The Complete Chinese Evergreen Plant Care Guide (Essential Guide)

If you are interested in growing a Chinese evergreen plant in your garden or you have started and don’t know how best to care for the plant for healthy growth. Then, keep reading.

In this article, we will walk you through everything about the Chinese evergreen plant, how to plant and the best ways to care for your plant.

How Do You Plant Chinese Evergreen?

Chinese evergreen plant which is also known as Aglaonema or Philippine is an herbaceous perennial plant that native to Asia. It belongs to the Araceae family and has a height of about 2-3 feet.

It produces variegated leaves 9-12 inches long with its foliage has a solid green or silver with stunning white markings with primary veins.

Having known this, if you are interested in adding the Chinese evergreen to your latest collections, then you need to properly understand how you can plant it in a container or pot. Follow the instructions below:

A. Choose the specific size of pot or container for planting.

B. Fill the pot with 1/4th of the soil mix as preferred. You can add some growers or pebbles to the button for good drainage. However, if the drainage pot has holes, then you should avoid pebbles.

C. If you are repotting your plant, then you should gently tap the sides of the pot to loosen the soil.

D. Remove the maximum amount of old soil from the root portion and also cut off the affected roots, if any.

E. Afterwards, place the plant at the centre and add the rest of the soil mix around the plant to cover the roots. Press gently afterwards.

F. Water the soil thoroughly and add more soil if needed. Let the extra water drain out of the container.

G. Lastly, place the plant in its preferred position.

Plant Care Guild For Your Chinese Evergreen

Caring for this plant is quite very easy if you follow the guidelines which we will be providing for you and read them thoroughly. Below are the requirements:

1. Light Requirements

The first requirement is the provision of sunlight to aid the growth of the plant. This plant thrives in an environment where it is exposed to bright, indirect sunlight. It can also tolerate low to moderate sunlight or even fluorescent light if it isn’t placed close to the window.

However, you should avoid exposing the plant to direct sunlight as it can cause the leaves to burn or the colour to fade away. 

So ensure that you choose to place your plant at a spot where it receives low to moderate sunlight.

Furthermore, if you are growing this plant indoors, you can purchase a glow light or LED lamp as a light support.

2. Water Requirement

For the healthy growth of your plant, you need to water the plant when due. However, planting the chinese evergreen plant requires the use of loam and well-drained soil which doesn’t need much watering to avoid waterlogging and soggy soil. When the soil is soggy, it will expose the plant to root roots or yellow/brown leaves.

So, the best-recommended watering system is supplying low to moderate water to the plant. 

To know the amount of water required, always examine the soil moisture content by inserting your index finger about 2-3 inches down the drainage clay pot or container to know its level of dryness.

Furthermore, water your chinese evergreen plant once a week during warmer conditions and 2-3 weeks during winter. 

This is a result of its dormancy during the winter season as it doesn’t absorb water faster during spring and summer.

3. Best Soil Mix

The chinese evergreen plant thrives in well-drained soil or light acidic soil in the range of 5.6-6.5 pH. This will allow the plant to grow without undergoing any problems. So avoid planting your plant on any densely packed soil. 

Furthermore, the soil must be able to hold moderate moisture to help the herbaceous stems of the plant to maintain an upright posture.

The soil must be filled Inna pot with drainage holes as it will help to filter out excess water.

4. Temperature Range

The best temperature range for your chinese plant is a temperature rate between 65°F-85°F and a temperature rate below or above this rate will damage the plant’s health. It will cause the leaves to wilt, droop and even have some brown along its edges.

So, you must avoid keeping your plant in a spot where it will be exposed to low temperatures, heaters, air vents or even cold drafts.

5. Humidity Level

The optimal humidity level must be high as it will help the plant to grow healthy. However, you must ensure that the growing condition is stable while growing indoors as the plant can’t survive if it is low or under cold conditions. It will cause leathery foliage.

Furthermore, if your plant isn’t exposed to a suitable humidity rate, you can increase the humidity level by listing the plant, use of a humidifier, grouping the other plants indoors or placing the plant on pebble trays with water.

6. Fertilizer

The chinese evergreen plant isn’t a heavy feeder like most other tropical houseplants. However, it is still necessary to apply a gentle liquid fertilizer or a balanced liquid fertilizer which must be half diluted once or twice a month throughout the growing seasons. You can also make use of a fish emulsion or liquid kelp.

A proper fertilizer application provides nutrients that foster faster growth. So you will need to exercise patients and provide better-growing conditions for your plant. 

