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Species library › Philodendron › Philodendron gigas
Aroids Well documented

Philodendron gigas

A giant climbing Philodendron from central Panama whose velvety, matte dark-green heart-shaped leaves reach 81–125 cm long. It is known only along the El Llano–Cartí road in Panamá Province and Guna Yala, where it climbs trunks 15–20 m into the canopy of wet lowland and premontane forest. It needs warmth, high humidity and a great deal of vertical space.

Philodendron gigas
Photo: Chhe (talk), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodClimber

Where it grows wild

A hemiepiphytic vine that climbs appressed to trunks (scandent when young) to 15–20 m, with reddish sticky sap, in premontane wet and tropical wet forest.

The description gives no elevation; GBIF records along the El Llano–Cartí road sit at 300–370 m.

Panama

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its Public domain licence, unmodified.