Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well...after allllllllll these years I've learned that philodendron and pothos are NOT the same!
Thank God I never fed philodendron to my skink!!! Who knows what would of happened to her...especially with the quantity that she goes through!!
It's weird, because my mom and I were discussing these plants just today! I was bugging her to hand over all her pothos, so I can have them for Dill. She called them philodendron too. (actually...now that I think about it...that's probably where I "learned" that from in the first place! No one tell my kids that mothers don't actually know EVERYTHING!!)
I am posting a pic of each of them, just in case anyone else is interested.
POTHOS

PHILODENDRON

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Kim

Hi Kim,

It is a very common mistake b/c they both have the same heart-leaved foliage, vine, and do well in low light. They are closely related. Did you know you can take a cutting of either (pothos works better) just below a leaf node (where leaf meets stem), stick it in water and it will root? They can survive that way indefinitely so long as you change the water, feed it occasionally, make sure the water doesn't get slimy and pull off dead roots as needed and keep it out of diret sun. So now you never have to buy another pothos!

lele

>>Well...after allllllllll these years I've learned that philodendron and pothos are NOT the same!
>>Thank God I never fed philodendron to my skink!!! Who knows what would of happened to her...especially with the quantity that she goes through!!
>>It's weird, because my mom and I were discussing these plants just today! I was bugging her to hand over all her pothos, so I can have them for Dill. She called them philodendron too. (actually...now that I think about it...that's probably where I "learned" that from in the first place! No one tell my kids that mothers don't actually know EVERYTHING!!)
>>I am posting a pic of each of them, just in case anyone else is interested.
>>POTHOS
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>PHILODENDRON
>>
>>-----
>>Kim

I've been inspecting my plants...including the TWO I bought today...
the one that Dill has been eating is heavily varigated...like the one in the picture.
The others I have are varigated...but not heavily. How do I tell if it's a philodendron, or a pathos???

I have tons of cuttings from the one in Dill's cage in a glass of water...they just don't grow fast enough compared to how quickly she eats them!

Now, I'm worried about ever giving her the new ones. The didn't come with plant spikes in them to identify them (
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Kim

hmmmm...how did that emoticon get in there? it was SUPPOSED to be a sad face ...
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Kim

Pothos are a light to medium green with yellow bits in them. The other ones are dark green and look almost fake, and are a lot larger than the pothos. Pothos are about maybe 2-3" wide in the leaves. The others are closer to five inches wide, and are also a lot thicker in the leaves, and are waxy. Hope that helps some. It's easy when you have both to compare, but looking at one without the other is sometimes hard.

Kim,

The photos you posted were properly labeled. Pothos always have some variegation - there are gold/yellow and silver/cream forms. Their leaves tend to be a bit thicker and have a more waxy feel.

The heart-leaved philodendron (the one you showed) is solid green and has a more matte texture (little to no sheen) and is about the same size as pothos. The one that chimbakka is referring to is the Monstera deliciosa

The site I sent you to yesterday has photos in the sidebar and you can click to see bigger.

Hope this helps!

lele

>>Pothos are a light to medium green with yellow bits in them. The other ones are dark green and look almost fake, and are a lot larger than the pothos. Pothos are about maybe 2-3" wide in the leaves. The others are closer to five inches wide, and are also a lot thicker in the leaves, and are waxy. Hope that helps some. It's easy when you have both to compare, but looking at one without the other is sometimes hard.