the steps that are given below.
Choose a new pot and only choose a larger pot, usually 2 or 3 inches larger than the previous one, to provide them enough space to grow.
Your pot must have drainage holes, or if not, you can make them with a cutter; these holes will help to prevent soggy soil around the roots of your plant.
Fill your new pot with soil halfway, and try to remove your philodendron gently from the current pot and place it in the new one.
Now water is properly because new soil holds the moisture better than the old soil.
Keep the soil moist more than usual for the first few weeks to help roots settle properly.
Pests and Diseases
These problems are very common in all plants, and philodendron strawberry shake can also suffer from these problems, so let’s find out about problems and their solutions.
Pests
most common pests that can affect these philodendron strawberry shakes can be easily found in every household plant, such as scales and spider mites.
Scales – These are upgraded versions of mealy bugs; these pets sap and suck essential nutrients from your plants. But these pests do not move around your plants and choose one location only for their work. Scales are identical to hard brown spots of stems or leaves of plants, and if they start stacking your plant, the health of your plant will decline.
Solution – You may use alcohol to kill these plants’ pets. Additionally, you can easily rinse your philodendron strawberry shake under a gentle shower. This is the easiest way to kill pets on your plants.
Neem oil treatment is also effective for your plants. And you must continue your treatment until your plants get rid of pests permanently.
Diseases
fungal infections and bacterial infections can affect your philodendron strawberry shakes, but one of the most common problems that people might face is root rotting in their plants, and this happens from overwatering your plants.
When the leaves of your plants start to turn yellow or fall down, that means your plant is suffering from root rot problems. It can also affect the stems of your plants as the base of your plant start to turn dark brown in color. You can easily treat them by cutting the rotten root.
Height and Growth Rate
These plants have moderated growth, and they grow around 3 feet tall; you plant them at your home, but naturally, they can get up to 5 feet. The leaves of these plants are very beautiful larger than normal plants. The size of the leaves is around 1 foot wider.
Does Philodendron Strawberry Shake Have Flowers?
These plants do not produce any kind of flower if they are grown indoors, but in their natural habitat, they grow some beautiful flowers such as spathe flowers.
How to Propagate Philodendron Strawberry Shake?
You can propagate these plants through the stem cutting method, which is very easy to use. Use a cutter or stem cutting tool to cut a stem between the growth nods and place the cutting in a glass of water. Try to keep them away from direct light. Keep the cutting stem for a few weeks and provide them indirect light. Then, you can transfer the stem when it grows slightly.
Is Philodendron Strawberry Shake Poisonous?
These variegated plants or any other philodendrons are toxic for human beings and animals. These plants have some amount of calcium oxalate, which can be responsible for skin irritations. Ingesting these plants can be very dangerous because it can cause swallowing, vomiting, and drooling due to irritation.
How Much Is Philodendron Strawberry Shake Worth?
These plants are rare in nature and hard to find, so they expensive than usual plants, and their price may vary according to the size and color of their leaves; they can be range between $ 500 to $ 1000.
Compared to Other Similar Plants:
Philodendron Strawberry Shake vs. Jose Buono
Both plants are similar in many ways, like caretaking, diseases, and many other common problems. But they are still different from each other in many ways, such as the colors of their leaves are very different from each other. Strawberry provides you with catchy eye colors, while Jose Buono has more natural colors. Growths of these plants are also different because Jose Buono needs a pole to grow because they are climbers, but strawberry is a common plant.
Philodendron Strawberry Shake vs. Pink Princess
The leaves of these two plants are different from each other in terms of colors. Strawberry offers you bright red-colored leaves, while pink princess provides you brownish-red stems.
Some Common Problems
The most common problems in these plants are that they are prone to waterlogging excess amount of water can easily damage these plants, so make sure only to water these plants once a week, and you must check that soil is dry or wet before watering them. You can check the dryness by using your fingers.
Final Words
Philodendron Strawberry shake is one of the rarest and most beautiful plants in this whole world. It contains some eye catchy colors in its leaves, which can make your house look more beautiful from the inside. Taking care of these plants is very easy if you follow the above car-taking guide, and it would be the perfect choice for you if you love collecting rare things.
