Re: Philodendron 'Xanadu' leaf mutations

Dear Zach,

What you have observed are deformations, all commonly observed on this species of Philodendron.   You will also see ''double blooms'' on one peduncle, ''double spadices'' within a single deformed spathe, etc.
In time (years!) the plant MAY ''grow out'' of these chemicals and become a nice looking plant.
I believe these deformations are caused by the method that this plant is produced by the millions in tissue culture, or by chemicals the young plants are treated with to cause dwarfing and/or many plants growing and clumping together.
See my articles on P. xanadu in both Aroideana # 25 (where it is described as a new species By Dr. Croat, Dr. Mayo and myself) and my follow-up article in Aroideana # 31 where I touch on the ''whys'' of what chemical treatments MAY be doing to this interesting species, and picture plants which over years have grown out of the chemicals.

Good Growing,

Julius Boos
WPB,  FLORIDA

From: zdufran@wdtinc.com
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 16:41:29 -0600
Subject: [Aroid-l] Philodendron 'Xanadu' leaf mutations

I have been growing a Philodendron ‘Xanadu’ for about 6 months.  A couple of weeks ago I noticed two odd features (mutations?) that I had never seen before.

The first is that two stems have “fused” together – all the way from the base of the stem to the leaf, including the first lobe of the leaf on one side.

The other possible mutation is a small extra leaf(?) rising from the midrib near the base of one leaf.  It reminds me of the small leaf that grows in the middle of the cladode of Ruscus hypoglossum.  (See this blog post with pictures: http://itinerantgardener.blogspot.com/2009/01/tricksters.html)

 You can see my pictures of both mutations here:

http://myfolia.com/journals/39643-weird-leaf-mutations

The thumbnail images are links to the full size images on Flickr.  There is one image of the small, extra “leaf” and four images of the fused leaves.

Has anyone encountered these 2 growth habits before?  Are they normal or do I have a special plant? 

Thanks-

Zach DuFran

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