How to repot and divide a massive Thaumatophyllum xanadu

You might have noticed this plant around the place; it’s common in indoor locations like shopping centres or in outdoor pots. It makes a great indoor plant and is extremely hard to kill, whether you overwater it or underwater it.

The Thaumatophyllum xanadu is actually one of a few plants in the same family that were reclassified a couple of years ago from the Philodendron genus. If you see this plant at a plant shop though, it’s highly likely that it will still be labelled as a Philodendron. I’ve even seen it called a tree Philodendron before.

These plants grow so big, and mine has been stuck in its pot for a few years now so I decided it was time for it to be split up.

I’ve discovered that the best tool to split the plant into pieces is an unconventional yet effective one: the bread knife.

What you’ll want to do first is get the plant out of the pot. Because I’m doing this on pavement, I’ve set up a drop sheet to catch any loose soil. You might also want to enlist help from a friend if you’re working with a plant as big as mine.

When you get the plant out, you’ll want to shake the roots around to loosen up the soil, so you can get total access to the whole root system.

Now you want to divide the plant into as many sections as you might want. This is where the bread knife comes in handy. Use it to cut through the base of the plant and any aerial roots coming from the ‘trunk’ of each new plant. Don’t be afraid here – these plants are extremely hardy and can handle a rough chop.

One your plant is separated like mine is, you can plant them back up as you please. Because of the size of pot I’ve got, I’m using a cheap potting mix which I wouldn’t normally use, but this Thaumatophyllum is one of the least fussy plants you can get which makes it perfect for if you have leftover soil that needs using up.

For the other two plants, I’ve simply dug a couple of holes and shoved them in. Make sure you water them all in and give them another water in a few days so the roots don’t dry out!

You can basically leave these plants to their own devices and they’ll handle themselves. Even though their root systems have been messed with, they’ll re-establish in no time, and you’ll have three healthy plants which you can split up again one day in the future!