For the fans of rare Aroid houseplants, another peep is under discussion. The Scindapsus Treubii, are famous yet rare indoor plants popularly grown for ‘vintage looking’ foliage. In nature, these plants crawl on the ground until they find a host tree to climb upon and flourish. While they stay on the host tree, the leaves get bigger in size with a thinner shape. Curbing their climbing nature indoors, they would love to grow around support like a brass sphagnum pole.
Apart from being an eye-candy, these fellows act as air purifiers in your home. Sounds interesting, eh? Let us learn more about these resilient and low-maintenance peeps, the Treubii plants along with their varieties, care, and propagation.
Scindapsus Treubii Classification
Family: Araceae.
Genus: Scindapsus.
Species: S. treubii.
We usually give an introduction to the genus to help you get a better understanding of the plant.
Genus Scindapsus
Scindapsus are flowering Aroids, the majority of which are epiphytic creepers. Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Queens Land, and some areas of western Pacific islands are the origin of these plants. These plants are grown on a large scale for commercial selling purposes. Moreover, hybridization is performed to create more unique plant varieties.
Scindapsus has a close resemblance to its sister genus Epipremnum. Both the genera have many members who are pretty hard to differentiate by appearance.
Scindapsus Treubii Plant Features
Size
- The height of the plants depends upon the growing conditions. In good conditions and support, they may get around 6 to 8 feet in length.
Leaves
- The thick and sturdy oval to heart-shaped leaves grows on smooth stems.
- Each mature leaf may get about 12 to 60 centimeters in size.
Flowers
These peeps grow un-showy flowers on warm days. However, you will rarely see them blooming indoors.
Air Purification
These plants are added to the NASA list of air-purifying plants. They remove harmful pollutants from the air like formaldehyde. Thus, it creates a healthy living environment by creating clean and fresh air to breathe.
Toxicity
Just like other members of the genus, these plants are toxic for both animals and pets. So, make sure you keep them away from the plants to avoid health risks.
Resilience
These perennial plants are hard to kill and come with a long life. Unless you get to do some major No-Nos, the plant stays alive. These Nos include totally forgetting or over-watering the plants, longer exposures to direct sunlight, stronger drifts, and severe unsuitable temperatures.
These peeps are even stronger against issues like fungus and pest attacks.
Scindpsus Pictus Treubii
The Treubii is commonly confused with its sibling Pictus plant. Both of them belong to the same genus and have striking and confusing resemblances. However, the main distinguishing feature between the two is the narrower leaves of the Treubii plant.
Scindapsus Treubii Varieties
The plant is found in two famous varieties;
- Scindapsus treubii Moonlight
- Scindapsus treubii Black
These varieties have slight differences in the shade of the leaves. The Scindapsus Moonlight has milky green leaves and silvery hues in the center. The central silver hues sometimes make it known as the Scindapsus treubii Silver. On the other hand, the Scindapsus treubii Dark has deep green leaves with no silver shade.
All the other features including the care and requirements of both of the varieties are the same.
Scindapsus Treubii Care
If you are thinking to get these peeps for your home, just go ahead. You will not need to spend much time on them. Moreover, they are a nice choice for all the beginners, busy fellows, and the lazy peeps out there.
Water Requirements
Water them moderately and allow the soil to dry out between consecutive waterings. They have the ability to withstand minor droughts. However, it is better to avoid neglecting them for longer periods. Tap water may cause a mineral deposit on these plants. Thus, filtered water is a better option.
The frequency of watering depends upon the light, temperature, and humidity of the area. Plant in brighter light and the higher temperature usually need more water. According to an estimate, about thrice a week is enough to keep the plant happy in summer. While in winter, once a week seems to be enough. It is better to keep an eye on the new plant to understand its requirements. This will help you to adjust the frequency and quantity accordingly.
The curling of leaves is usually a sign that the plant is thirsty. On watering, the foliage quickly gets back its fresh outlook. Excess watering is usually ‘bad for the majority of the plants. These peeps also get root rot and other issues due to over-watering.
Sunlight Requirement
Bright indirect light is ideal for these plants. Considering the alterations, they can face shorter durations of direct sunlight. However, inadequate light leads to pale and slow growth of the foliage.
A nice place to keep the Treubii plants will be an east-facing window in the home. South-facing windows are not suitable for these fellows.
