What Can Be Planted With a Philodendron?

Growing Philodendrons

• Philodendrons tolerate low light levels but grow best in indirect light or sunshine filtered through a sheer curtain. Normal household temperatures of 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 65 to 70 during the night are ideal. Keep the soil moist but not soggy and fertilize philodendrons regularly with a water-soluble houseplant fertilizer. Clumping types of philodendron such as P. selloum are common landscape plants in Florida and other tropical areas. Plant them outdoors in full sun or light shade in well-drained, acidic soil.

Chinese Evergreens

• Like philodendrons, Chinese evergreens, Aglaonema spp. and cultivars, grow well in low light and moist soil. This long-lived plant comes in both green and silver- or gray-variegated cultivars. To combine with trailing philodendrons, put the vining plant near the container's edge to trail down over the pot or stake them to add a vertical element to the mixed planting.

Boston Ferns

• Boston ferns, Nephrolepsis exaltata, have 3- to 4-foot arching fronds and are excellent pot or hanging basket specimens. They combine well with climbing philodendrons that are staked to grow upward; the lush fern hides any legginess the philodendron develops. In addition, Boston fern's delicate foliage is a good foil for the larger-leafed, clumping varieties, such as the fiddle-leaf philodendron.

Pothos

• Often mistaken for a variegated philodendron, pothos, Scindapsus aureus, also known as devil's ivy, has the same heart-shaped leaves as P. scandens. However, the leaves are mottled with yellow or white splotches, depending on cultivar, and the leaves and vines are thicker and more substantial. Pothos needs the same care as philodendron and combines well in the same container.

Other Plants to Consider

• Other indoor plants that enjoy the same growing conditions as philodendrons include parlor palms, Chamaedorea elegans, snake plants, Sansevieria trifasciata, and peace lilies, also called white flag, Spathiphyllum spp. Heart-leafed philodendron make an ideal ground cover for a rubber tree plant, Ficus elastic, which needs a large container.

Outdoor Companions

• If you live in warm-winter areas where philodendrons grow outside year-round, consider planting them under pines that have been pruned. They also grow well near azaleas and camellias.