Some plants are pretty dull and others tend to be high fashion. The Philodendron Summer Glory is one of the high fashion girls! She likes to flaunt her beautiful pink veined leaves and pink backsides.
The plant has heart-shaped leaves that unfurl with a unique red hue then mature to a shiny green with yellow veining. It is considered an upright terrestrial plant and not a climber. It will grow along the soil surface and will not climb. You can use a moss pole or coco pole to support its growth, however.
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Philodendron Summer Glory Background and History
The Philodendron Summer Glory is a rare hybrid that was bred by Lariann Garner in August of 2016 so is a relative newer hybrid plant. It is a combination of an unnamed Bob McColley Philodendron hybrid and pollen donor Philodendron gloriosum.
The common name for this plant is the Philodendron Summer Glory. The botanical name is Philodendron gloriosum ‘Summer Glory’.
Toxicity
As with all philodendron species, the Summer Glory is toxic to both humans and pets. It contains calcium oxalate crystals, which when ingested can be harmful.
Chewing or biting into this plant will release these crystals and cause tissue penetration and irritate the mouth and GI tract. In rare instances, it can also cause swelling of the upper airway which can make breathing difficult. It is best to keep your plant away from small children and pets.
Philodendron Summer Glory Care
Water Requirements
Be sure to give your Summer Glory a good soaking when watering. You should water it when the top several inches of the soil have dried out. Don’t let it sit in wet soil, however, or this could lead to root rot. Always use a pot with a drainage hole.
Depending on the time of year, you may only need to water once weekly. This can be in the spring and summer months, when the growth is more rapid. During the more dormant months (fall and winter), you may not need to water as often.
Light Requirements
The optimum light requirements for your Summer Glory is bright, indirect lighting. This will be best for the growth of your indoor plants, but it can also tolerate medium light levels. If necessary, you can also use grow lights to give added light to your plant.
Too much light or direct sunlight can burn or damage the leaves, so be careful with the location of your plant. Too little light can also lead to having a leggy or scraggly plant with slower growth and smaller leaves.
Soil Requirements
When deciding on a soil mixture for your Summer Glory, be sure to choose one that is well draining. There are many soil mixtures designed for houseplants that include additions such as coco coir, perlite, bark, and other things to help with drainage.
Temperature and Humidity Requirements
The best temperatures for your Summer Glory range between 60 and 85 degrees F. If you can keep it in a room with warmer temps like this, it is ideal. Of course, if you can combine the warmer temps with higher humidity, your beautiful plant will love it!
The humidity level is best kept at a higher level. You can accomplish this by using a pebble tray or by using a room humidifier. Most normal room humidity is sufficient for your Summer Glory, but if you notice it needs a more humid environment, you can take these additional steps to increase the humidity.
Pests and Diseases
Common pests for Summer Glory plants are aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites. These can be easily treated if caught early on. Your first course of action should be to isolate any infected plants. Move them away from your other houseplants to prevent the transfer of the pests.
You can remove the aphids from your plant with soapy water. You can also use neem oil. Mealybugs can also be treated in the same way. To prevent spider mites, increase the humidity levels and regularly mist the plant. Spider mites can also be treated with insecticidal soap or neem oil application.
Fungal infections and root rot are the two most common diseases for the Summer Glory. The fungal infections are usually brought on due to excessive moisture and not enough air circulation around your plant. These are easily preventable.
Root rot is also easily preventable by not overwatering your plant and by ensuring your pot has good drainage holes in the bottom. These are the two easiest ways to prevent root rot from happening!
Pruning and Repotting
Regular pruning of your Summer Glory helps your plant stay healthy and encourages new growth. You should always remove any dead or yellowing leaves from your plant so they don’t take away nutrients from the healthy leaves.
If you have a lot of trailing vines on your plant, you can remove these to help maintain the shape of the plant. The vines you cut can be propagated for new plants.
You should also be sure to keep the larger leaves of your plant clean from dust and debris. The plants take in oxygen and if they are dirty, won’t be able to do this. Using a soft cloth with plain water to clean your plant leaves should be sufficient to keep them clean.
Check your plant at least once a year, preferably in the spring prior to the start of the growing season, to see if it needs to be repotted. If the roots are growing out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot, then it’s time!
Remove the plant from the pot and untangle the roots. If they are too long, you can cut them back a bit. Place the plant into a pot that is at least one to two inches larger than the old pot. Also be sure to use new soil as the plant will need the nutrients from the new potting soil mixture to grow properly.
Common Problems
Wilted Leaves
This is typically due to overwatering your plant. If you overwater it, the leaves may become wilted and mushy and eventually die off. Keep to a regular watering schedule allowing the soil to dry out a bit before watering again. This should help prevent wilting leaves.
Drooping Leaves with Brown Edges
This can be caused by underwatering your plant. As mentioned above, be sure to maintain a regular watering schedule for your plant. If you don’t, the leaves may slowly turn yellow and the edges will turn brown. This can easily be prevented with regular and even watering.
Yellowing Leaves
This can be caused by many different reasons, so you may have to do a process of elimination to figure it out! It could be due to overwatering, underwatering, not enough light, too much light, or maybe you have an insect problem.
You will need to examine the plant, do some detective work to determine exactly which problem exists, then fix the problem. All of the above problems are easily solved as long as you take the time to check your plant and keep a regular watch on it.
FAQs
Misting should not be necessary for your Summer Glory as long as you maintain sufficient humidity levels in the room you keep the plant in. The humidity in the room should suffice and misting should not be needed as long as the room has enough humidity.
Yes, you should keep your Summer Glory away from both heating and A/C vents. Your plant needs to maintain even temperatures and avoid any cold drafty spots.
This will just make it hard for your plant to grow and may stunt its growth. Keeping it near a heating vent can also dry it out unnecessarily.
It is possible that it will grow in low light, however, the optimum light conditions are bright indirect light. Keeping your plant in low light conditions will only stunt its growth. Morning direct light is also okay for your plant, but be sure to keep it out of hot direct afternoon light.
In Conclusion
After learning about this stunning plant, even the name – Summer Glory – strikes a chord with me. It sounds like a plant that shines just by its name! I think I’ll have to get myself one.
Keeping your home or office filled with beauty is always a good idea. Plants tend to give you a feeling of health and life. And some of them, like the Philodendron Summer Glory, will add more beauty and life as they grow. As always, keep on growing.
If you love Philodendrons, check out the amazing Philodendron Pink Princess plant!