Aglaonema spp.
The Chinese language evergreen, Aglaonema, aka Philippine evergreen, or poison dart plant, is a decorative herbaceous perennial.
The Aglaonema genus consists of over 20 completely different species, and is a part of the Araceae, or Arum household.
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Aglaonema species are suited to cultivation outdoor in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and 11, and could also be grown as houseplants in all zones.
On this article, we talk about all it’s essential to know to develop and care in your personal Chinese language evergreen.
Right here’s the agenda:
Be aware that like many houseplants, Aglaonema species are toxic to each people and pets. In no way ought to any portion of those vegetation be consumed.
All species of Aglaonema have an upright, clumping progress behavior of their pure habitat, the place they stretch towards the dappled daylight that filters by the rainforest cover.
In decrease gentle situations, Chinese language evergreen tends to unfold broad fairly than tall. Indoors, you’ll be able to count on mature dimensions of 1 to 2 toes tall and broad.
Fast Look
Frequent identify(s): Chinese language evergreen, Philippine evergreen, poison dart plant
Plant sort: Herbaceous perennial
Hardiness (USDA Zone): 10-11 (outdoor)
Native to: Southeast Asia
Bloom time / season: Late summer time to early fall (uncommon indoors)
Publicity: Oblique to low gentle
Soil sort: Organically wealthy, unfastened, well-draining
Soil pH: 5.6-6.5, barely acidic to impartial
Progress Fee: Sluggish
Mature measurement: 1-2 toes tall and broad
Greatest makes use of: Houseplant (great gift or starter plant)
Taxonomy
Order: Alismatales
Household: Araceae
Genus: Aglaonema
Species: Brevispathum, commutatum, costatum, crispum, modestum, nitidum
The leaves are between eight and 12 inches lengthy, and could also be inexperienced or variegated. At the moment’s cultivated varieties embrace mixtures of inexperienced, pink, crimson, and white.
Indoors, Aglaonema seldom flowers, however each now and again, you might be rewarded with an inflorescence – an elongated whitish spadix surrounded by a greenish leaf-like enclosure referred to as a spathe, very like a peace lily.
Some gardeners get pleasure from seeing the occasional inflorescence. Others snip it off on the base of the stem to set off a return to foliar progress, and forestall the setting of messy crimson fruit.
Traditionally talking, like many tropical species that made their technique to Europe, cuttings of Chinese language evergreen probably rode the seas in a British plant hunter’s case.
They have been studied and cultivated at Kew Gardens, showcased in royal landscapes, entered into industrial cultivation, and have been then exported and welcomed into 18th century Victorian parlors in America as decorative showpieces.
Learn how to Develop
These tropical vegetation require organically wealthy, well-draining, barely acidic soil with a pH of 5.6 to six.5. For indoor cultivation, that is simple to attain with high quality potting soil.
It is a tropical plant that prefers temperatures within the 70 to 80°F vary through the day, and a minimal vary of 65 to 70°F at night time.
These houseplants do finest with humidity of at the least 30 p.c. If your property is exceptionally dry, you’ll be able to group pots to extend the ambient moisture.
Chinese language evergreen does poorly in chilly and drafty locations. It reacts to those situations by turning into pressured and rising extra slowly. And if temperatures plummet to 45°F, it gained’t survive.
Chinese language evergreen prefers half to full shade. Indoors, it thrives in a areas with vibrant oblique or diffuse gentle, akin to in proximity to a vibrant window with a lightweight curtain. It additionally has a excessive tolerance for low-light placements.
Additionally they have a excessive tolerance for low gentle, particularly the green-leaf varieties, versus the variegated sorts.
When cultivating in vibrant oblique gentle, it’s necessary to maintain the soil evenly moist, watering when the highest inch or so is dry.
In low-light situations, let the soil dry out virtually utterly earlier than watering once more.
Use a moisture meter as your information. Additionally, attempt to keep away from watering with chilly water. Like chilly air, it might probably trigger shock and sluggish progress.
Throughout winter dormancy, progress slows, and also you’ll discover that pots dry out slowly. When spring resumes and new shoots sprout, the necessity for moisture will increase.
Spring can be the time to fertilize with a well-balanced liquid or slow-release granular indoor plant meals to help lush foliar progress.
Observe the suggestions on the product you select.
Don’t fertilize throughout winter dormancy.
Cultivars to Choose
With quite a few cultivated varieties obtainable, you’ll discover colours starting from inexperienced to variegated with pink, crimson, and silvery white, in placing mixtures.
As you store, bear in mind to notice that inexperienced foliage thrives finest in low gentle situations, and extra colourful cultivars are their brightest in vibrant oblique gentle.
Listed below are a number of beauties to whet your urge for food:
Osaka
The placing variegated foliage of ‘Osaka,’ aka ‘Spring Snow,’ has distinguished slender darkish inexperienced margins and white facilities splotched with darkish inexperienced.
‘Osaka’
Recent as a spring rain that melts the final of the winter snow, white equals gentle if you welcome this refreshing cultivar to your property.
Discover ‘Osaka’ now from the American Plant Trade Retailer through Amazon in six-inch pots.
Pink Girl Valentine
‘Pink Girl Valentine’ is a raucous riot of vibrant pink edged in darkish inexperienced, shades of contrasting colours that play magnificently off each other.
‘Pink Girl Valentine’
If you wish to energize the decor in a low-light nook of your property, this one is certain to sizzle.
Discover ‘Pink Girl Valentine’ in three-inch pots obtainable through Amazon.
Silver Bay
‘Silver Bay’ is a variegated sort with broad, curvaceous margins of sunshine and darkish inexperienced embracing heart swaths of silvery white.
‘Silver Bay’
Like love letters artistically wrought by Mom Nature herself, this could be Mom Nature’s Aglaonema masterpiece.
Discover Aglaonema ‘Silver Bay’ now from Costa Farms through Dwelling Depot in nine-inch-deep pots.
Upkeep
Once in a while, you might want to prune leaves which can be previous and brown, broken, or affected by pests or illness.
To take action, sanitize pruners in a ten p.c bleach resolution (one half bleach to 9 components water), and minimize cleanly throughout the “petioles” or stems of affected leaves, as close to to their base as you’ll be able to.
It’s additionally a good suggestion to mud the leaves periodically with a delicate material. Foliage that’s shiny and dust-free is much less interesting to the widespread insect pests we’ll speak about shortly.
One other periodic chore is repotting. Roots protruding from the drainage gap point out a “root certain” or “pot certain” situation.
When roots not have room to develop, they’ll’t take up meals and water effectively.
You can too transplant the contents of a complete pot to a brand new one that’s two to a few inches wider than the present one.
Don’t go too massive for 2 causes:
By the point the pot dries out, a plant rising in low gentle could also be in determined want of water.
An excessively massive pot could lead to an excessive amount of vitality expended to develop intensive roots as an alternative of lush leaves.
Repot as described within the part on propagating nursery begins above.
It’s okay to reuse potting soil. Nonetheless, it’s finest to refresh it by at the least a 3rd with new soil or amendments like peat or compost, to revive depleted vitamins.
Now that we all know all about cultivation and care, let’s flip our consideration to a few of the many sorts obtainable.
Propagation
Chinese language evergreen could also be began from stem cuttings, division, or from nursery begins.
Whereas it’s doable to begin from seed, this methodology is unreliable as amassing seed from a houseplant is nearly unimaginable as they seldom bloom.
To not point out, hybrids are prone to produce no seed, or infertile seed.
Let’s take a look at every choice for propagation.
From Stem Cuttings
Sanitize sharp pruners in a ten p.c bleach resolution (one half bleach to 9 components water) and rinse them properly.
Choose a stem to chop. It ought to be one of many youthful basal shoots with a stem about 5 – 6 inches lengthy that has two or extra leaves.
Lower the stem close to its base, slightly below a node.
Place the stem slicing in a clear container that comprises about two inches of water.
Set the container in a location with vibrant however oblique daylight.
Change the water day by day.
Over the subsequent few weeks, roots ought to sprout.
As soon as rooted, transplant to a container six inches in diameter.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to dip a minimize stem in rooting hormone and place it immediately in potting soil to develop roots.
By Division
Chinese language evergreen has shallow roots that unfold sideways and ship up new shoots.
The shoots may be divided from the mature predominant progress to begin new ones, whereas downsizing and rejuvenating the previous one.
