hi, I already uploaded this question to the houseplant forum but I then discovered this and thought I should also ask here. I have a heartleaf philodendron that I have had for a few years, that has never been repotted, and is getting very long. Recently I noticed that the leaves have started yellowing and I think it is probably due to a mineral deficiency or something that may be linked to it needing to be repotted. As it is currently autumn/winter, I thought it would be best to wait until spring to repot, but I dont want to risk it getting harmed, as that is quite a while to wait. I don't have much knowledge on houseplant care so this might be a silly question, but should I repot it now and risk it not growing as well or wait until spring and risk it being harmed? Thanks

As long as it's getting decent light and stays warm it should be okay. Have you ever fertilized it? They aren't greedy, but if you haven't, that might help. If you do pot up, you don't need a much bigger pot and don't need to untangle roots. Just pop it out of the original pot and pop it into the new one as-is.

CalPolygardener said: As long as it's getting decent light and stays warm it should be okay. Have you ever fertilized it? They aren't greedy, but if you haven't, that might help. If you do pot up, you don't need a much bigger pot and don't need to untangle roots. Just pop it out of the original pot and pop it into the new one as-is.

Yes I have fertilized it but not recently, so I will do that, and I will wait for spring to repot. Thanks for the help!

If possible to slip the whole football out of the pot, without breaking it up, you might do so and see how it looks. Because you may find it dry underneath but wet on surface that you normally see.. or the opposite.. sometimes you can be very surprised by what is really going on down in the pot VS what the surface looks like.

Photos would help

Gina1960 said: Photos would help

Here are some pics. The yellow isn't really shown because a lot of the yellow leaves have fallen off and I removed some more dead ones, but more leaves have continued to go yellow and a faster rate than new ones are growing and I'm a bit worried. The leaves also appear a lighter green than have been previously and the leaves appear more sparse.
(excuse the messy bookshelf that it climbs)

sallyg said: If possible to slip the whole football out of the pot, without breaking it up, you might do so and see how it looks. Because you may find it dry underneath but wet on surface that you normally see.. or the opposite.. sometimes you can be very surprised by what is really going on down in the pot VS what the surface looks like.

Unfortunately I tried and I don't think it is possible to slip it out of the pot. 😔

There's no reason to repot. I think it's easier to cut off the best looking parts & stick them in a fresh pot. Keep them in the same direction as they were growing, with the newest part of the stem out, the oldest part in the soil. Bury at least 1 node, but burying 2-3 is better. If you bury them mostly horizontal about 1" under the soil surface, you may get new stems from each of the buried nodes.

Are the roots stuck to the wall? If so, they will leave lines on the paint.