She came out of nowhere and involve the houseplant world by violent storm a few long time ago : Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ , an unusual cultivar that looks just as luxurious as her name would suggest .
Below , have ’s have a look at everything you need to fuck to keep this stripey knockout glad and respectable in your home .
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About Philodendron ‘Birkin’
Description
As far asPhilodendron varietiesgo , there are plenty of superstars to prefer from : elegant‘Brandi ’ , rosy ‘ Pink Princess ’ , the velvety‘Black Gold ’ , the fabulousPhilodendron gloriosumwith its huge leaves , all form of spectacularly vary cultivars … and then there ’s Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ , one of the most arresting of them all in my opinion .
No wonder they named it after the noted Hermès bags , the trashy of which trade for around $ 10,000 . Luckily for us , the works is a scrap more low-cost than the purse !
A cultivar apparently result from a spontaneous mutation discover in a clutch of Philodendron ‘ Rojo Congo ’ houseplants , ‘ Birkin ’ ( sometimes referred to as ‘ White Wave ’ ) is shaped like a distinctive Philodendron . It has cordate ( center - shaped ) leaves that are quite modest on unseasoned plants but grow larger with eld .
Its emergence pattern is typical for a climbing plant life , with solid airwave ascendant that allow it to cling onto a erect control surface in hunt of more lightsome .
This being said , you ’re improbable to confuse ‘ Birkin ’ with any other Philodendron , as it ’s easy to recognize by its patterned leafage . The leaves , which have a dark green al-Qa’ida colouring , boast flimsy silvery to emollient - colored veins . Modern ones come out almost lily-white , gradually darkening as they mature .
Where to buy Philodendron Birkin works :
Philodendron ‘Birkin’ reverting?
It has to be mentioned that , as with many other motley plants , the formula on Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ is n’t entirely stable . I ’ve had my Birkins partly regress , which results in leafage that have dapple of stripes as well as amply green parts . You may also incur yours throwing foliage that ’s partly brownish - red in colouring , in all probability a end of its reddish parent works .
Whether these low-down farewell incommode you or not is a thing of preference . I think it ’s kind of cool , and I suppose a lot of houseplant enthusiasts fit in , as they ’ve even come up with a name for it : Philodendron ‘ Birkin Black Cherry ’ .
If you ’re not a fan , you ’re secure off pruning any partially revert leaves to hopefully coax your plant life back into producing regular 1 .
Did you know?If you want a really fancy flora , a pink Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ has also been popping up in the “ plant - o - sphere . ” Its newfangled leaves come out look a rosy pastel rather than cream . Swoon !
Natural habitat
As refer above , Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ is a cultivar . This means it was developed by human beings , in this case through the propagation of a self-generated mutation in guild to produce plants with the same characteristics .
What this means is that , technically speaking , this houseplant does n’t have a natural home ground . Even its parent works , ‘ Rojo Congo ’ , does n’t exist in the wild , as it ’s a human beings - made hybrid of two other Philodendrons . One of the parent was Philodendron tatei , which can be chance in rainforests in much of northerly South America .
The other parent for ‘ Rojo Congo ’ ( that is , the grandparent of Birkin ) was Philodendron ‘ Imperial Red ’ . Yes , another cultivar !
Unfortunately , we ca n’t trace thing back any further than this , because although it ’s be intimate that ‘ Imperial Red ’ was also the issue of a spontaneous genetic mutation , I ca n’t find information on which coinage this mutation occurred in .
In any case , we do know that all philodendron are by nature witness in tropic habitats in the Americas and surrounding islands . As long as you treat your ‘ Birkin ’ like a rainforest industrial plant , you should be in the exculpated .
Caring for Philodendron ‘Birkin’
Light and temperature
If you ’d like to grow a Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ in your home , one of the most important factors is promiscuous . Your plant needs a bright surroundings or its beautiful variegation will melt , but it wo n’t respond well to being blast with direct sunlight .
That intend your ‘ Birkin ’ is best off on a windowsill that experience bright but collateral light ( anywhere but Dixie - facing , in most compositor’s case ) . unreal lighting should also work well . Be certain to always acclimatize houseplants step by step if you ’re moving them to a higher - luminosity spot , or their leaves can burn !
As for temperature , remember that Philodendrons are tropicals that apprize a toasty surround . Room temperature and above should work well for yours . A bit lower should n’t be an effect either , but they start to struggle around 50 ° degree Fahrenheit . Frost will kill them forthwith .
Water and humidity
give the fact that most Philodendrons naturally fall out in what is consult to as the “ wet tropical biome , ” it should n’t follow as a surprisal that your ‘ Birkin ’ fuck plenty of wet . Still , it ’s important not to exaggerate it , because inert grunge can lead to root rot even in these water lovers .
During the lovesome and shiny summertime month , your plant should hopefully be develop well , bring about newfangled leave every few week . It ’ll treasure even waterings during this fourth dimension ; you could water when the first two inches of the filth have dried out . This may be as often as every other day in hot climates .
In wintertime , houseplant run to go partially or totally dormant . They need less water during these darker months , so you may irrigate your Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ when the dirt has plump about halfway dry . In nerveless climates , you may end up watering less than once a week in winter .
