Complete Care Guide: Aglaonema Silverado
Complete Care Guide: Aglaonema Silverado
In this article, you'll find…
Plant Info
Care Guide
Lighting
Watering
Humidity
Soil Needs
Types
Propagating
Common Issues
Frequently Asked Questions
Plant Info
Aglaonemas, or Chinese Evergreens, have a reputation for being extremely easy-going amongst plant lovers, and the Silverado is no exception! Similar in appearance to the more common Silver Bay, the SIlverado has elongated silver leaves with a dark green, choppy margin and flecks of darker green throughout the leaf. They come up from the top of the stem, rolled up tightly, and tinted slightly with a light green.
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Common Name(s) |
Chinese Evergreen, Aglaonema, Silverado |
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Botanical Name |
Aglaonema 'Silverado' |
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Botanical Family |
Araceae, the aroid family |
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Mature Size |
Large and bushy |
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Lighting |
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Watering |
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Humidity |
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Soil Mix |
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Flowers |
Typical aroid flowers -- cute, but not the reason to grow it! |
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Hardiness |
Tropical - keep above 15C/60F! |
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Native Region |
Parent plants are native to southeast Asia |
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Toxicity |
Mildly toxic to plants and people alike! |
Take a look at this care guide as an infographic!
Care Guide
This is a fairly large, bushy plant when it's mature -- watch for new shoots coming out of the substrate, which can be removed once they have a few leaves of their own. In this way, the plant will grow both up and out at the same time!
Lighting
The ideal for your Aglaonema Silverado would be bright, indirect light -- direct sun is often a bit too harsh for these delicate leaves, and can lead to sunburn! You're basically trying to replicate the dappled sunlight of the rainforest floor -- some direct sun is okay, but only a little bit, and keep it to the early morning or late afternoon, avoiding the harshest time in the early afternoon. An east or west window, or a south window with a sheer curtain (in the Northern hemisphere) is ideal!
That having been said, as with most aglaonemas, you can pretty much put your Aglaonema Silverado in any lighting condition and it'll be okay! Less light will mean less silver on new leaves (and thus thicker green margins), and less growth in general -- you'll be a lot less likely to get new shoots coming up!
Make sure to check out our general article on lighting!
Watering
Aglaonemas are a bit of a wonder-plant as far as watering goes -- pick a watering type, and stick to it, and it'll be happy! The biggest problem with aglaonemas comes when you go back and forth between keeping it moist and letting it dry out all the way -- if you get it used to one or the other, it'll be perfectly happy, though!
Our suggestion: keep it consistently moist, but not waterlogged, only letting the top of the soil dry out before giving it another small drink! They're generally found near water in the wild, meaning that they're used to being able to take up water whenever they'd like!
Make sure to check out our general article on watering!
Humidity
Aglaonemas are from the tropical rainforest floor, and thus are used to high humidity in the wild -- but, yet again, they're a wonderfully adaptable plant! Your Silverado would appreciate higher-than-normal humidity (group it with other plants, or put it near a humidifier), but you can keep it in average household humidity (30-50%) without any difficulties!
Make sure to check out our general article on humidity – including a couple common myths!
Soil Needs
As a terrestrial plant, you don't need to have as chunky a potting mix as you would for most epiphytic aroids like Monsteras or Philodendrons -- but well-draining soil is always a good idea, and some mild chunkiness can help keep moisture present while still promoting drainage.
Suggestion: Start with 2 parts peat-based potting mix or coco coir, mix in 1 part perlite, and 1 part orchid bark.
Don't know why you're adding these things? Check out our article on potting mixes!
Types
There are probably thousands of different aglaonemas in cultivation, from natural species to cultivated varieties (also called cultivars), chosen and sold for different leaf shapes and textures -- or primarily for different leaf variegation! Aglaonemas come in a ton of different fun colours and patterns, from cherry-red through pink, to creams and yellows, as well as (of course) silvers and greens -- one cultivar to note is the Aglaonema pictum tricolor, which looks like a camouflage plant (check out our guide for it)!
Propagating
Want more baby plants? You can easily propagate with stem cuttings, the exact same way as you do with most vining houseplants!
Simply cut off a section of stem with a few leaves, just above a node (where the leaves meet the stem), take off the lowest leaf or two (making sure to leave at least one leaf on it, but ideally a few), and then stick it in water or a moist substrate, making sure that at least one node stays moist. Put it in a bright spot for a few weeks, and you'll see roots forming!
But -- it's even simpler to just wait and take care of your mother plant... and watch as she puts out babies! Aglaonemas form "offsets" -- little baby plants that shoot off from the base of the mother stem, travel horizontally under the surface of the soil for a bit (if you're lucky), and then pop up and begin growing leaves as a new stem! Once the new stem has grown at least 2-3 leaves, you should be okay to separate it from the mother plant, if you'd like a new baby plant; check under the surface of the soil to make sure that it has a few roots attached, then separate it with a sharp knife!
Check out our articles on water propagation, soil propagation, or air layering for more details on common propagation methods!
Common Issues
All houseplants are susceptible to pests, including mealybugs, spider mites, and more. This plant isn't known to be particularly susceptible to any specific pest, though, and in our experience has proven extremely resilient against them!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Aglaonema Silverado rare?
While it's not one of the most common cultivars of aglaonema out there, it's not necessarily rare, either -- more "underappreciated"!
Does Aglaonema Silverado need a lot of light?
More light will encourage more silver on the leaves and faster growth, but it'll be fine in low-light conditions as well!