One of the great things about Philodendrons, regardless of whether they are vining or non-climbing varieties, is how leafy and full they look. Sometimes, however, you may notice your plant looking spindly and less attractive than when you first brought it home from the shop. What causes this leggy look, and how can you fix it?
Philodendron plants become leggy when they aren’t getting enough exposure to bright, indirect sunlight. An easy solution to this problem is to move your plant to an area that receives more light. In cases where your plant is very leggy, with several vines or stems that have lost leaves, some simple pruning can help your Philodendron recover quickly.
For Philodendrons, a houseplant variety typically considered low-maintenance and not prone to many concerns, legginess is usually the most commonly reported issue since it can be tricky to find a spot with just the right amount of light for your plant. This article aims to explain what leggy growth is, why it happens, and the steps you can take to help your Philodendron recover from this condition and avoid leggy growth in the future.
What is “Leggy Growth”?
If you’ve ever heard someone talking about “leggy growth” on their houseplant, they are typically referring to new growth that looks stretched out, bare of leaves, and much weaker than what the plant usually produces. Leggy growth makes the plant look messy and unhealthy.
What is actually occurring is a natural process called “etiolation”. When a plant grows in a spot with insufficient light, it begins producing etiolated growth to stretch itself toward new sources of sunlight. Think of this as a survival tactic the plant implements when it’s not getting everything it needs to thrive.
For Philodendrons, this type of growth is often spindly and weak, with very few leaves being produced. Non-climbing varieties often look stretched out, droopy, and fragile, while vining varieties sport long stretches of bare stems or crowns that lose most of their leaves.
What Causes Philodendrons to Become Leggy?
Leggy or etiolated growth is caused by an inadequate amount of light for a plant to utilize. As photosynthesis slows and nutritional resources become scarce, the plant is kicked into survival mode and uses its last bits of energy to spread out as far as possible to secure more light.
Philodendrons, under optimal conditions, can undergo photosynthesis at higher rates, creating a surplus of food that they can put towards new growth. This new, healthy growth often consists of sturdy stems or vines with tightly stacked leaves, giving the entire plant a fuller, bushier look.
If light levels drop too low and the efficiency of the plant’s food production is reduced, that growth will begin stretching out, making the most of the remaining resources to try and find a new light source to compensate for the lack of photosynthetic production. In nature, we come across this concept all the time as plants growing in the same area are constantly battling each other for space and resources, such as light. They often have to grow taller or wider to outcompete neighbors for a new sliver of sunlight.
In our homes, however, inadequate lighting often comes down to us not placing our houseplant in the right spot. Philodendrons are moderately fast growers that can put out robust stems and leaves when supplied with lots of bright, indirect light, but if you place them in areas that are too dark, you will quickly see that healthy growth turn leggy and spindly.
What to Do When You Notice Your Philodendron Becoming Leggy
Sometimes it can be hard to recognize leggy growth, especially when you’re looking at your Philodendron every day. Depending on the degree of inadequate lighting, your plant’s growth may turn leggy very gradually, without you realizing it until there is a very noticeable difference. At that point, while there’s nothing to be done to fix the already leggy growth, you can take steps to help your plant recover and start producing healthy growth once more.
Because your Philodendron is producing weak growth due to a lack of sunlight, the first step is to move your plant to a brighter spot in your home. Remember, Philodendrons thrive with lots of bright, indirect light, so relocating them to a spot near a sunny window will stop any additional leggy growth from being produced.
Be aware that most Philodendron varieties cannot handle direct exposure to sunlight, so while they do appreciate being near bright windows, you should make sure they are pulled back far enough so the sun never shines directly onto their leaves.
Many plants are sensitive to drastic changes in their environment, including the light levels they are exposed to. Fortunately, as long as they aren’t being blasted by direct sunlight, Philodendrons can usually handle a move to a much brighter spot in your home without having to acclimate much, helping curb leggy growth that much faster.
After you move your plant to a brighter location, you may notice that healthy growth will eventually resume at the stem tips of the plant, and perhaps you’ll even see new leaves budding in sections of bare, leggy growth. Depending on the new level of sunlight exposure and the time of year, this can often take several weeks or months to witness, so be patient.
