Cercestis Mirabilis

 

The struggle is REAL when it comes to finding good information on the philodendron Cercestis Mirabilis. There’s hardly any good information on this world wide web for this tropical plant.

 

Quick note: We have a Youtube video up that corresponds to this post. Check it out here!

 

 

So, on this post, we’re going to get into it all: the backstory, where to buy a your own, and how to keep it alive.

 

 

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I do receive a small commission if you purchase a product using my link, with no addition cost to you!*

 

History of the Cercestis Mirabilis

 

As assumed by the name African Embossed Cercestis, this jungle babe naturally grows as a vining plant in tropical African areas.

 

Since it is not grown regularly in America, this species generally gets shipped here.

 

Even though they can be imported from various countries for a fairly cheap amount, they are normally pretty expensive in the states.

 

Just for reference, I paid $70 for my first one a year ago. I just bought one for $260 and was SHOCKED they had gone up so much.

 

 

(I am in no way recommending that you import plants. Shipping plants from other countries is VERY challenging and not for new plant owners.)

 

I want to add here that I would HIGHLY suggest finding someone local to you, or ships within the USA, before you ever dive into shipping from other countries. I’m going to list some shops later, but I just want to stress how hard imports can be.

 

Cercestis Mirabilis Leaves and Flowers

 

It doesn’t need to be said, but the juvenile leaves on this plant are so freaking cool. They honestly give me all the Jurassic Park x Hulk vibes and I’m totally here for it.

 

As this philodendron starts out, the leaves are a like a lime/ mint color with deep green highlighted veins running through it. Honestly, it’s just breathtaking.

 

But, as it matures (which roughly takes 5 years), the leaves lose their veins and become solid green. They do seem to keep their shape and texture though!

 

 

All of my leaves are either the size of my hand or a little bigger and she’s about 2 feet in height, but this plant can actually get up to about a 10m x 10m spread.

 

As far as flowering goes, I can’t find any pictures of the blooms. But, given the right conditions, the Cercestis Mirabilis is said to bloom yellow flowers (with no fragrance) in the summer.

 

 

Cercestis Mirabilis Care

 

 

Plant Lighting

 

Even though the Cercestis Mirabilis can withstand very bright light, it actually thrives in lower light conditions.

 

Since this plant tends to grow closer to the ground (but can reach 10 meters in height), it’s shadowed over by many of the taller and fuller jungle plants.

 

I have mine under these grow lights right now because I purchased her from a store with a ton of bright light. While I acclimate her to her new home, I will slowly move her behind (and under) some of my bigger plants.

 

Try to imagine the bottom layer of a jungle: low light, high moisture. 

 

Watering

 

Don’t let this plant’s medium (soil, spaghum moss, perlite, etc.) dry out. The Cercestis Mirabilis wants to stay fairly moist.

 

(Honestly, I treat it like a calathea.)

 

Humidity

 

This baby LOVES high humidity. If you want to make sure it keeps popping out absolutely stunning leaves, make sure you are giving it as much humidity as you can.

 

If you need a good humidifier, I highly suggest you check out this one. It is completely controllable, in terms of misting and temperature.

 

Although I have never put mine in a fully enclosed terrarium, I have been told they are happy there.

 

If the Cercestis Mirabilis does not get enough humidity, it will start having brown specs in the leaves. (Aka- it’ll look crusty.)

 

 

Since my plant is so tall, I am unable to sit it on my shelves, closest to the humidifier. Instead, it sits on the floor between a couple of my other tall plants (calathea white star and monstera pinnatipartita).

 

By grouping your plants together, the humidity instantly increases.

 

Another way you can up your humidity is by setting your plant on a pebble tray with a little bit of water or add jars of water around your plants.

 

Oh- and these babies love to have their leaves misted! This is my favorite continuous mister. Just make sure you aren’t giving them bright light during mists to alleviate the risk of burning its leaves.

 

Soil

 

Even though this plant likes to stay moist, it still wants pretty well-draining soil.

 

For my potting soil, I mix regular soil with perlite, moss, and Cococoir. This makes a very chunky medium and assures good drainage.

 

If you’re looking for a new soil, you could try this mix.

 

Even though I haven’t personally tried it, I have seen some absolutely thrive in leca. But, leca can be pretty tricky sometimes and I am no master of it yet.

 

If you want to try it, you can order some here. I have to get a little more comfortable using it before I give one of my rare babies a shot in it!

 

Since mine has been in soil for awhile, I most likely won’t transition her to spaghum moss. However, if I were to propagate a section, I definitely would use moss and perlite.

