How to Care for Chinese Evergreen?

The Chinese Evergreen plant or Aglaonema Commutatum, belongs to Southeast Asia. Where the Chinese Evergreen grew in the sun in the shade of large tropical trees. But this beautiful plant was taken to England in 1800 and quickly became one of the most popular houseplants. Its small size and easy maintenance method make Aglaonema a very good choice for beginners. Continue reading this article in TooPlant in order to learn more about how to grow and care for Chinese Evergreen.

Introduction of Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema Commutatum)

Before addressing how to care for Chinese Evergreen, please allow us to give you a brief introduction about this houseplant.

Chinese Evergreen requires almost no special care! Just a little light and water is enough for this popular plant. Just pay a little attention to it and take the time for it, it will quickly give glory and beauty to your eyes with its beautiful silver leaves. You should know that it is known as luck-bringing! It is believed that this plant brings good luck to its owner. The nickname of the Aglaonema Commutatum is luck-bringing.

If you are a beginner in caring for plants, it is best to start with this houseplant. Because Chinese Evergreen is easy to maintain, it is one of the best houseplants for beginners.

In this article, we want to provide you with information about how to care for Chinese Evergreen, so stay tuned with Tooplant.

Care for Chinese Evergreen

In this part, we will focus on the most important aspects which you need to take into consideration while treating this houseplant. The best methods of how to care for Chinese Evergreen include as follows:

Chinese Evergreen Light Requirements: What light is best for Chinese Evergreen?

Light is among the first important issues to care for Chinese Evergreen. This plant needs full but indirect light. Be careful never to expose this plant to direct sunlight as it may burn the leaves. Don’t worry if your home or office doesn’t get a lot of light, the thing that makes Aglaonema house plant so much easier to maintain is that it lasts well in high, medium and even low light. Of course, as long as the light shines on it indirectly!

So with any amount of incoming light in your home, you can be a good host for Chinese Evergreens. You can place it near a skylight covered with a thin curtain. A curtain-like filter is not necessary for places that are very sunny. Rotate it regularly so that all parts of it grow evenly after receiving the same amount of light.

So Chinese Evergreen lasts very little in the light. But it is better to expose it to indirect but sufficient sunlight. Chinese Evergreen is one of the shade-tolerant plants.

So, as shown above, light plays a significant role to care for Chinese Evergreen.

Chinese Evergreen Watering: How often should you water a Chinese Evergreen?

In the rest, concerning the tips of caring for a Chinese Evergreen, it is better to know that water the plant when the soil surface is a few centimeters dry. Therefore, watering is another important aspect in order to care for Chinese Evergreen. If the plant is left in wet soil for a long time, its leaves will turn yellow and begin to fall off. Excessively wet soil will eventually cause root rot. Watering the Chinese Evergreen once or twice a week is sufficient. Do not forget to reduce watering in winter.

If the plant withers slightly, you probably do not have the right watering pattern. In this case, be sure to check the soil regularly and if it dries, water it immediately. In general, the more a plant is exposed to sunlight, the more water it needs, and vice versa.

Do not forget that because Aglaonema belongs to the tropics, it is very interested in moisture. So if you have a dry environment, you should increase the humidity.

In this way, to care for Chinese Evergreen, watering is considered to be of great significance.

Chinese Evergreen Soil: What is the best soil for a Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)?

Intending to care for Chinese Evergreen, the other crucial matter is soil. The soil of this plant must have high drainage to be able to remove excess water from the pot. A mixture of leaf soil, sand, peat moss, garden soil or a mixture of peat moss and perlite or leaf soil alone can be a good substrate for the growth of this plant (generally likes leaf-rich and acidic soil).

As long as the soil is draining properly, you do not need to use different compounds to strengthen it. To improve drainage, add about two handfuls of perlite to the soil mix.

Thus, it can be said that, soil is another basic and important issue so as to care for Chinese Evergreen.

Chinese Evergreen Temperature Tolerance

Now, we come to temperature which is assumed to be principal to care for Chinese Evergreen in addition to light, watering and soil that are mentioned above. The best temperature in winter for this indoor plant is 15 °C and it does not tolerate temperatures below 10 °C and is damaged in cold weather. The optimum temperature in summer is 24 °C and in temperatures above 30 °C and dry weather, the leaves of this plant are twisted or dry. In summer and high temperatures and dry weather, try to spray the plant every day.

Chinese Evergreen Humidity: Does Chinese Evergreen like humidity?

Moisture is another thing which we need to inevitably pay attention to when talking about how to care for Chinese Evergreen. This plant can survive in low humidity environments but needs high humidity for good growth and vitality. You can use a fumigator to dehumidify the plant, pour water into a tray under the pot (provided it is not in contact with the pot), place several plants next to each other, or place an Aglaonema in humid environments such as the kitchen. Try never to place this plant next to heating appliances as these appliances will dry out the environment. The average humidity of about 40% is required for this house plant.

Therefore, please do not forget to take humidity into consideration in order to care for Chinese Evergreen in the best way.

Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) Fertilizer: What is the best fertilizer for a Chinese Evergreen?

When you want to care for Chinese Evergreen, one of the important questions that may come to your mind is “what is the best fertilizer?” In what follows, we will address how to fertilize this plant:

Although Aglaonema Commutatum (Chinese Evergreen) do not require special reinforcement. But we recommend adding fertilizer once or twice a year to improve the quality of growth. Use multi-purpose fertilizer for houseplants. Spring and summer are good times to fertilize Chinese Evergreen indoor plants.