What to Do If Your Philodendron is Extremely Leggy or Bare
Once, we hung a pot with a vining Philodendron near a window in the bathroom. Because it is a small bathroom, we hung it a little higher than we normally would to keep it from knocking anyone in the head, resulting in the top half of the plant not receiving as much light from the window as the bottom half.
After a few months of passively caring for the plant, we finally noticed that, over time, it had grown super leggy, with a bald crown and long vines that only had leaves near the ends where they received more light. Yes, even “plant experts” screw up from time to time. The plant was, for lack of a better word, ugly. Because it was so far gone, we knew we needed to take more drastic measures to save the plant. Luckily, Philodendrons respond well to pruning!
When your Philodendron gets too leggy or bare, pruning is often your best, if not only, option to reset your plant in order for it to start producing healthy growth once again. By removing weak, stretched out stems or large bare sections of the plant (in addition to relocating your plant to a brighter location), you are essentially redirecting the plant’s energy into producing new, sturdier growth from healthier sections of the plant.
Philodendrons are pretty robust plants and can handle a pruning session almost any time of year. In cases where you have to do a harder prune, you may want to wait until spring or summer so that your plant recovers faster and starts producing new growth before the winter months slow down growth rates.
To prune back your Philodendron, all you need is a sterile pair of garden shears or a florist knife. Start by removing the worst sections of leggy growth back to a main branch or stem. A general rule for pruning is not to remove more than half the plant at once, so if multiple stems or vines need to go, start with the worst ones and consider waiting a week or two before removing more.
Philodendrons do have a sap that can irritate the skin, so be sure to wear gloves or wash your hands directly after handling the plant.
Within a matter of several weeks after pruning, you’ll likely see new growth beginning at a node just under where you made your cuts. Again, be patient as your Philodendron recovers and slowly starts pushing growth. If you are left with any stem or vine tips that appear to be in good shape, you can always propagate those cuttings in water to create new plants. Philodendrons cuttings root out well in water, so there’s no reason to waste an opportunity to propagate.
In the case of the ill-fated Philodendron, we were able to cut several of the leafy vine tips off the plant and rooted them out as new plants. We owered the hanging pot so it got much more indirect sunlight through the window. After several weeks of the plant looking sad, new leaves began to emerge from the existing stems, and after a few months, new vines began growing down once again. It is now back to its former glory, and we learned an important lesson about keeping an eye on the light levels of our houseplants.
Proper Plant Care Goes a Long Way in Preventing Unhealthy Growth
While it is true that most leggy growth can be attributed to insufficient sunlight exposure, the effects of this situation can be enhanced when the plant is already suffering from improper care. Weaker plants are more susceptible to changes in their environment, so a plant that is already struggling might react more strongly to a lack of light. To combat this, you should always make sure your plant care routine is dialed into the specific needs of your Philodendron.
This means that you should pay close attention to how you are watering your plant, what nutrients are available to it (and whether you need to fertilize occasionally), and what environmental conditions are acting on it (including light, temperature, and humidity levels).
By keeping your Philodendron strong and healthy, your plant will be less impacted by change, and at least temporarily, be less likely to produce etiolated growth when faced with lowered sunlight exposure.
Leggy Growth Takes Time to Correct
Rmember to be patient when trying to fix leggy growth. Although the solution is simple and straightforward, it is not a problem that can be fixed overnight. New growth on plants takes time, and Philodendrons are no different. Even after you correct the issues, whether you move your plant to a brighter location or end up pruning it back, plan on several weeks to months for your plant to fully recover and start pushing healthy new growth.
Making sure your plant care routine is dialed in will go a long way in helping your plant recover faster. Also, be mindful of the time of year. Philodendron growth rates tend to slow down during the winter months, so you should expect longer recovery times if you changed its location or pruned it back in the fall rather than early spring or summer.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve noticed that your Philodendron is looking leggy, scraggly, or bare, it probably needs a new spot in your home where it receives more bright, indirect sunlight. Although it looks like quite a drastic issue, most of the time, your plant will recover just fine on its own once moved.
However, in severe cases, you may want to help your Philodendron along by removing the worst of the leggy growth so that it can redirect its energy into producing healthy, strong growth from sturdier parts of the plant. With adequate lighting and when given enough time to recover, you’ll once again be amazed at how robust and vibrant your Philodendron can grow to be. Good luck!