I looked for a topic on this, but couldn't find one. Sorry if it is a duplicate post.

My philodendron keeps putting off more "pups". Can they be removed and potted elsewhere? If so, at what size/ how should I remove them? Thanks for any help or suggestions. It currently has 4 offshoots.

i can't see the leaves - but that looks like 'Xanadu'? can we see a full plant pic?
i'd say you can separate them right now - they probably have their own roots too - so that should not be a problem at all.

No, it's a Philodendron Bipinnatifidum.

Thanks for the info! I figured they would be large enough at this point, but I have never tried to separate from a philo. and was unsure if they would have their own roots or how that would work.

don't just cut off at the base though - if i remember right, Ph.bipinnatifidum won't root from just top cutting, UNLESS it had good aerial roots too .
on the 1st pic the stem in front - that looks like it's branching from the main stem , but am not sure. if it is - don't just cut it off, unless you have roots too. it doesn't have any aerials that i can see though.
you can get aerials, if you tent the base with plastic and you can throw in some damp loose long-fibre sphagnum inside to keep it steamy - it will produce aerials in no time. you can then cut it off and bury the aerials.
on the 2nd pic - those 2 babies seem to be coming from the soil - so if they are connected to the main trunk - you'll need to cut them off.
problem is , when you bury the cut - it can start rotting. so you need to dust it with cinnamon or anti-fungal. but it can still rot.
when i was rooting a big philo trunk i layered it in loose peanut shells (sterilized for 4 min in microwave, of course - to allow air access to prevent rot at the base. but still i had to scrape it sev times and paint it with peroxide solution,etc. it's best kept totally dry to heal. but then how do you plant it in soil?
so, IF you have to cut and bury in soil - perhaps sealing the cut with warm melted wax might be a good idea? may be somebody can pitch in from FL - they have lots of them there - practically in ev yard.
you can wrap the roots with damp towel and then plastic when you get it out of the pot to separate and expose the stem cut to air-dry for an hour or two. and cinnamon dust.
depending on what's happening in the pot - it might be best to cut off the main trunk instead of off-shoots, leaving the rest attached together - this way the off-shoots will be less disturbed, with fewer cuts to rot.
i see a couple of gianto roots coming off the main trunk - is that all or are there more?
what does the main stem look like at the top. how many leaves? full pic, please?

I don't necessarily have to cut them off or remove them, I just don't want it to run out of pot room. I could go up about 1 more size, but beyond that, it would be too large for me to be able to move around.

wow, that's a good looking plant! it looks good clustered like that. much better then a single! it's a good proportion too - sev sizes coming up ladder like.
why fix it if it's not broken :)?
the smaller pot probably limits its size too - it can grow WAY bigger. if you feed it well and the mix does not compact too much - it'll just keep going.
do you know what's in the mix, when was it last xplanted?
i'll find a pic from fla ...this one is about 10' tall :)

Fl people say that when frost hits, the main trunk dies and then shoots new trunks from the base. also people trim them - that is if you can inspect the trunk and find an eye - that's a new growth point - you can saw it off to that point and root the cut-off (if it has good aerials! otherwise you might loose it). and it should produce new growth point. but then it can start looking funny, you know? people usually just take big trunk down and let the rest grow and fill in. But yours looks so-o nice and healthy on top, it would be a shame to top it.
the strangest thing that i found - is you can pinch off the growing tip, like you pinch reg plants and it will not loose the existing leaves, but it might branch from the lower nodes and/or produce more off-shoots at the base....
quote:
Pinch out the center leaves on all growing tips with your thumb and fingers after approximately three to four weeks [of pruning] . This encourages the plant to send out new shoots instead of growing taller and creates compact foliage.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/c...

and one more - the smallest offshoot with yellow leaf ...and the narrowing trunk on main indicates lack of nutrients. it's a heavy feeder. do you fertilize it?

Good info once again, thanks! Yeah, the ten footer is what I'm trying to avoid. Lol. I just didn't know if allowing it to fill in would be a detriment to the plant when keeping it potted. I last reported in September. I use cactus palm and citrus mix with some bark/organic matter mixed in.

