Q: My philodendron plants are very large and are putting on “pods” among the leaves. The pods come out at the bottom of the leaves near the main stalk. I can find nothing in any of my gardening books that help me to understand what these are. Can you please help me? Thanks a bunch.

A: I suspect the plant you have is called a Tree philodendron or Selloum, Philodendron bipinnatifidum. This plant can grow rather rapidly and reach heights up to 15 feet as well as a spread of 15 feet. It may be sensitive to the deep freezes we sometimes have here in Northeast Florida so you may want to protect it if we develop a hard freeze (28 degrees for more than 4 hours). It can be grown in full sun or partial shade in a wide variety of soil types and is slightly salt tolerant. The pods are probably the structures covering the flower which is called a spathe; the flower portion is called a spadix. The spathe will be greenish white, similar to the structure produced by a peace lily. It will produce a few seeds which can be easily propagated by placing them in moist sphagnum moss. Obviously you are taking good care of this plant because it is healthy enough to produce flowers and seed. Good luck and enjoy your plant.

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