Caring for your new Philodendron Erubesens, commonly known as the Pink Princess Philodendron is relatively easy. Like many philodendrons, water thoroughly and when the top ½ inch of soil is dry, then it’s time for another watering. These plants are native to Colombia, and live in dense, jungle environments. Keeping this in mind, its light and water requirements may be different than say, a saguaro cactus.
When growing these plants indoors, it is best to keep them within about a foot of a bright window. Eastern and Western will offer it the best lighting throughout the day, and direct indoor light also helps to speed up its growth. During winter as the sun stays lower in the sky, I try to move mine from their eastern window into a brighter south-facing window to maximize their exposure to the sun, as I don’t really like the look of grow lights around the house. It is possible to grow in lower light situations, but keeping it too far from a window will slow its growth and watering needs.
Fertilizing this plant is another piece to caring for this magnificent plant. Typically they will only need to be fed during the summer while the growing season comes into full swing around April/May. To keep this plant happy and growing during longer summer days, it is recommended to use liquid growth fertilizer at half strength and mix it in your watering can every other time you water. Personally, I prefer to use slow release tomato fertilizer for my plants. I’m partial to Hoyas and love to see their flowers during the summer! You can find this very easily at your local garden center, and I place about a half teaspoon on top of the soil around late April when it starts getting warmer. I will repeat this process twice in the growing season during late June and again in early September to keep this plant fed for the season.
Watering the pink princess is super easy like most philodendron. I check in on these guys about once a week or 5 day in the growing season to look in on the soil moisture. I have found that they aren’t too fussy about getting dry, but too wet and you may risk its roots rotting. With ample light in the growing season, you’ll probably find yourself watering the plant more often in the summertime. This in mind, it can sometimes be a bit of a game to see if your plant is ready for water. Don’t be afraid to stick your finger down into the soil to check how deeply it’s dried out!
When your Pink Princess is getting a lot of light, you may notice more and more variegation in its leaves. I have seen growers having success in their eastern windows to showcase more of that quintessential pink coloration.
Another trick I’ve learned is if you enjoy a balanced variegation in the leaves of the pink princess, cut the stem down to the node you’re trying to mimic. This can help to regulate the amount of variegation in your leaves, and push out new growth similar to the leaf node where you cut.