Yeah, I fertilize, but I'm a procrastinator, so it got fertilized a little late. That was a few weeks ago when I fed. I keep it protected under an oak. It only gets morning and evening sun, with various times of dappled light in between. Is that sufficient? It seems to be much happier there than where I had it before, which got a lot of sun--our sun is usually pretty intense.

dappled sun when it's very hot and intense - that's good. it CAN take sun if grown completely outdoors in FL.
but since it's a house plant part of the year and you don't want exuberant growth, part shade is best, it'll burn otherwise.
but in such a small pot and good light you'll need to fertilize ev month in summer, even ev 2 weeks with weaker solution. i don't like that thinning of the main trunk - not a good sign!
since you repotted yourself you'll know what the roots are like? or you left center ball undisturbed ?
you should've seen where those off-shoots connect to the trunk and whether they have good roots of their own?
anyways, if you're still considering to separate it, here's a post i found - so it can be done.
http://www.thegardenhelper.com...
i really do hope smbody can comment who's done it a few times...
the main problem with big plant/small pot outside is drying up fast especially in your hot area - and it really suffers when dried up, it needs to be kept moist. you'll need to water it sev times a week, may be ev 2nd day - to run off. you can do one thing to improve the situation: make sure there are big holes in the bottom - position it over a nice bare patch of soil that is not hard (amend it a bit even) - it'll grow roots thru the pot and then it'll be easier to water it. of course, it might grow faster and bigger...and then you'll have to hack the roots off in the fall to take it in. many people bury the pots IN the ground completely and then lift them - much easier to maintain them moist this way. so..just a thought to consider.
i think i've exhausted the well-wishing propositions at this point
please, post when you get some news - am curious how this will go. from time to time people ask what to do with these monsters - the info will come in handy on next round..

I don't bring it inside in the winter (I've only had it for 1 winter) . This past winter it maintained its leaves all winter long and picked up right where it left off when the spring warmth started. I got the plant (my first philo) from a friends mom who bought a house on Padre Island. There were two of them out front of their house where they were in full sun all day and constantly were in bad health/scorched. She dug them up and gave me one of them. She did a very thorough job of hacking back the roots and left only a small root ball. I am honestly amazed that it is even doing this well, this fast--given the circumstances. She has hers in her giant window-filled living area which faces the water and it gets bright indirect light all day, but mine is doing better than hers. I didn't pay any attention to the offshoots when I got it because I was so focused on getting in potted and healthy.

and why do you want to keep it in the pot then, if you can leave it outside thru winter? only to keep it smaller or you're concerned that it might die off in severe winter?
they are quite hardy. people report that after 17-20F they can die down, but come back in spring.
see here

No, no, none of that. I would love to put it in the ground, but I live in at rent house currently, and don't want to donate my plant to the house.

Hmm put it in a little bigger pot, these plants can burst pots when they grow faster.
Or you put it with the pot in the ground.

i see the problem :). you can possibly inconspicuously dig the pot in 3-4" into the soil, to keep it from overturning - it'll root thru the bottom and should be able to get more water this way. in your hot temps and small pot - you can't miss more then a couple of days watering. the hotter it gets, the more water it will need. and if it dries up it will decline fast. they hate drying up. you can then cut the roots in the fall with the knife - should be easy enough while they are not woody - i'd recommend doing it in the fall once the temps go down. and doing it ev year. may be even twice - in spring too, if there was any winter root growth down - just to keep it from bursting the pot
the roots will also anchor it - so it won't flip in the storm. and if you need to be away for more then a few days that can save the plant.
there's another trick for longer absences - get a 1/4 braided acrylic core nylon rope in HD, soap it up so it wicks better and push one end down as far as you can into the pot - at the side. then push it in around the perimeter full circle, 1-2" deep below the soil level and drop the loose end into a bucket with water (a liquid detergent giant container works well, very sturdy - you can duct tape it to the side of the pot, so it does not flip). putting some mulch on top of the soil would conserve moisture too. it's not that hard to do - i do it for my balcony plants all the time.

I definitely don't have an issue with watering as of late, with all of the rain we have been getting. When it isn't raining constantly (which it has been for weeks), I water it almost daily. I just don't want it to suffer from being potted. The slight burying and nylon rope are good hints/tricks. Thanks