Aglaonema: care at home

Aglaonema is a plant popular among florists. It is distinguished by its unpretentiousness . Simple tips will make it easy to care for it at home.

Table of contents

Origins and varieties of aglaonemas

Aglaonema from the family of aroids and a genus of evergreen grasses is popular in China, Thailand, Malaysia, and its homeland is considered India. Despite this? it successfully grows in domestic conditions and in our country. The diversity of this flower allows you to enjoy its amazing colors and gives the opportunity to decorate the house. This indoor plant has 50 species, but about 20 are grown.

There are three main groups of it:

Low-growing plants, their height no higher than 20 cm.
Medium-growing – their height is up to 50 cm.
High-growing ones reach 70 cm.

The varieties of this flower allow everyone to choose something special for their taste:

For example, a plant that grows slowly – Aglaonema crete changes the color of its leaves in the process of growth. And its pink petioles as if illuminate the plant from the inside. This kind of flower does not like dark places.
A tall plant with upright stems is aglaonema fickle. It has a bush shape and oval leaves.
The flower with the original pattern on the leaves is aglaonema painted. It is a strongly branching bush with elongated leaves.
Aglaonema false branching is a medium-grown and dense bush. Attracts flower lovers with an interesting pattern on the leaves. These are pale green, cream and yellow divisions.

There is also Aglaonema modest, ribbed, curly, glossy, Maria, Traiba. These are her most popular species and varieties.

Proper care for aglaonema at home

Aglaonema is a plant that requires minimal care. Therefore, even a novice florist will be able to cope with the task. But there are still nuances that you need to be aware of.

Location and light

It is necessary to choose the right place for a vase with a flower. Since aglaonema likes a darkened space and diffused light, it is not necessary to put it under direct sunlight. This can negatively affect the leaves. The flower has no place in the kitchen, but a ventilated room is ideal. Remember that this indoor plant is afraid of drafts and tobacco smoke.

Water correctly

Proper watering is very important for the flower. The plant likes moisture, so “refresh” it often, and especially in spring and summer. If the room is cool, the plant is watered rarely. Before the next manipulation, be sure to check whether the top layer of soil has dried to a depth of 5 cm. And only then water.

Water should preferably be boiled and distilled, at room temperature. During the cold season, the liquid should be warmed up a little. Spray the plant every day in summer and every other day in winter.

You can determine the quality of watering by the leaves. If they become dry and wrinkled, you should increase the frequency of irrigation. Yellow leaves or leaves covered with spots indicate that there is too much chlorine in the water.

Temperature and air humidity

To keep aglaonemas, the temperature should be chosen according to the time of year. In spring and summer it’s +20 to +25 degrees Celsius, in autumn 20 °C above zero and no draughts, and in winter the temperature can’t be under +16 °C. Be sure to make sure that there are no sudden changes.

Aglaonema plants like humid air and therefore they need to be sprinkled regularly. The flower should stand as far away from heaters as possible, otherwise the leaves will begin to dry. Sometimes you can give it a shower, then the leaves will always be bright and shiny.

Proper care during flowering

Aglaonema blooms in the wild from June to August. At home it happens at approximately the same time if the flower is properly and well cared for.

This requires a wide and shallow vase, regular spraying and watering. It will not be superfluous to create a comfortable temperature for the flower in the room, without drastic changes.

If you want to speed up flowering, you can add bone meal to the substrate.

Some growers remove the aglaonema flower because they think it has no decorative value. You do not have to do this. Neither the leaves nor their coloring is affected by the flower blooming.

After flowering, the aglaonema bears poisonous fruits. As soon as they start to shrivel, they should be carefully removed.

Nutrition

When taking care of aglaonemas at home, you should feed them regularly. Then the bush will grow and become lush, beautiful. Feeding is carried out with mineral fertilizers twice a month. Their composition must necessarily contain trace elements, phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. Mineral fertilizers should be alternated with organic fertilizers. For organic fertilizer you can use an extract based on earthworm activity.

The foliar feeding is also useful. Every seven to ten days you should spray the plant with a solution of fertilizer. Given that the solution should be weak, this procedure should be done in cloudy weather, so that the leaves do not get burned.

Plant diseases

Improper care of aglaonema can provoke unhealthy appearance and diseases:

If the leaves turn yellow, it is either poor quality water or lack of light. Although too much light also leads to drying of the leaves.
A gray coating on the leaves signals that the air temperature is low or poor ventilation. To eliminate this problem, it is necessary to ventilate the room more often, but without drafts.
If the leaves turn brown and change shape, it is most likely a lack of moisture in the soil and air.
Shallow leaves become small if there is a lack of nutrients.
Fungal diseases can occur if you water the plant with cold water at a low room temperature. The problem can be solved simply: put the flower in a warm place, water and be sure to treat with fungicides.

Pests also affect the health and appearance of the plant:

Spider mite. Occurs when the air is very dry. Stem and leaves are covered with gray spider webs, become dull, flaccid and fall off. To help the flower, the affected leaves should be removed and treated with Actellic.
Aphids. Young shoots and the underside of the leaflets are damaged. If nothing is done, the aglaonema may die. To kill aphids, the plant must be treated with a solution of pyrethrum.
Rust is a fungal disease. It is manifested on the underside of the leaf by orange pads, and on the upper side by golden spots. Affected leaves should be removed and the plant should be pollinated with ground sulfur.
Growing and caring for aglaonema at home is quite easy, because it is not fastidious. Still, you should ensure comfortable conditions for its maintenance. Then the leaves and flowers of the aglaonema will give the delight of their beauty.