How to Grow & Care for Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’ (2024)

Are you interested in adding Strawberry Shake to your house? But don’t know where to start? You are not the only one who doesn’t know about planting them; I was also facing the same problem.

When I decided to plant Strawberry Shake, I first researched to ensure a positive result. To assist you, I have explained all my implementations for growing Strawberry Shake.

If you truly want to add them to your houseplant collection, you must follow all the basic requirements necessary for their survival. Furthermore, if you encounter any problems, you can ask me in the comment section.

Some facts:

• The plant is native to the rainforests of South America.
• The plant is a rare plant having white spade-shaped leaves which start to get darker when they get more mature.
• If you have any pets in your house you need to be careful as Strawberry Shake is toxic to the animals as well as kids.

Quick takeaways:

Scientific Name	Philodendron erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’
Common Name	Strawberry Shake Philodendron
Light	Bright indirect sunlight
Watering	Water if the top 2 inches of soil are dry
Temperature	55 to 80ºF (12 to 27ºC)
Hardiness Zone	USDA Hardiness Zones 9b  to 11
Humidity	60 to 70%
Soil Type	Rich, quick-draining, loamy
Soil pH	5 to 7 (acidic to neutral)
Fertilizing	A balanced feed once a month in spring and summer
Repotting	Every 2 to 3 years
Pruning	As needed to remove dead leaves
Propagation	Root in water or soil
Toxicity	Toxic to humans and pets
Mature Size	36 inches as a houseplant
Bloom Time	Rarely flowers indoorS

How to Grow Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’?

Planning to add Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’ in your house gardening then it’s a great plan that has unique pink, yellow, and cream coloring. The plant is basically expensive to acquire and is extremely rare and I am here to help you in growing and caring for  Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’.

You can grow Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’ by propagating using stem cutting the following are some steps to propagate Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’ you need to follow:

• Cut a stem from a healthy strawberry shake and for cutting you should use a pair of sharp pruning shears or scissors.
• Make sure to cut the stem between three or five nodes to have at least one leaf.
• You need to remove the bottom leaves from stem cutting but leave some top leaves.
• After stem cutting prepare a glass container having sphagnum moss or peat moss or water.
• In case you are using sphagnum or moss you need to make sure to soak the moss to rehydrate it.
• After that put the stem cutting into the container and make sure to put the stem fully into the water.
• Now next you need to find a place where the plant gets bright indirect light and that is having plenty of humidity.
• In case you dont have such a spot you need to take a clear plastic bag and place the bag over the top of the cutting which will help in maintaining the humidity for growing the plant but you need to remove the bag once a week upto 10 to 15 minutes.
• You need to keep the sphagnum moss moist all the time but if you propagate the plant using water you need to water the plant once a week.
• You will notice the root will grow within a couple of weeks
• After that, you need to prepare a small poy having moist but well-draining potting mix and then plant the cutting in the soil mixture. 
• The last step is to water the cutting unless the excess water drains from the pot.

How to Care for Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’?

You need to maintain the plant environment according to the native place of the plant and for that I have explained all the ways and requirements you need to do for healthy growing the plant such as:

• Light 
• Fertilizer
• Soil
• Temperature
• Pruning 
• Potting and repotting
• Watering

Light:

• For growing the Strawberry Shake you need to provide the light that is bright, indirect light.
• The perfect range of light should be between 10,000 to 20,000 lux.
• Providing the plant with a good amount of light gives the plant with best color variegation.
• You need to protect the plant with full sun because the leaves of the plant are very delicate to burn.
• You should place your plant in a south-facing room to get a good amount of light but protect the plant from direct rays.

Watering:

• Don’t water the plants again and again as the plants are native to the rainforest because the rain is every second day.
•  Instead of strictly watering the plant you can check the top 2 inches of the soil if you find it is dried out you need to water the plant immediately.
• Water the plant slowly over the surface of the soil and make the soil to absorb it deeply.
• Make sure not to place the pot over the water as the plant roots are not able to tolerate wet soil.

Temperature:

• The ideal temperature for planting Strawberry Shake ranges from 60 to 80ºF (15 to 27ºC).  
• The plant grows well in higher temperatures.
• For additional heat, you can also keep the plant outdoors but bring it back if when the temperature drops as the tolerance level of is below  55ºF (12ºC).
• Avoid the plant from freezing temperatures or cold wind as that will kill the plant.  

Humidity:

• If we talk about the strawberry shakes in Philodendron’s native rainforest there the humidity level of the plant is between 70 and 80%.
• But in the house maintaining this much humidity is quite hard so the ideal humidity is considered from 60 to 70%.
• If you keep the plant at 40% or lower humidity the plant leaves will start getting curled.
• For maintaining the humidity you can also try misting the leaves every day but rather than that you can make the pot to place over a pebble tray filled with water.  
• You can also use a small humidifier to maintain the humidity of the strawberry shake Philodendron. 

Soil:

• The pH level of soil for planting Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’ ranges from 5 to 7.
• You can also use commercial soil for growing strawberry shake plants such as aroid mix.
• You can also make the soil mix easily by mixing 40% orchid bark, 30% potting soil, 20%peat moss, and 10% perlite.
• You can also mix 100% of peat moss with potting soil to meet easy soil requirements.

Fertilizer:

• In the case of using fertilizer do remember not to use too much amount of fertilizer that contain chemical salts that can damage the leaves of the plant.
• The perfect ratio of mixing the fertilizer is 15-5-10.
• The perfect time for mixing the fertilizer is at the beginning of the spring, summer, and fall seasons.
• The right way of using the fertilizer is by spreading it closer to the outside edge of the pot not by spreading it all over the soil surface.
• To use liquid fertilizer dilute it to the recommended strength and then apply the fertilizer once a month in the growing season.

Potting & Repotting:

• The time for repotting the Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’ comes in every 2 to 3 years after the plant starts becoming root bounding.
• If you notice the roots of the plant are growing out of the drainage holes and need more space to grow than you need to repot the plant.
• For repotting, you need to choose a pot that is a few inches big in size and has enough drainage holes.
• To select the pot you can use a glazed or unglazed clay pot or a plastic one that has a good amount of drainage holes.

Pruning:

• There is not much need to prune the plant as the strawberry shake is able to grow moderate pace and forms in an attractive shape naturally.
• In case the plant grows in big size you can cut it at that time.
• In case of dead or damaged leaves, you need to trim off the leaves as in that stage the plant will not smell good and it does look terrible and in that case, they will attract all the diseases or insects.
• Remember always to use sharp and sterilized scissors.

Conclusion:

The  Philodendron Erubescens ‘Strawberry Shake’ are very slow-growing plants as they are naturally occurring hybrid plants so you need to take care of the plant. You need to check the plant with common problems like growing pests, spider mites, etc. Regular misting needs to be done, and another way of caring for the plant I have explained above.