Rainsend, my experience trying to do what you want involves lots of skinny leaves breaking off in your hands.... no matter how much fiber you use. Look at the picture below (and the 3 following it) to see what I finally did. It is not a leaf cast but it did turn out to be very pretty. The first photo shows the initial result and the next 3 show different views of the same paint job. I do not have a picture of the final product - the same paint job with a coating of exterior urethane that added darkness to the reddish color and a slight amber to the lighter areas. I did this by coating the leaf with as "even" a coat of white cement (quickwall in this case) as I could get. ooops, I forgot an important step. FIRST, lay out a sheet of heavy clean plastic on a big sturdy table. Wad up a small amount of paper and decide how much to put under the center section of the leaf to give it alittle depth but still be able to put the leaf fronds flat on the table. It doesn't take much padding here - and JUST under the center vein area. NOW pick up the leaf and put it somewhere else and spray it with spray adhesive. I had some 10 year old can of stencil adhesive but I think anything would work. Next, go back to your clean plastic on the table and carefully (extra hands help here) lay the leaf down on the wads of paper and arrange each frond so it is separate from the others and push down so the adhesive makes the leaf parts stick to the plastic on the table. Get this all looking like you want and gently press down every edge so concrete won't seep under the leaf. NOW you can go back to spreading white cement very carefully on every part of your leaf. Try not to get much smeared off the leaf because you are going to have to clean up every bit before you go on. When you are happy with your white cement coating (at least a quarter of an inch thick.... more on the big solid parts of the leaf), get all the edges like you want. Because you surely will have made a mess somewhere, now sprinkle clean sand over the plastic sheet and between every separate leaf part. DO NOT get much sand on top of the white cement). Let all this dry for awhile. I waited about an hour. Mix up a big pan of gray concrete and color it whatever color you want. I added a small amount of red powder (concrete colorant) someone gave me to try. I used a hypertufa recipe(on the dry side... not runny ) because this piece was going to get too heavy with just solid concrete. The rest is easy and quick. You dump the colored (could be gray - just not white) mix over the leaf and pat it gently around so it covers everything and mounds up to the shape and thickness you want. Because the middle of this leaf is so deep, you need to have about a 2 to 4 inch thickness. Because you are using a mix that doesn't run, you can use your hands to give it a basic overall shape you like. All that sand you poured on the plastic will give the front of your piece a nice sandy finish which you will brush off later. check out the photos and see if this would work for you Laura Here is a link that might be useful: try here

I think this may explain the red "dye." I was checking to see if this leaf would come free of its' sheath yet, which it did. Then I started tearing away the sheath and it made my fingers red. The tip was full of red juice but lower, it was white and more dry inside. Holding the removed sheath: Excavating further: New leaf is so pretty! It should finish unrolling soon. My prior experience with Philos has been limited to heart-leaf so I've never watched the formation of a leaf this big until this plant, but it did have the same shape as your "pod" and that's definitely what it is, a beautiful new leaf. Is this the first time a new leaf has grown since you've had that plant? This is the plant from "aroid I don't know" thread in case you don't recognize it.

I know exactly how you feel, Kwie2011. When I stumbled up to that website, I think I suffered from sleep deprivation shortly thereafter, lol. I combed over as much of it as I could, trying to soak it all in. I was devastated when the original site stopped functioning. I thought all of Steve's knowledgeable information was lost to those of us online. You can't imagine how thrilled I was when I learned that the IAS had archived it. I'm always going back to read up on different sections whenever I get the chance. Seeing as how I live here in Arkansas, not too far from his "Exotic Rainforest," I plan on some day heading on up there to check it out for myself. As beautiful as the pictures are, I'm certain that they don't entirely do this place any justice. :)

Based on the stem and vein structure the plant appears to be a hybriized form of Philodendron erubescences. Common names include Red leaf Philodendron, Blushing Philodendron, Red Emerald Philodendron, Burgundy Philodendron and other hybrid names "erubescens" indicates red. The link below will tell you more. The species commonly has reddish blade undersides as well as reddish petioles along with a beautiful red inflorescence. Steve Here is a link that might be useful: For of Philodendron erubescens