Aglaonema: A Beautiful, Easy Plant to Grow

Adding new plants to your indoor environment can make all the difference in providing a whole new look inside. The key is to choose the plants that add beauty, opulence; yet, for the most part, are easy to manage. Read on and discover how easy it is to grow Aglaonemas.

Chinese Evergreen is another name for the plant. The plant is a sensible choice. They are easy to manage and a beautiful plant.

There are 21 species of Aglaonemas. They come in many pot sizes to fit any indoor space starting from 6 inches on up to 14 inches. Their ornamental foliage can catch the eye of any plant lover. They have distinct tufts of a long-stemmed spear and oval-shaped leaves that are dark green. The leaves spread out with colors of pale silvery-green, gray-green or gray-white. In the summertime, with proper care, you might get lucky and see small, white or greenish-white spiked flowers appearing in your plants. If you want the plant to bloom, plant experts told me Aglaonemas like being rootbound. Rootbound means the roots matted or densely tangled or the pot is too small for the plant.

Textbooks have reported that Aglaonemas’ virtue is an ability to thrive in poorly lit conditions, but this is only true for all-green varieties. The ones with silver or white variegation foliage need brighter conditions, which helps enhance the colored plants even more. So, the most indirect sunlight available to the plant's more impressive colors on the leaves. If you have a low light condition, Aglaonemas are still your best choice.

Aglaonemas love it when it’s warm and get agitated by abrupt changes in the temperature. The temperatures between night and day should not be more than 10 degrees difference. Periods of too low or too high temperatures lead to yellowing or falling leaves and can hinder development. If a yellow leaf appears, you pluck it off. The plant is pretty hearty and should be fine. Keep them away from drafts such as windows, doors and air-conditioning vents. If the leaves curl with a brown-edge, the air is cold, or there is a cold draft.

Aglaonemas should be moist but in well-drained, heavy soil. During the winter keep the soil drier. The plants like shallow pots. Keep in mind that poor drainage, too frequent watering, or standing in water will cause root rot. If the air is dry, they need regular misting. If the plant’s leaves shrivel with brown tips, the air is too dry, and they need regular misting.

Aglaonemas are hearty plants and super resistant to diseases. They practically grow in conditions that hurt other plants. Still, the plant attracts pests if they grow in conditions that are challenging.

Pests such as mealybugs appear at the base of the leaf stalks, and scale insects find them tasty. If the lighting condition is not high enough, red spider mites show up, too. Insecticidal soap kills the little buggers.

It’s pretty easy to prune an aglaonema. Keep in eye on the base your plant until you see little sprouts starting to grow. You remove them from the base. But, don’t toss them out. You can replant them in a separate pot, start a new plant, and keep it or give it to a friend.

Pruning the Aglaonema means cutting away the dying and dead leaves. There is nothing else to cut because the plant’s growth emerges from its crown, which is the necessary parts of the plant. If you prune the necessary parts, you will kill your beloved plant.

Only use clean, sharp pruning shears. I invested in gonicc Professional Micro-Tip Pruning Snip, Small Garden Hand Shears. I owned a pair for over three years.

Fertilizing the plants is a good idea but cut back during the winter. Those plants that are in high light can have more fertilizer than those in the low light.

Another feature about the Aglaonemas is they easily grow together or with other plants in the same pot, which makes for an attractive addition to the inside. For example, to spruce up a ficus, try adding two or more of 6-inch silver leaf Aglaonemas to the base of the tree, or combine them with red bromeliads around a Kentia palm.

Nursery staff will offer some excellent ideas as well. They would be more than happy to assist you in your indoor plant care needs.