 

Pests and Diseases

 

Thankfully, this diva isn’t prone to many pests.

 

The main concern I’ve read about is that when grown in a glasshouse, it can start battling red spider mites, scale, or thrips.

 

*Keep in mind, just because it is generally pest and disease free, if one of your other plants gets sicks, it could be passed on. So, always keep an eye out for problems.

 

Propagating a Cercestis Mirabilis

 

Unfortunately, I don’t have a huge plant yet so it’s a little challenging to try to show this.

 

But, as you would any other propagation, you’re going to want to have a cutting with a node. That is primarily all that matters.

 

Once you find the node you are wanting to propagate, I would first air layer it.

 

 

Air layering gives you the chance to go ahead and grow out some aerial roots before actually cutting the plant. It’s not a necessity, but it will give you a leg up in the rooting process.

 

I’m not going to go into any crazy detail here, but you pretty much just put some damp (but very wrung out) moss around the node and secure it with saran wrap.

 

Then, leave it be for a couple weeks. Once you see some aerial roots forming, you can take the moss of and make your cut.

 

 

To take a cutting, you are going to cut *BELOW* the node. Without a node on your cutting, you basically just have a leaf and petiole. (The petiole connects the leaf to the node.)

 

Even though you could stick a cutting without a node into water and it may form some roots, you’ll never be able to turn it into a new plant. New leaves grow from a node. Without one, you’ll either have a single leaf forever or a dead leaf all-in-all.

 

After you make (or receive) your cutting, let the cut side(s) dry out. There are various ways to do this.

 

You could leave it out for 24-48 hours and let it callous over on its own. Or, you could dip the end(s) in wax to give it a tight seal. By callousing your cutting, you decrease the chance of root rot.

 

 

When you get ready to put your cutting into the proper rooting medium, you have a few options.

 

I used to always root in straight water, but I’m now a pretty big fan of this spaghum moss and this perlite. I use 70% spag and 30% perlite as a rooting medium.

 

Make sure your moss is damp but NOT wet.

 

You could also pop your cutting in soil if you choose to.

 

Where to Buy a Cercestis Mirabilis

 

And now to wrap up this post with what I’m sure your main focus is: where you can find this plant and how much it’s going to cost ya.

 

If you aren’t in Facebook plant groups- JOIN THEM NOW. One of my favorites is Time to Splurge and Purge. It’s a group where thousands of plant lovers sell and ship plants across the USA.

 

It’s honestly probably your best bet to find your perfect plant because you can post what you’re looking for and your current budget and let other people give you some offers.

 

(I will warn you, though. It can become very addicting and you could become very broke. Speaking from experience… *sweats nervously*)

 

But, I have found two stores that currently have some for sell.

 

1. Prissylily Co. – I happened to come across this little rare plant shop while I was traveling in Maryland. (The shop is located in Virginia, about 1.5 hours from Baltimore, just fyi.) I’m not entirely sure if she has any Cercestis Mirabilis online but she did have one more in store so you could always give her a call to ask. She’s incredibly sweet and I 10/10 recommend buying from her.
2. Botanicarus – Along with a ton of other super cool plants, she normally has a few Cercestis Mirabilis listed. (Of course as I’m writing this, I can’t find them. BUT, her shop is wickedly cool and you can actually reach out to her about plants you’re looking for.

 

I’m going to go ahead and add here (I said it in the beginning but Imma say it again), this isn’t a cheap plant. Whereas a year ago you could possibly find one for less that $100, now you most likely won’t find one for less than about $300.

 

In my opinion- they’re totally worth it. And, if you are a rare plant collector, it’s definitely a must have.

 

 

Enjoy Your Cercestis Mirabilis

 

 

I haven’t found that this plant is too hard to keep thriving. Since it is a rare plant, it definitely requires more care than a snake plant or pothos. But, you can definitely do it!

 

If you have this plant, you should totally send me some pictures of it. I’d 1000% love to see it.

 

As always, leave a comment if you have any more tips or questions.

 

Additional tip:

 

The Cercestis Mirabilis leaves, roots, and sap have actually been used as medicines (when mixed with other ingredients).

 

That being said, I have not found anything saying that they are toxic. BUT, like I said, information is very few and far between on these beauties.

 

If you have pets, I would highly suggest treating this as a toxic plant just in case so your babies don’t get sick.

 

Signing off,

xoxo.

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I do receive a small commission if you purchase a product using my link, with no addition cost to you!*