Furthermore, avoid fertilizing your plant during winter as the growth process will be dormant and also over-fertilizing or under-fertilizing. Doing so will cause the leaves of your plant to turn yellows and develop leggy stems while under-fertilizing will cause insufficient nutrients for healthy productivity.

Do well to read the manufacturer’s instructions and do as it was written.

7. Pruning

Do well to prune your plant to remove any dead infected or damaged roots or stems from the plant. 

Lack of pruning your plant once in a while or months can cause your plant to be infested by pests and diseases within the damaged parts.

Remember to trim the flower stalk before the buds begin to open. It will help to prevent the scattering of pollen grains everywhere. 

Furthermore, do not prune leggy live growths. You can remove the above nodes to encourage your aglaonema to become bushy. 

8. Propagation

There are many ways to propagate your chinese evergreens such as stem cuttings, root cutting, seeds, and tissue culture. However, stem cutting is the easiest way to propagate among all of them.

Tissue culture is usually performed when you need many seedlings growing quicker than usual by using small plant parts like leaves, stems, or roots. Tissue culture works well in a lab environment.

Cuttings are usually taken from lateral and apical shoots or by cutting pieces of trunk having some leaves. For fast growth and rooting, use the stem-cutting method.

Propagating with stem cutting in soil:

A. Take a healthy plant and cut the stem from the base of the plant. Make sure that the stem is 2 to 3 inches.

B. Cut it and plant it in the potting mix with equal parts of soil and perlite. Get rid of a few leaves from the base of the cutting.

C. Place the cutting under indirect sunlight and water to keep it moist all the time (Moist soil will improve the rooting of the plant. Though the perlite will absorb excess moisture levels, you shouldn’t overwater the cutting.)

D. Don’t expose them to cold temperatures and do well to maintain a humidity rate between 40 to 60%.

E. You can apply some fungicide or root hormone to the cutting area as it will help to prevent fungal infections and encourage fast root growth.

F. Separate the mother plant with roots from a healthy plant for propagation by root cuttings.

G. Keep this new plant in a new container, soil mix and place it under indirect sunlight and warm temperatures. Within 5 to 10 days, new roots will start growing.

Propagating through stem cutting in water:

A. Cut a healthy stem from the plant about 2 to 3 inches.

B. Cut diagonally in the water. It will ensure that the bottom of the cutting doesn’t sit entirely on water.

C. Change the water either 2-3 days or once a week using a glass jar or container. Observe the condition of the water and if you notice water starting to turn cloudy, change it.

D. You can either let the plant remain in the water or transfer it to the soil once the roots grow 1 inch.

Propagating by seeds:

Most people propagate through stem cutting because it is very efficient and quick. If you want to try something alternative, I would still like to share the seed propagation.

Seed propagation is very time-consuming. If you are okay with it, try it. 

A. Ensure that the seeds are fresh. You can collect the seeds from the base of the mature plant flowers. 

B. Wash the seeds nicely in water or acidic water.

C. For soil mix, use either coco-peat mix or seed germination soil mix. Spread the fresh seeds over the soil evenly and cover them lightly.

D. Place the container in a spot receiving indirect sunlight and room temperature. Within 45 to 60 days, they will begin to germinate.

9. Repot

Do well to repot your plant with a fresh potting mix every two years. It will help to replenish the soil and also divide the plant due to an increase in size. 

A. Pick a larger pot than the current one and use a shovel to dig out your chinese evergreen plant.

B. Break up the roots if they are tangled and constricted. 

C. Place the plant in a new pot and fill it with fresh pot mix. 

E. Water the plant and allow it to adjust to the new condition. 

Common Problems Of Chinese Evergreen Plant

Below are the most common problems of the chinese evergreen plant that you must know and keep an eye on. They include:

1. Pest Infestations

There are three main pests that can affect your plant which include mealybugs, aphids, scales, and spider mites. These insects attack and damage the leaves of the plant. They attach themselves to the leaves and sick the cell sap.

To get rid of these pests from your plant, inspect the plant’s leaves for any sign of them and if found, treat them by spraying insecticide soap on the plant every evening.

2. Diseases

They are majorly affected by anthracnose and myrothecium leaf spots. These diseases can cause the colour of the leaves to fade away as well as holes.

To get rid of this disease, avoid the overwatering of the plant or lightly misting the plant. Do well to inspect the moisture content in the soil before watering.

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Conclusion

The chinese evergreen is an easy plant that needs the combination of all the essential factors to grow effectively. 

However, the plant tends to thrive in any growing condition regardless of the problems such as pests and diseases that affect the plant. Do well to get rid of the infestations through the use of neem or horticultural oils. 

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