Light
Bright indirect • approx. 10,000–20,000 lux
Araceae
Philodendron gigas
- Curated selection:
Every plant is hand‑picked for health and visual appeal, so you receive a strong, well‑established plant.
- Representative photos:
Product images show a typical plant of this variety. Natural differences in leaf number, shape or variegation are normal, your plant will still match in type and quality.
- Size details:
Listed sizes refer to pot diameter (cm) and approximate overall height (cm) from the base of the pot to the tallest leaf or stem.
- “Get What You See” items:
If you are buying the exact plant shown in the photos, this is clearly stated in the size section.
- Individual photos:
One‑off photos are only provided when this is explicitly mentioned in the size section. - For special traits or small quirks, please check the full product description.
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Your new plant has just travelled a long way and needs a calm start in its new home. For step-by-step unboxing and first-week care, check our after-delivery care guide. For deeper tips on how your plant settles in over the next weeks, read our houseplant acclimatization guide.
- Care basics , Main hub with links to all houseplant care guides.
- After delivery & first week , Unpacking, first placement, and early recovery.
- Light, How much light houseplants really need indoors.
- Watering , When to water and how to avoid root rot.
- Substrates & roots, Potting mixes and drainage for strong root systems.
- Humidity, When humidity matters and what actually helps.
- Fertilizing, Simple feeding routine without burning roots.
- Problems & pests, Yellow leaves, brown tips, bugs, and fixes that work.
- Semi-hydro, How to run low-maintenance mineral substrates.
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Care at a glance
Philodendron gigas
Watering
Water when ~30–50% dry
Substrate
Airy + fast-draining • Light moisture buffer • Bark-based • Medium-chunky
Temperature
Ideal: 18–29 °C • Avoid below: 15 °C
Humidity
Humid 60–80 % +
Growth habit
Climbing hemiepiphytic herbaceous perennial.
Support
recommended
Growth speed
High
Max size indoors
Max. height with support: 300 cm • Max. spread: 150 cm
Toxicity & safety
Toxic
Origin & habitat
Native to Panama
Outdoor growing
Outside from 15 °C · sheltered spot
How to read these values
These care values are quick reference points for indoor growing. Use them as a guide, then adjust for pot size, substrate, temperature and how quickly the substrate dries.
For more detail, read the full product description or visit our Plant Care Guides.
- Light: level and approximate lux at leaf level.
- Watering: “% dry” shows how far the substrate should dry before watering again.
- Substrate: structure, drainage, moisture retention, base material and particle size.
- Temperature: “Ideal” shows the preferred range; “Avoid below” marks the cold-stress threshold.
- Humidity: target range; steady conditions usually matter more than exact numbers.
- Growth habit: how the plant grows, such as upright, climbing, trailing, clumping or rosette-forming.
- Support: whether a stake, pole or trellis is needed, optional or unnecessary.
- Growth speed: expected pace under suitable indoor conditions; use as a guide, not a promise.
- Max size indoors: realistic long-term indoor size under good conditions.
- Toxicity & safety: irritation, toxicity or physical hazards such as spines or bristles.
- Origin & habitat: native range, hybrid background or typical habitat where relevant.
- Outdoor growing: when a potted indoor plant can be placed outside and what outdoor protection it needs.
Philodendron gigas
Philodendron gigas is a Panamanian climbing Philodendron whose juvenile and mature leaves can look noticeably different. Young plants usually show smaller, deep green, velutinous leaves. Mature plants can produce much larger ovate to narrowly ovate blades on long petioles, with fresh leaves sometimes opening bronze or coppery before hardening darker.
This species grows as a wet-forest liana in Panama. Its appressed-climbing stems have short, thick internodes, semi-persistent cataphylls and velvety, moderately leathery leaf blades. Young plants stay smaller at first, then open up as the stem attaches and adult foliage develops.
Philodendron gigas juvenile and mature leaf traits
- Juvenile leaves: Young plants usually carry smaller, dark green, velvety leaves before the adult shape develops.
- Mature blades: Adult plants can develop larger ovate to narrowly ovate leaves with a matte upper surface.
- Petioles: Long, near-round petioles carry the larger adult leaves away from the climbing stem.
- Growth habit: An appressed-climbing stem benefits from a pole, plank or rough vertical surface.
How Philodendron gigas develops with age
Philodendron gigas can look restrained when young because the juvenile leaves have not yet reached their adult size or shape. As the plant matures, the blades lengthen, the velvety surface becomes more pronounced and the petioles create a more open climbing outline.
Young stems can be less firmly attached until aerial roots find a suitable surface. A moss pole, plank or rough support gives those roots a place to anchor and helps the plant carry its larger foliage more steadily.
Care for Philodendron gigas as a velvet liana
- Support: Add a pole or board early so aerial roots can attach as the stem lengthens.
- Light: Place in bright indirect light; too much direct sun can mark the velvety leaf surface.
- Humidity: Higher humidity helps new velvet leaves expand with fewer stuck edges.
- Watering: Water after the upper 25–30% of the mix has dried, keeping the root zone evenly moist but airy.
- Substrate: Use bark, coco chips, perlite and a moisture-holding base for drainage with some even moisture.
- Temperature: Keep warm, ideally 19–28 °C, and protect from cold windows in winter.
- Feeding: Use a balanced fertiliser during active growth to support larger leaves and steady stem extension.
- Potting: Use a pot with drainage and repot when roots have filled the container or the climbing support becomes unstable.
- Propagation: Propagate from stem cuttings with at least one viable node; single leaves without a node will not produce a new plant.
- Pruning: Cut above a node to shorten the vine or redirect growth, and remove damaged leaves without rubbing the velvety surface.
- Semi-hydroponics: Can adapt to mineral substrates such as pon, pumice, lava or LECA if transitioned carefully and kept evenly moist but well aerated.
- Growth rate: Usually moderate indoors, with larger leaves developing once the stem is warm, rooted and firmly supported.
Philodendron gigas velvet leaf issues
- Stuck new leaves: Raise humidity and check that the plant is not drying out heavily between waterings.
- Undersized adult leaves: Check whether the stem has firm support, enough light and active roots.
- Leaf edge crisping: Look for dry air, irregular watering or heat stress near radiators.
- Dull or marked leaf surface: Avoid rough wiping, check for pest activity and let dust lift gently with airflow or a soft brush.
- Pests: Check petioles, leaf undersides and new growth for spider mites, thrips, mealybugs or scale.
Pet safety for Philodendron gigas
Philodendron gigas is toxic if ingested because the tissues contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Keep it out of reach of pets, especially while new leaves and aerial roots are easy to bite.
Philodendron gigas species background and etymology
The genus name Philodendron comes from Greek roots meaning tree-loving, reflecting the tree-climbing habit common in the genus. Philodendron gigas was described by Thomas B. Croat and published in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1997. The epithet gigas means giant. Mature plants can develop large leaves once the stem climbs and settles into adult growth.
Order Philodendron gigas for a Panamanian velvet climber that develops from compact juvenile leaves into large matte adult foliage.
Plant names, growth habits, natural habitats and indoor care guidance are checked against trusted botanical, habitat and horticultural references before publication.View our plant care resources and references.
Philodendron gigas
Sale price€8,75
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Philodendron gigas
Sale price€8,75
FAQs about Philodendron gigas – copper new leaves, humidity, and support
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