Ok Philo experts: Xanadu & Xanadu wannabe..which is which?

.I have about a dozen or so 'Xanadu' philos throughout the garden, all in similar locations grown under identical conditions,all purchased from at least 6 different sources and ALL labeled as 'Xanadu'...& all are at least 3yrs in the garden,..so why is it that I appear to have 2 different growing' Xanadu's'?One is smaller in height..approx 12-18" with less incised slightly lighter coloured foliage,but appears to be more densely foliaged.The other grows to approx 3ft...foliage is more incised and appears to be slightly darker,more sparse and in my opinion is the better looker of the 2..So someone please enlighten me as to what is going on here...They are clearly not the 'same' Xanadu.
Closeup of the bigger 'Xanadu'

Another of the 'bigger'

smaller 'Xanadu'

Another of the 'smaller'

And the leaves for comparison..'.bigger' in the centre

Actually, according to the plant patent records, there are at least two kinds of Xanadu out there. The small one is the "common" Xanadu and the larger one was named "Xanadu II" for patenting purposes. It is distinguished by the larger leaves, as your photo shows. I believe there is also a variegated Xanadu which I have never seen, but which has been patented.

Here's a link to my Dave's Garden article on Xanadu:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1514/

LariAnn
Aroidia Research

Thanks for your reply.Interesting ...but some of the larger Xanadu I have, have been here longer than 10years...

The Patent Office often takes several years to grant a patent, and the applicant may also have taken some time before applying --that could theoretically reconcile your having a plant 10 years ago even though the patent is dated early 2002.

I have two xanadu philo could one of you knowledgeable folks tell me how to spit it? They are too big and I would like to swap part of them since I am in zone 5 and have to overwinter inside. There was a posting earlier this year that the patent had expired.

Thank you

To separate two Philos like that, you need to do what I call a "surgical extraction". This means you start snipping the intertwined roots away as close as you can to the point where the two plants appear joined. You keep working at it carefully until you expose the area where the two are together. If they are in fact two separate plants, your task is almost complete because all you have to do then is to snip the remaining intertwined roots on the other side from where you started. If the two plants are actually joined at the base, you'll have to cut them apart at the juncture, then snip apart the intertwined roots on the other side to complete the separation.

An alternative method, once you've exposed the juncture point, is to work with the root ball in a large container of water. You then jiggle and massage the root ball in the water, gradually working the two plants apart from each other. You will still have to cut some roots, but perhaps not as many as in my first example above.

Hope this helps,
LariAnn

LariAnn, thank you so much, the plant is still in a pot, it was given to me and I know nothing. I probably should of posted a picture of it. Again thank you.

If you care to track it down, "Xanadu" is actually not a cultivar ("sport") but a true species from Brazil.

It's named has been established by the International Aroid Society as: Philodendron xanadu.

"Xanadu"s Patent should be thus voided!

When I found out about the Philodendron xanadu I kept an eye out when visiting nurseries. It's surprising how many are still selling it as a patented plant. It probably gets back to their supplier. They just sell what they get with whatever labelling comes with it.