Philodendron "Tuxla"

This is my grandfather's F-1 Hybrid Philodendron. It is ideal for 4" (10cm) pot production as a Rosette type. It also vines as it matures and makes a great pole or table top 6" (15cm) plant. It is most known for being disease resistant (leaf spots and Erwinina). It also does very well in low light. In homes tolerating below 100 foot candles. In greenhouses, it is one of the few foliage items you can grow under hanging basket Pothos or Ferns. It is very slow to start as a seedling, but once transplanted, P. tuxla finishes very quickly as a 4 or 6 inch pot.

I appreciate all the nice comments on my last month's column. I thought I might continue with a little more history. In the 1950's, my grandfather Horace Anderson became interested in why Philodendrons and Monstera were grown from cuttings instead of seed. This was especially perplexing to him since Philodendrons and Monsteras had huge blooms. He talked to several people and one of them, Bill Evans (the head landscaper for Disney), figured out how to make seed on Philodendrons.

Jolly Batcheller at Cal Poly also figured it out at about the same time. Horace eventually learned how to produce seed and went on to produce several hybrids, P. Anderson's Red, P. tuxmog, P. Theodore and P. tuxla F-1 hybrid. P. tuxla, although rarely grown in the United States, became by far the best selling hybrid in Europe.

It was requests from Europe for Philodendron seeds that started my family's involvement in the ornamental seed trade. He discovered that the best way to obtain Monstera deliciosa seed was from native habitat. Eventually he established a 80 acre Monstera growing area for production of the nice early splitting strain Anderson's Seed Co consistently supplies all year, year after year.

Schefflera arboricola is the most successful introduction Horace ever made. He obtained the original cuttings from the Huntington Botanical Garden and began promoting it as an excellent interior plant. Other notable introductions include Asparagus meyerii, Pisonia verigata, Chamadorea metalica, and Podocarpus henkelli. The Subtropical woody ornamental orders have picked up. Please preorder the quantities you need so we can be sure to fill your orders. The Auracaria excelsa crop from Hawaii looks great so order early.