Philodendron Xanadu ['Winterbourn'] (Winterborn Philodendron) - An evergreen dense low spreading tropical plant that can form a clump nearly 3 feet tall by 5 feet wide over time. It has deeply dissected, lobed 12 to 18 inch long by 8- to 12-inch-wide glossy deep green leaves that hang slightly downward from long smooth upright petioles. Not often seen are its flowers, which have dark red spathes. It also is seems to produce less noticeably, the aerial roots so characteristically seen trailing to the ground on its big cousin Philodendron bipinnatifidum (P. selloum), but these roots can eventually form on Xanadu.
Plant in full sun (coastal), bright shade or part day sun and irrigate regularly, especially in the warmer months. Give an occasional shot of fertilizer to keep foliage a deep green. Hardy to around 25 F. This is a great plant for use in a mass as a mid-height groundcover, as a foundation planting or in a container - adding a touch of tropical flare to the landscape. It is also a nice interior house plant.
Philodendron Xanadu was originally reported to be a selected chance seedling that arose in 1983 in a Western Australian nursery. At that time, it was given the cultivar name Philodendron 'Winterbourn' and became protected under Plant Breeder Rights in Australia. Also under this name a US Plant Patent application was filed on January 19, 1988 and it was issued US Plant Patent PP7,030. This patent expired twenty years after filing on January 19, 2008. For promotional purposes Philodendron 'Winterbourn' was given the marketing name Philodendron Xanadu by House Plants of Australia and released as their plant of the year in 1987. This name was trademarked in the US (serial # 88834871) but this trademark was not renewed and the trademark became "Dead" on May 14, 2020. A later trademark filing for this name (serial # 88834871) was later abandoned, so according to the US Plant Patent Office the plant is no longer under any patent restrictions, nor is there any trademark on the name "Xanadu".
While this plant had been patented as a cultivated variety, there were substantiated claims that it was not actually a hybrid or nursery grown cultivar but originated from the seed collected from a wild collected plant in Brazil. This plant was described as Philodendron xanadu Croat , Mayo & J.Boos as published in Aroideana; Journal of the International Aroid Society 25: 63 (2002 publ. 2003). This botanical name likely presented problems for any existing Live US trademark as a specific epithet cannot be trademarked, but it is an interesting case as it seems the trademark was established prior to the plant being described as a species - a bit of a mess. We have grown this plant since 2003 with our original plants purchased from Twyford International and later from First Step Greenhouses.
The information about Philodendron Xanadu™ ['Winterbourn'] displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |