Chinese evergreen is well known and popular among lovers of decorative leafy indoor plants. Novice flower growers can take it from the photo for a young Dieffenbachia rooted from the apical cutting. But these are different cultures, although they belong to the same family. So how to propogate chinese evergreen?
Chinese evergreen grows slowly. Valued for beautiful leaves and ease of care. The plant looks elegant and has a short trunk. If you do not know where do you cut Chinese evergreens, you can read it in this article.
Botanical description and characteristics of the Chinese evergreen plants
Chinese evergreen plants include about 50 species, a genus of evergreen herbs or shrubs from the Aroid family.
It lives in the humid tropics of Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and the islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
It grows as an undergrowth along the banks of water bodies. Many types of Chinese evergreens are grown in culture as indoor flowers, in southern countries they are used for street gardening.
What does the Chinese evergreen plant look like?
The rhizome of Chinese evergreen plants is compact, with a large number of thick processes that look like white-cream laces. Depending on the species, the culture forms stems:
- vertical or creeping, rooting at the nodes;
- juicy; with a round section; quite thick;
- with short, smooth internodes;
- most species are used in culture branches reluctantly, but some give lateral processes from the base of the central shoot.
In indoor floriculture, the Chinese evergreen plant is valued for its leaves:
- usually, Chinese evergreen plants have the shape of an elongated ellipse, but can be broadly oval, heart-shaped, linear;
- length – 3,9-5,9 inches, sometimes more;
- with a slightly pointed tip;
- the edge is even;
- the central vein is clearly expressed, depressed on the front part, and protrudes from the inside;
- petioles long;
- color – from plain green to painted with spots, borders, stripes, or patterns of different colors and shades.
The ornament on the leaves of the Chinese evergreen plant is usually silver, white, gray, or salad. But it can be other shades of green, red, pink, or purple.
The height of the Chinese evergreen plant usually does not exceed 27.5 inches. In this way, it compares favorably with many decorative leafy plants with large plates.
Methods to propagate a Chinese evergreen
There are many methods for breeding Chinese evergreen plants. But the simplest, vegetative, is difficult due to slow growth and the absence of side shoots.
So flower growers who do not want to mess with seeds can get a few new plants just from a mother plant.
Stem cuttings
Can Chinese evergreen grow from cuttings? Of course, yes. The action is best done in April-May. In the southern regions, it is impossible to wait for the onset of heat. Since shoots take root worse.
Propagate a Chinese evergreen by cuttings: step-by-step Chinese evergreen cutting
- In the middle of spring, cut off the elongated shoot of the old plant, leaving a column of 0.4-0.78 inches.
- Separate, if any, side branches. Cut into pieces of 3-4 in. The most valuable Chinese evergreen cutting is apical, they quickly turn out beautiful young plants.
- Sprinkle all wounds with activated charcoal powder.
- Dry in partial shade with free access to fresh air for a day.
- You must keep the Chinese evergreen in calcined sand by half or a little more (1.6-2.4 inches).
- If there are leaves on the handle, lift them, and carefully tie them with a soft cord. Keep at high humidity, temperature 68 °F – 77 °F. The sand should not dry out even for a short time.
- Root growth will be noticeable in about 2 weeks. Seed Chinese evergreen in small pots with a light substrate.
Many sources advise making stem cutting of indoor plants of 1.5-2 inches. Of course, more new plants turn out, but with the same probability pieces of the stem disappear.
Usually, experienced flower growers do not risk, and yet they try to root the plant with Chinese evergreen cuttings of 3.14-4 inches.
Growing Chinese evergreen plants from seeds
This is a rather complicated way of propagating a Chinese evergreen. After all, the seeds need to ripen on the bush. After they need to be cleaned, washed, and planted to a depth of 0.4 in peat-sandy moist soil (1:1).
Contain at a temperature of 68 °F – 77 °F and high humidity under glass or transparent film.
Daily needs TO propagate Chinese evergreen
- ventilate;
- remove condensate;
- check the humidity, and if necessary, spray from a household spray bottle.
When the sprouts hatch, gradually expose the seedlings to fresh air.
After the appearance of 2 leaves, they are seated in individual cups with moist soil.
Full-fledged Chinese evergreen with seed propagation can be obtained in 3-4 years.
Propagate Chinese evergreen by the division of the bush
When transplanting, the mother plant is examined. If a root process has appeared that has at least 3-4 leaves, you need to divide the bush with a sharp knife into parts.
Now you have to plant them in smaller pots. Put in a dark place for a week. The leaves must be sprayed frequently.
It is useful to pour the Chinese evergreen after planting not with ordinary water, but with a solution of a rooter.
Can Chinese evergreens be rooted in water?
You can root the Chinese evergreen in water. It is the best solution if you want to easily monitor root growth. But many gardeners say that they have trouble moving cuttings rooted in water to the soil. The young Chinese evergreen plant doesn’t adjust well.
So it is easier to propagate the Chinese evergreen plant by cuttings in moist soil.
How long does it take for Chinese evergreen to root in water?
It will take 2-3 months for Chinese evergreen stem cutting roots in water.
How to propogate chinese evergreen: possible growing problems
Common houseplant pests may appear when you propagate Chinese evergreen:
- thrips;
- spider mites;
- worms;
- scale insects;
- rarely – aphids or whiteflies.
For the fight, insecticides are used.
If you want to use new odorless preparations, when dealing with spider mites, you need to make sure that they have an acaricidal effect.
This is not an insect, but an arachnid.
Of the diseases, rot is the most dangerous:
- root rot when growing Chinese evergreen in dense always moist soil, without drainage or lower holes in the pot;
- leaves, resulting from the transfer of the fungus from other plants or spraying at low temperatures.
You can get rid of infections of the aerial parts by treatment with appropriate fungicides. If the root begins to rot, you have to root the top.
Other problems:
- leaves on the Chinese evergreen plant are curled – cold;
- the plates are wrinkled – dry air;
- brown tips on the Chinese evergreen plant – the same;
- whitish spots on the leaves – sunburn;
- dark marks on the plates – the result of waterlogging of the soil;
- the Chinese evergreen plant turned black – hypothermia.
Conclusion
Growing a healthy stem from a healthy plant is not difficult. The potting soil mustn’t be excessively wet, and the plant does not expose to direct sunlight. And you can propagate Chinese evergreen successfully.
Look also:
- take care of Orange Star,
- our detailed guide to Begonia Corallina,
- Lovely plant Snow Queen photos,
- Kangaroo paw fern problems.
- Dying zebra cactus.
Chinese evergreen is well known and popular among lovers of decorative leafy indoor plants. Novice flower growers can take it from the photo for a young Dieffenbachia rooted from the apical cutting. But these are different cultures, although they belong to the same family. So how to propogate chinese evergreen?
Chinese evergreen grows slowly. Valued for beautiful leaves and ease of care. The plant looks elegant and has a short trunk. If you do not know where do you cut Chinese evergreens, you can read it in this article.
Botanical description and characteristics of the Chinese evergreen plants
Chinese evergreen plants include about 50 species, a genus of evergreen herbs or shrubs from the Aroid family.
It lives in the humid tropics of Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and the islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Do you want to look at Zebra plant?
It grows as an undergrowth along the banks of water bodies. Many types of Chinese evergreens are grown in culture as indoor flowers, in southern countries they are used for street gardening.
What does the Chinese evergreen plant look like?
The rhizome of Chinese evergreen plants is compact, with a large number of thick processes that look like white-cream laces. Depending on the species, the culture forms stems:
- vertical or creeping, rooting at the nodes;
- juicy; with a round section; quite thick;
- with short, smooth internodes;
- most species are used in culture branches reluctantly, but some give lateral processes from the base of the central shoot.
In indoor floriculture, the Chinese evergreen plant is valued for its leaves:
- usually, Chinese evergreen plants have the shape of an elongated ellipse, but can be broadly oval, heart-shaped, linear;
- length – 3,9-5,9 inches, sometimes more;
- with a slightly pointed tip;
- the edge is even;
- the central vein is clearly expressed, depressed on the front part, and protrudes from the inside;
- petioles long;
- color – from plain green to painted with spots, borders, stripes, or patterns of different colors and shades.
The ornament on the leaves of the Chinese evergreen plant is usually silver, white, gray, or salad. But it can be other shades of green, red, pink, or purple.
The height of the Chinese evergreen plant usually does not exceed 27.5 inches. In this way, it compares favorably with many decorative leafy plants with large plates.
Methods to propagate a Chinese evergreen
There are many methods for breeding Chinese evergreen plants. But the simplest, vegetative, is difficult due to slow growth and the absence of side shoots.
So flower growers who do not want to mess with seeds can get a few new plants just from a mother plant.
Stem cuttings
Can Chinese evergreen grow from cuttings? Of course, yes. The action is best done in April-May. In the southern regions, it is impossible to wait for the onset of heat. Since shoots take root worse.
Propagate a Chinese evergreen by cuttings: step-by-step Chinese evergreen cutting
- In the middle of spring, cut off the elongated shoot of the old plant, leaving a column of 0.4-0.78 inches.
- Separate, if any, side branches. Cut into pieces of 3-4 in. The most valuable Chinese evergreen cutting is apical, they quickly turn out beautiful young plants.
- Sprinkle all wounds with activated charcoal powder.
- Dry in partial shade with free access to fresh air for a day.
- You must keep the Chinese evergreen in calcined sand by half or a little more (1.6-2.4 inches).
- If there are leaves on the handle, lift them, and carefully tie them with a soft cord. Keep at high humidity, temperature 68 °F – 77 °F. The sand should not dry out even for a short time.
- Root growth will be noticeable in about 2 weeks. Seed Chinese evergreen in small pots with a light substrate.
Many sources advise making stem cutting of indoor plants of 1.5-2 inches. Of course, more new plants turn out, but with the same probability pieces of the stem disappear.
Usually, experienced flower growers do not risk, and yet they try to root the plant with Chinese evergreen cuttings of 3.14-4 inches.
Growing Chinese evergreen plants from seeds
This is a rather complicated way of propagating a Chinese evergreen. After all, the seeds need to ripen on the bush. After they need to be cleaned, washed, and planted to a depth of 0.4 in peat-sandy moist soil (1:1).
Contain at a temperature of 68 °F – 77 °F and high humidity under glass or transparent film.
Daily needs TO propagate Chinese evergreen
- ventilate;
- remove condensate;
- check the humidity, and if necessary, spray from a household spray bottle.
When the sprouts hatch, gradually expose the seedlings to fresh air.
After the appearance of 2 leaves, they are seated in individual cups with moist soil.
Full-fledged Chinese evergreen with seed propagation can be obtained in 3-4 years.
Propagate Chinese evergreen by the division of the bush
When transplanting, the mother plant is examined. If a root process has appeared that has at least 3-4 leaves, you need to divide the bush with a sharp knife into parts.
Now you have to plant them in smaller pots. Put in a dark place for a week. The leaves must be sprayed frequently.
It is useful to pour the Chinese evergreen after planting not with ordinary water, but with a solution of a rooter.
Can Chinese evergreens be rooted in water?
You can root the Chinese evergreen in water. It is the best solution if you want to easily monitor root growth. But many gardeners say that they have trouble moving cuttings rooted in water to the soil. The young Chinese evergreen plant doesn’t adjust well.
So it is easier to propagate the Chinese evergreen plant by cuttings in moist soil.
How long does it take for Chinese evergreen to root in water?
It will take 2-3 months for Chinese evergreen stem cutting roots in water.
How to propogate chinese evergreen: possible growing problems
Common houseplant pests may appear when you propagate Chinese evergreen:
- thrips;
- spider mites;
- worms;
- scale insects;
- rarely – aphids or whiteflies.
For the fight, insecticides are used.
If you want to use new odorless preparations, when dealing with spider mites, you need to make sure that they have an acaricidal effect.
This is not an insect, but an arachnid.
Of the diseases, rot is the most dangerous:
- root rot when growing Chinese evergreen in dense always moist soil, without drainage or lower holes in the pot;
- leaves, resulting from the transfer of the fungus from other plants or spraying at low temperatures.
You can get rid of infections of the aerial parts by treatment with appropriate fungicides. If the root begins to rot, you have to root the top.
Other problems:
- leaves on the Chinese evergreen plant are curled – cold;
- the plates are wrinkled – dry air;
- brown tips on the Chinese evergreen plant – the same;
- whitish spots on the leaves – sunburn;
- dark marks on the plates – the result of waterlogging of the soil;
- the Chinese evergreen plant turned black – hypothermia.
Conclusion
Growing a healthy stem from a healthy plant is not difficult. The potting soil mustn’t be excessively wet, and the plant does not expose to direct sunlight. And you can propagate Chinese evergreen successfully.
Look also:
- take care of Orange Star,
- our detailed guide to Begonia Corallina,
- Lovely plant Snow Queen photos,
- Kangaroo paw fern problems.
- Dying zebra cactus.
Can Chinese evergreen be rooted in water?
Yes, Chinese evergreen can be rooted in water. It is a type of plant that can easily be propagated through stem cuttings and rooting them in water. However, it is important to note that rooting in water should be done in a warm location and the water should be changed regularly to prevent bacteria growth. Once roots have formed, the cutting should be planted in soil.
Where do you cut propagate Chinese evergreens?
To propagate Chinese evergreens, you can cut a stem from the plant and either root it in water or soil. The stem should be at least 3-4 inches long and have at least one pair of leaves. After cutting, let the stem dry out for a day or two before placing it in water or soil. Keep the soil moist and in bright, indirect light. The roots should start to form within a few weeks, and new growth should appear in a few months.
What is the lifespan of a Chinese evergreen?
The lifespan of a Chinese evergreen can vary depending on the specific cultivar and growing conditions, but most varieties of this tropical plant can live for several decades or longer as indoor plants. As long as they are provided with the proper care and environment, Chinese evergreens can thrive for many years.