Philodendron ‘Burgundy Princess’

Trade History and Background

‘Burgundy Princess’ is a trade designation for burgundy-dominant Pink Princess material that carries little pink or has reverted toward darker growth. Its exact selection history and formal genealogy have not been settled.

Care for Philodendron ‘Burgundy Princess’

• Support lengthening stems: Add a textured support as the stem begins to extend, fasten it loosely, and give the aerial roots access to the surface.
• Provide bright, filtered light: Introduce brighter exposure gradually to support healthy, compact growth.
• Water a free-draining mix: Use an airy medium that holds moderate moisture and drains freely. Water after part of the root zone has dried, let the pot drain, and remove any standing water.
• Keep growth warm and aired: Allow gentle airflow around the stem, sheaths and crown, and keep the plant warm, particularly while the roots are moist.
• Feed active growth: Apply fertiliser during active growth at the current rate on the product label.
• Choose sound propagation material: Propagate only from firm, symptom-free stem material with a node and a viable bud.

Colour variation and genuine decline in Philodendron ‘Burgundy Princess’

• Several leaves show little or no pink: Make no health intervention for low pink alone. Observe several nodes and keep the plant in good filtered light; healthy growth does not require pink, and light cannot create it.
• One shoot becomes noticeably greener: Keep it for vigour or prune it for appearance according to your preference. A green shoot without damage or spread is not a disease sign, and pruning cannot promise a return of pink.
• The stem or crown becomes soft, wet, or odorous: Isolate the plant, keep above-pot tissue dry, and inspect the stem and roots with clean tools. Remove only confirmed soft dead tissue, correct the wet conditions, and propagate only firm symptom-free nodes.
• Cottony clusters collect at nodes or beneath sheaths: Confirm segmented mealybugs beneath the white wax, then isolate the plant. Rinse or lift off visible insects with tweezers and recheck nodes, undersides, the pot, and the support. A small infestation may be dabbed with 70% or weaker isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab after a 1–2 day patch test, observing fire and leaf-burn precautions. If mealybugs persist, use only an indoor-labelled horticultural oil or insecticidal soap for this plant and mealybugs, applied and repeated exactly as directed.

Philodendron ‘Burgundy Princess’ is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its leaves and stems contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which can irritate the mouth, throat, skin and eyes.
• Chewing may cause burning pain, drooling, swelling, vomiting or difficulty swallowing. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional after exposure, especially if swelling or breathing problems occur.

Philodendron: name and meaning

Philodendron combines Greek philein, meaning “to love,” with dendron, meaning “tree.”

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott established the genus Philodendron in 1829 in Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Literatur, Theater und Mode, volume 3, page 780.