To begin vegetation by division, you’ll must unearth a plant, so it’s finest achieved with a mature specimen that’s outgrown its pot and is prepared for a brand new one.
As soon as out of the pot, lay your entire contents on its aspect – filth, foliage, and all.
Throughout the principle progress is a community of roots which have sprouted foliage. You’ll see that they’re fashioned in separate clusters, and these may be separated.
Slice straight down by the roots to separate a number of of those leaf clusters, with roots and stems.
Transplant every to a brand new pot.
For detailed directions, see our full information to dividing perennials.
From a Nursery Begin
It’s possible you’ll buy a little bit seedling in a tiny pot, or a mature specimen in a bigger container.
Select a container with a diameter that enables for 2 inches of area from the stem to the inside pot edge across the complete perimeter.
Place a layer of damaged crockery bits or pebbles within the backside of the pot to help drainage. Add sufficient potting soil to fill the pot about midway.
Lay the plant on its aspect, and rotate, gently squeeze, and faucet the underside and sides of the nursery container to loosen the contents.
If the roots are tightly certain, you’ll be able to tease them aside, trim an inch or so off the ends, and gently flay them outward.
Settle the plant into the middle of the brand new pot on the similar peak it was in its authentic container.
Fill in with potting soil and tamp it into place to safe it in an upright place.
The soil degree ought to be one inch decrease than the rim of the container, for straightforward watering with out overflowing.
Pests and Illness
Generally, Chinese language evergreens aren’t liable to insect infestation or an infection when grown indoors.
Nonetheless, like different houseplants, it isn’t immune.
Some pests to observe for are aphids, mealybugs, scale, and spider mites.
These widespread pests are often pretty simple to eradicate with an insecticidal cleaning soap or natural neem oil. As pests could carry ailments, they need to be promptly addressed.
As well as, soilborne nematodes could be a drawback with indoor cultivation. These microscopic pests injury roots, and their presence could solely be suspected when repotting reveals root deformities.
If they’re current, it’s finest to take away as a lot soil as doable from a plant, rinse the roots, take away broken ones, and repot in a high-quality potting medium with some compost combined in. The helpful organisms within the compost assist to fight them.
For intensive infestations, take cuttings from unaffected foliage, if there may be any, and begin over.
Some ailments and physiological illnesses to concentrate on are:
Anthracnose, from Colletotrichum fungi
Bacterial Leaf Spot, from Erwinia chrysanthemi, Pseudomonas cichorii, or Xanthomonas campestris dieffenbachiae micro organism
Copper Deficiency
Myrothecium Leaf Spot, from Myrothecium roridum fungi
Each anthracnose and bacterial leaf spot could also be averted by aiming the watering can nozzle on the soil, not the leaves.
Myrothecium leaf spot is often not an issue when utilizing a well-balanced fertilizer that doesn’t include an overabundance of nitrogen.
And also you’re not prone to see a copper deficiency except you utilize an unbalanced fertilizer that has an excessive amount of potassium and/or phosphorus.
Along with maintaining the foliage dry, attempt to not over- or under-water, as each could cause leaf yellowing, browning, drying, wilting, and dropping, mimicking illness signs.
As well as, situations which can be too moist could trigger rotting, and really dry situations could result in dehydration, each probably leading to loss of life.
Different signs that will appear to be proof of an infectious illness embrace yellowing, wilting, and a failure to thrive in an surroundings that’s too chilly, and crisp, brown leaves that drop due to an excessive amount of solar publicity.
Given the situations they like, you’ll be able to treatment and forestall these issues.
Lush and Pretty
With its tropical foliage and excessive tolerance of low gentle settings, Chinese language evergreen is the right selection for livening up low gentle areas of your property and workplace.
With this data below your belt, all that is still is to decide on your favourite (or favorites) and get rising!
Will it have inexperienced leaves, or pink, crimson, or white variegation? Share your experiences with this plant within the feedback part under.
In case you discovered this text informative, we suggest studying the next guides to different easy-care tropical houseplants subsequent:
© Ask the Specialists, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for extra particulars. Initially revealed January 24, 2022. Final up to date December 29, 2025. Product photographs through Amazon, American Plant Trade, and Costa Farms. Uncredited photographs: Shutterstock.
