Good afternoon!

I need help pin pointing the reason my Lacy's health has been declining, and I thought this would be the perfect place to post. I've had my Lacy Philodendron for about a year and a half now, and it was doing amazing until I moved it to a different area of the room (both areas in the same room, West facing windows, both seem to get the same amount of light). Ever since I moved it, the big beautiful leaves have been turning yellow or brown and falling off gradually for about 2 months. My poor plant has been reduced to a couple of leggy stems. Since it's been moved the tallest and biggest stems have grown rapidly, about a foot. They are so tall now that they fall to the side without proper support, and I'm afraid hey will break off if I let them lay horizontal like they naturally fall. One good thing that I see is a lot of new growth (constantly sprouting up new stems), though the past month most of the new growth has either turned yellow/brown, fell off and died before it got substantial leaves. I've attached pictures of how it looks now, one that shows how tall it is (I'm 5'11 for reference) and one of the roots. I just repotted it earlier today (also, should I water right after repotting?) any help would be greatly appreciated! I miss my healthy Lacy :(

Hi Wesleysauce,

Tree Philodendron (Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum) grow outside as landscape plants here in Florida where I live so I can't offer much advice on potted plants since I've never tried growing one in a container.

Yellowing and dropping leaves can be due to the soil retaining too much water but if you've had your plant for over a year and it just began acting differently, it might just be adjusting to it's container and the new location.

When growing in the ground, Lacy Philodendrons have a sprawling habit and those big leaves sometimes lay on the ground or on top of each other. As they age, the trunk gets thicker and on older plants, if there are trees in the vicinity, adventitious roots will reach out and attach to and climb the trees. I currently have one beneath an oak tree in my backyard which has roots encircling the tree. At a home we owned for 40 years, there was a large area of these Philodendrons planted on one side of the house and a single specimen on the other side. For the single plant, I removed all of the lower leaves from the trunk so that it resembled a tree, as you can see in the photo if you click on our database link that I provided above.

These are some of the plants currently growing in my yard:


And, here's the one showing the roots encircling an oak tree:

Your plant is reacting to the changes, including light, repotting and maybe watering. More than anything, plants like stable environments that they can adapt to permanently. Find a moderately sunny location and leave it there permanently so the foliage can adapt to that environment. Allow the top quarter of the soil to dry in between thorough waterings. As mentioned elsewhere, this is not an upright plant; it is a low spreading plant as gravity gradually pulls upright new leaves downward. This is normal and not a sign of a problem.