How to Care for Philodendron Brasil?

Originally from South America, Philodendron Brasil is a popular trailing houseplant with two-colored leaves (light green and dark green), offering a playful twist on the common heartleaf philodendron.

A resilient plant with a vigorous growth, it’s a perfect choice for first-time plant owners. It doesn’t matter for the philodendron Brasil if you sometimes forget to water it, or if it doesn’t receive bright light, it’s an adaptable plant that will tolerate a range of conditions.

Still, if you want what’s best for your philodendron Brasil, you should go over my plant care recommendations below. I cover everything from light requirements to propagation.

Size & Growth

As a fast climber and vigorously growing plant, this philodendron variety can reach a spread and height of up to 13 feet. You’re going to need to prune it back to keep it growing fuller and manage its size.

Also, by regularly pruning it, you’ll also keep the root system from developing too fast, reducing the need to repot it too often.

When pruning, you should remove leggy growths, yellow leaves or pale ones. By trimming the plant, you’re encouraging new shoots to form and help your philodendron spread more evenly.

If you want your Brasil philodendron to spread and trail on a support, you can easily guide its vines just make sure it gets enough light, so it continues to grow full and not leggy.

Light Requirements

Although adaptable to low light conditions, philodendron Brasil thrives best in medium light. It grows well enough in shady spots too, does well in bright indirect light, the only concern is bright direct light.

If exposed to excess direct sun, leaves can scorch, so it’s best to keep this philodendron somewhere without strong, direct light.

Indoors you can easily avoid direct light, the concern is when you decide to move the plant outdoors during summer. Pick a spot with filtered light or semi-shade.

Watering

Evenly moist soil is best for this philodendron, although it can tolerate some drought, especially much better than it tolerates overwatering.

Moist soil is not soggy soil, so keep that in mind when watering this plant. A good rule of thumb to follow is to water only when the top inch of the soil becomes dry. Never re-water when the top of the soil is still wet.

Make sure that the pot holding your philodendron Brasil is fitted with draining holes and, of course, that you pick the right type of soil for this plant.

Soil Type

Speaking of soil, this philodendron variety enjoys soil high in organic matter, but which also drains well and it’s loose.

Soilless mixtures or mixtures that contain peat, perlite, vermiculite or sphagnum moss in combination with all-purpose potting soil are all good choices.

If you’re not mixing the potting medium yourself, you can buy African violet soil mix, which has all the properties needed for philodendron brasil plants.

Temperature & Humidity

Average room temperature (65 – 78°F) works fine for this variety. At night, the temperature can get to 60 F, but it should not get below 55 F to avoid thermal shock to the plant.

As a plant native to tropical regions, it thrives in high humidity, so keeping it as a bathroom or kitchen plant will probably best maximize its growth and development.

But there are other ways to increase humidity around this plant, namely investing in a humidifier or simply making one yourself.

Use a tray, fill it with pebbles, pour some water on the pebbles, and your DIY humidifier is ready. Place the pot on the pebbles, making sure the pot stays out of the water.

Fertilizing

If your philodendron Brasil isn’t growing vigorously enough or its leaves are particularly small, you can help it along by feeding it with a weak solution of balanced liquid fertilizer.

Pick one that’s created specifically for foliage plants and feed monthly during the growing season. In fall and winter, you should reduce the frequency or skip feeding.

As with all plants, make sure not to overfertilize and flush the soil here and there to avoid mineral build-up issues.

Potting & Repotting

With accelerated growth, you’re going to need to transfer your philodendron to a larger container each time it outgrows its pot.

Depending on how fast and how well your philodendron is doing, you may need to do this every 2-3 years, or even more often.

Pick a pot that’s usually 2 inches larger than the existing pot. Water the soil the day before repotting. Once the plant is out of the pot, check the roots for damaged, dying or diseased roots, and remove them. After transplanting, water the soil thoroughly.

How to Propagate Philodendron Brasil?

The easiest way to propagate philodendron Brasil is to use a leaf and node cutting. Simply pick a cutting with two leaf nodes to maximize rooting potential. Remove the leaves on the lower nodes, and plant in potting soil or root in water.

Both rooting methods work fine, I haven’t noticed a difference in how long it takes for the cuttings to root. With the water rooting method, it’s just easier to see the progress the plant is making, taking the guesswork out of the whole rooting process.

If you’re rooting in potting medium, use a well-draining mix. You can use only vermiculite or only sphagnum moss to root the philodendron cuttings.

Keep the potting medium slightly moist. Make sure there is enough warmth and that the plant is out of direct sunlight.

Once you see new growths forming, you can rest assured that your propagation efforts have been successful.

Wrapping Up

If you’re looking for a classic philodendron variety with a twist, the Brasil philodendron is something you should check out.

You can grow it indoors without issues, but you can even place it outdoors in summer, in a spot guarded from direct sunlight.

If you do decide to keep this plant outdoors in the summer, in fall and winter, you should move it indoors.

This philodendron’s requirements are simple enough to be met even by first-time plant owners, making it an excellent choice for any foliage plant lover.