Aglaonema plant

Appearance:

Aglaonema is one of the indoor plants. Its native place is Asia and New Guinea. It is also known as Chinese evergreens. It has wide and big leaves. Its leaves have white colour shading. Aglaonema blooms during summer or spring. Its flower has one spandex which is surrounded by a greenish coat. Its flowers are not so beautiful so if you want to save your plants energy you should cut them off because aglaonemas are grown for their amazing foliage not for their flowers. There are too many varieties of aglaonema with beautiful colour foliage like pink, red, silver and white. I like pink and red; both look so beautiful. Peperomia grows 2 feet in height and 1.5 to 2 feet in width.

It is very easy to grow.

Potting Mix and Planting:

Aglaonema likes well-draining soil like most of the plants. You can take 60 percent of any garden soil which is available in your area, 10 percent sand ,20 percent coco peat and 10 percent good quality vermicompost. If you do not have sand, you can skip it. I used only soil, vermicompost and coco peat but it has grown very well. For planting, take an 8–10-inch pot and make 3 - 4 holes at the bottom. Cover those holes with some stones because only the excess water will come out from it, not soil. Then put some potting mix into the pot and palace the plant into it. First time I water it thoroughly.

Sunlight:

It requires bright indirect sunlight but it will do very well in low light also. You can place it in a fully covered area where it gets fresh light. You can also place it where it will get morning sunlight. Do not expose it to harsh sunlight that will cause it to burn.

Water:

In summer water it every alternate day and in winter and on rainy days water it when the top 2-inch layer of soil gets dry. Overwatering causes a root rot problem and leaf yellowing also. If you see that in one -two days the lower leaves are turning yellow and falling off it means you over water your plant. Then to recover it repot it immediately in dry soil and do not water it at least for next 2 days. On the third day water it lightly and then follows the water routine as I suggest above.

Fertilizer:

Aglaonema mostly grow for their beautiful foliage and so to develop their foliage it requires some nitrogen base fertilizer. So, you can use balanced liquid fertilizer (20-20-20) every month in summer and spring. Summer and spring are its growing season.

Propagation:

Stem cutting and divide method is used to propagate the aglaonema. You can grow cuttings in soil and water also but I suggest to use soil as a cutting growing medium. Take 3–4-inch node stem cutting and just place it in soil (soil 60 percent, 20 percent cocopeat, 10 percent sand if you have, 10 percent compost) or water it. In a few weeks roots will start to develop. When some roots are developed and new growth is seen then you can plant it in the same type of soil.

The best method is the divide method. In the pot of fully developed plants new small pubs are coming from the soil. You can separate it from the mother plant and plant it in another pot to make more plants.

Diseases:

Root rot and leaf yellowing is the main problem with aglaonema. I have this plant from 2 years but I have never seen any pest attack on it.

Root rot and leaf yellowing problem you can handle by changing its soil. So, I think it is very easy to grow this plant in house.

Toxicity:

Aglaonema contains calcium oxalate crystals. It is toxic to pets and its juice also causes irritation to skin and painful rashes. So, try to keep away your pets and kids from this plant.

Common problems when growing Aglaonema:

The leaf is yellowing and falling off. This is the main problem I have seen ever. This will happen when it gets over watered. So, to revive a plant from this situation, plant it immediately in dry soil and never water it for at least 2 days and then water it on the 3rd day. Afterward, check the soil every time before watering it.