As a result, we could say that fertilizer is regarded as one of the fundamental issues when someone wants to care for Chinese Evergreen.

Chinese Evergreen Toxicity: Is Chinese Evergreen poisonous to humans and pets?

In order to care for Chinese Evergreen, toxicity is considered to be a major issue because it directly relates to your health especially children and pets. Chinese Evergreen is slightly poisonous. So keep it out of the reach of your child or pets so they do not want to eat it.

Chinese Evergreen Pruning: How to prune Chinese Evergreen?

Another thing to keep in mind when caring for a Chinese Evergreen is pruning it. The Chinese Evergreen house plant does not need pruning, as long as the leaves are yellow. Remove these leaves and other weak leaves from the plant, especially the leaves at the bottom of the stem. In general, whenever you decide to prune a plant, use a clean knife or scissors and disinfect it every step of the way. Of course, as we said, Aglaonema do not need to be pruned with tools. Just wait for the weak, dying leaves to reach a point where you can easily remove them from the plant by hand.

Aglaonema Commutatum Repotting: How to repot Chinese Evergreen?

Repotting is a basic issue to care for Chinese Evergreen. On average, Chinese Evergreen should be transplanted to a new pot every two years. At this time, choose a larger pot and fill it with fresh soil. Make sure the pot has several drainage holes. Of course, sometimes there is no need to change the pot. If the plant was not very large, just replace the old soil with fresh, mineral-rich soil.

Chinese Evergreen Propagating: How to propagate Chinese Evergreen?

When you want to care for Chinese Evergreen, another important question that may come to your mind is “how to propagate it.” The best way to propagate this indoor plant is to cut the stem. You can use newly grown stems or even older stems to do this. Choose a stem that has at least five leaves on it and cut it off the plant with clean scissors. Then plant the cuttings in potting soil or Cocopeat and water it.

Another recommended way of how to propagate Chinese evergreen is to divide the roots, and select the part of the plant that has an independent root system compared to other parts. Then carefully separate it from the other parts of the root.

Aglaonema Commutatum root is sensitive, so use a clean, sharp knife. Try to remove as much of the root as possible without damage. Plant the isolated part in a pot with suitable soil, water it well and expose it to indirect sunlight.

In this part, we tried to teach you how to propagate Chinese evergreen in detail. In this way, you can easily propagate your plant.

How to Make Chinese Evergreen Fuller?

To make Chinese Evergreen fuller indoor plant, you can prune the newly sprouted leaves from the plant. To do this, firmly hold the stem on which the young leaf is located and gently separate the leaf from the base. By doing this, you should be able to remove all the leaves from the plant and the plant will start to grow bigger and stronger from the pruned part. It is best to never use scissors or a knife.

Caring for Chinese Evergreen: Common Problems With Chinese Evergreen

After a description of taking care of a Chinese Evergreen, we will explain the problems and their solutions:

Why Are Chinese Evergreen Leaves Turning Yellow?

As “leaves turning yellow” is one of the common problems that you may face when you want to care for Chinese Evergreen, we will try to describe the reasons and the ways to solve it in details. There are several reasons for the yellowing of the leaves of this indoor plant, but you should know that if the lower leaves of the plant turn yellow and fall off, there is no need to worry. This is the natural growth process of the plant and the old leaves of the plant that are in the lower part will die. But yellowing of the leaves of other parts can be a sign of a problem in the plant, problems such as overwatering or underwatering and pests can make the leaves of the plant yellow.

Why Are Aglaonema Commutatum (Chinese Evergreen) Leaves Dropping?

Falling Chinese Evergreen leaves can be a sign of low light or improper watering. When enough light does not reach the plant, the leaves of the plant wither and weaken, as a result of which they begin to fall. Overwatering can not cause the roots of the plant to rot and as a result the plant is unable to maintain its leaves. In this case, the leaves begin to turn yellow and brown.

Why Are Chinese Evergreen Leaves Curling?

One of the most important reasons for curling the leaves of this plant is lack of moisture in the environment or temperature stress. Chinese Evergreen is a moisture-loving plant, and if it does not get the moisture it needs or the ambient temperature is such that it loses a lot of moisture, it starts twisting and curling its leaves to reduce the leaf area and lose less moisture. Other reasons such as improper watering, excessive fertilization, excessive light, pests and even poor water quality can cause the Aglaonema leaves to curl.

In what follows, concerning the methods of caring for a Chinese Evergreen, it is better to know that  the browning of the leaves of this plant is a sign of low humidity in the environment. As we said, Chinese Evergreen loves moisture, and if it does not receive enough moisture, its leaves begin to turn brown from the edge, which spreads to the entire leaf in the long run.

“Leaves Curling” is another common problem that you may face when you want to care for Chinese Evergreen, so we tried to describe the reasons and the ways to solve it in details.

Infographic Of How To Care For Chinese Evergreen

In this article, we tried to explain to you in an infographic the essential tips in the care of Chinese Evergreen, so that you can briefly and usefully learn the methods of caring for this plant.

In The End

In this article, we tried to provide you with the necessary information about the methods of caring for a Chinese Evergreen.

However, if you have any questions regarding this indoor plant or you need to get advice from our houseplant experts, please share your questions with us through the comments section below.