Yellowing Leaves on Philodendron adamsonii

by Sam
(Canada)

The lower leaves start to show yellow mottling

The lower leaves start to show yellow mottling

I've noticed that the leaves on my adamsonii are constantly yellowing. I know that often there's not enough light in the winter to keep them healthy, but I'm afraid that the lower stems will all be bare. Is there anything I can do to help stop this?

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Mar 12, 2026
 Light Levels
by: Jacki

You're absolutely right about the number of hours of daylight affecting house plants.

You don't say if you have a grow light, but I'm guessing not. The days are getting longer into the end of March with the equinox on March 21 or so, which means that your plant will recover and possibly grow new leaves.

It's also quite likely that the stems will become bare at the bottom, which you can either embrace, as this is how they naturally are in nature, or you can cut the stems somewhere higher up so it will encourage branching on the bare stems or even below.

The good news is that this is completely normal for house plants in the northern hemisphere to show some senescence of the lower leaves in the winter. If they fall off naturally, or you cut them off, this just makes room for more leaves to form when the day length improves.

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