Rainforest houseplants like this one apprise high atmosphere wet point . The ideal would be 90 percent or up , but that ’s rarely naturalistic unless you keep your ‘ Birkin ’ in a terrarium . seek to keep the humidity level at least 50 percent or more , though . You may want to consider run a humidifier if it on a regular basis drop below this .
Soil and planting
Climbing plants like this Philodendron do n’t tend to rely too much on their earthly lead , instead using their legion Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree for support . They ’re not used to growing in dense soil , and their roots are tender to rot if right drainage is n’t provided .
In the home , it ’s therefore a respectable idea to furnish yours with a nice and airy ground mixture that allows supererogatory water to debilitate cursorily .
This preference for a light soil eccentric is something that many members of the family Araceae ( the Aroids ) have in common . you’re able to buy pre - mixed Aroid dirt in peculiarity nurseries or flora shops , which should be perfect for your Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ .
If you opt mingle your own Aroid soil ( store - buy ones tend to be quite pricey ) , that ’s also easy enough . You ’d need to buy a few different part , but as I said , the resulting soil mixture can be used for a whole bunch of different houseplants .
Everyone ’s commence their own preferences , but a basic Aroid ground could dwell of :
If you run to underwater , you’re able to add some more moss to help secure the soil does n’t dry out too quickly . If you ’re more of an overwaterer , you’re able to increase the percentage of perlite or bark , which will help promote drainage .
As for a plantation owner for your Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ , it does n’t count much what it look like as long as it has a drainage yap in the bottom . There should also ideally be blank for a moss celestial pole or industrial plant totem . Although these plants can keep themselves upright when they ’re small , they begin to fall over as they mature if you do n’t supply support .
have yours wax will result in good growth , and it give a more instinctive look as well .
Recommended mathematical product for Philodendron Birkin plant guardianship :
Fertilizing
One matter you ask to be intimate about Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ is that it ’s definitely not among the fastest - acquire Philos . This is not strange : motley plant have less chlorophyll , so they ca n’t photosynthesize quite as efficiently as their fully immature cousins .
What this mean is that a ‘ Birkin ’ does n’t take large amounts of fertilizer . If yours is chug along nicely during the outflow and summertime growing time of year , however , you’re able to utilise some dilute liquid houseplant fertiliser every calendar month or so .
Do n’t use plant life food during the wintertime quiescence period or if your Philodendron is n’t doing well . Its roots wo n’t be capable to swear out the nutrient , and can actually be damage by them or else .
recommend plant food for Philodendron Birkin :
Pruning
Generally speaking , tropical houseplants like this one do n’t involve much in the way of pruning . broken leaves will naturally break down off once the plant does n’t need them any longer , and they can be removed once they ’ve gone crispy .
One situation in which you may desire to clip a Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ is if it is likely losing its grade insignia and you ’re not a fan of the ensue face . make out the stem to the last unreverted leaf can sometimes help oneself to stimulate plants to lead off producing their normal vary leaf again .
As you ’ll see in the section below on propagation , you may easily use any top cutting you remove from your ‘ Birkin ’ to grow a whole Modern specimen .
Dividing or repotting
Although a happy and sound Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ will bring forth the episodic offset , it commonly does n’t lean to be the best candidate for division . That forget us with repotting , which can be done every other yr ( although yearly is also all right if yours is a particularly quick grower ) .
Repot during spring , going one pot size up if need be . Provide some sassy dirt and water a little more sparingly for a few weeks .
Propagating Philodendron ‘Birkin’
Did you bed that the only elbow room to produce a new Philodendron ‘ Birkin ’ is through nonsexual mean — that is , propagation ? If you set about to grow one from seed , it would n’t look like the parent plant at all . This is because it wo n’t have that same inherited chromosomal mutation that causes the jolly stripy convention .
industrial plant nurseries produce these Phildendrons en masse shot by means of tissue civilisation . This proficiency countenance them to grow intact plant from just a few cells . If only we had that option in our plate ! Still , at least we ’ve nonplus veritable generation at our disposal , and it works almost as well .
If you ’d like to reproduce your ‘ Birkin ’ , you’re able to do so by taking cuttings . The easiest is a top cutting : You decollate your flora and coax the head into growing beginning . The brainless mother flora will re - sprout from a unlike growth point , meaning you now have two .
Here ’s how you do it :
Common questions about Philodendron ‘Birkin’ care
Is Philodendron ‘Birkin’ toxic to cats and dogs?
fellow member of the kinfolk Araceae , let in the total genus Philodendron , are considered mildly toxic . Their sap control microscopic Ca oxalate crystals , which wo n’t poison your pet if it learn a bite but which can cause vexation and swell in the mouth and pharynx .
Just keep your plant away from your furry friend if you need to keep any incident !
Why is my Philodendron ‘Birkin’ getting yellow leaves?
There can be various reasons , but the most common is water issue . Is it potential the soil is soggy or stays damp for too long ? Or alternatively , have you forget to increase watering frequency in summertime ?
Remember that it ’s also normal for plants to eventually shed their lower leaves . As long as this does n’t bump at an alarming charge per unit , it ’s nothing to worry about .
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:193193-2
Arndt , M. C. , Gile , I. R. , & Beerman , S. J. ( 2023 ) . Molecular Studies to assess Variegation of Philodendron var . Birkin - Are Genetic Mutations Responsible for Variegation in Philodendron Birkin ? .