Soil Requirements
These plants need a well-draining growing medium providing plenty of aeration. A common houseplant mixture is nice to go well along with them. You can try mixing some perlite with the soil to increase the aeration of the mixture.
If you are considering a domestically mixed medium, soil, orchid bark and perlite in equal proportions are good to go. Moreover, these dwellers of peat swamp forests also do well in peat moss.
Temperature Requirements
Scindapsus plants have an ideal temperature range between 65 to 75 °F(18 C to 24 °C). They are not winter hardy. So, make sure you transfer them to some warm spot as soon as the temperature falls below 15 °F. It is important to mention here, that excessively high temperatures cause the plant to wilt. Thus, a moderate temperature range is suitable for these peeps.
Humidity Requirement
These tropical plants love to be in a humid environment. A moisture level of 40 to 60% is ideal for this Scindapsus. If you feel the atmosphere is dry, mist the plant or add a humidifier in the surroundings.
Yellowing of leaf edges can give you an idea of inadequate humidity.
Fertilizer Requirement
A monthly or a diluted weekly dose of suitable houseplant fertilizer is good in the growing season. You can use a diluted form of 20-10-10 fertilizer. Alternatively, organic fertilizers like fish emulsion or vermiculite are also available. These have an upper hand on synthetic ones in terms of avoiding salt accumulation for the plant.
Nutritional requirements of the plant decrease in the dormant state. Thus, no need to fertilize the plants in fall and winter.
Pot Requirements
Simply select some pot with drainage holes. A good quality terracotta pot with wide holes is an ideal choice. Plastic containers can also work but you need to be extra careful to avoid root rot. Make sure the soil is quick draining and the holes are suitable enough to allow drainage.
Additionally, don’t forget to insert support like a sphagnum stick to help the plant climb up. Organic material is better to help the plant develop the aerial roots, unlike the trellis.
Once the plant reaches the top, you will need to upgrade the support. Alternatively, you can prune the plant to keep it in its adult form. In the absence of a climbing place, the plant will dangle down. This will suppress the growth of the. Moreover, it will start growing into its juvenile form with smaller and narrower leaves.
These plants like to stay root-bound. Thus, no need for repot frequently unless the roots start coming out of the drainage holes.
Scindapsus Treubii Propagation
You can propagate these rare peeps by rooting stem cuttings.
Season
Ideal days to propagate the plants are the warm days of spring by the middle of the summer.
Method
- Cut about 5 to 7 inches long stem from right below a node from the bottom leaf. Make sure there is at least one node on the stem-cutting. You can cut multiple cuttings to enhance the growth process.
- Take a small pot with a suitable growing mixture and water it.
- Now, remove the leaves from the lower side of the cutting and plant them inside the pot. It should be around 3 inches deeper. You can plant about 3 cuttings in a pot to get numerous rooted cuttings.
- Now mist the soil and cover the setup in a growing box or a polythene bag. This will help to maintain the moisture.
- Place the setup at some warm spots with bright indirect light. The cuttings don’t need any help from you except checking for aeration. You need to keep the plastic cover aerated to avoid microbial growth.
- The node will develop baby roots after about three to four weeks. Remove the plastic cover and place the pots normally.
- Spray water the soil mildly, letting the upper layer dry out between consecutive waterings. Strictly avoid over-watering at this stage. Else all the efforts can root out in the form of root rot.
- After about 3 months, each of the stem cutting will be ready to go to its individual pot. Just follow the Scindapsus treubii Care mentioned in the previous section and enjoy your effort.
Summary
Scindapsus treubii are rare, evergreen climbing aroids. The thick leaves, low maintenance, and resilience make them a desirable houseplant, especially for plant lovers. These are available in two popular varieties; the treubii moonlight and the treubii dark.
The Scindapsus moonlight has silver hues in the center of the leaf. While the dark variety has simple deep green leaves without any silvery touch. This plant is hard to kill unless you over-water or keep it in extremely unsuitable temperatures.
The basic care includes bright indirect light, humidity, and watering after the soil gets dry. You can use them for decorative indoor pots. Moreover, don’t forget to adjust organic support to enhance the growth of the plants into their proper adult form. Last but not the least, these plants carry the toxic legacy of the genus. Thus, keep them away from kids and pets.
