18 Types of Aglaonema Plants For Your Garden

What are Aglanomea Plants?

Aglaonema plants are extremely popular houseplants among gardeners because of their outstanding appearance and fewer demands.

If you are a beginner and are looking forward to starting an indoor garden, we strongly recommend including Aglaonema varieties.

This genus includes many cultivars, and each of them is very easy to distinguish due to the wide range of color combinations and leaf patterns.

Remember that these Chinese evergreen plants are mainly classified according to their local or cultivar names.

That’s why it is better to know their local names instead of the scientific ones.

These indoor plants can tolerate some neglect, but you should try to maintain them to produce beautiful flowers and healthy foliage.

The common foliage color combinations of Aglaonema plants are green and orange, green and yellow, green and red, green and pink, green and white, etc.

Most of the species belonging to this genus have white roots and 2-inch thick stems, reaching around 20 inches in height [1].

These plants typically produce white blooms during the spring to summer.

Moreover, they can be toxic to your four-legged friends and children as the leaves contain calcium oxalate [2].

Popular Types of Aglaonema Plants

Aglaonema Bidadari

Aglaonema bidadari is a beautiful plant with cream, pink, and light green foliage.

The leaves are oval-shaped and have a glossy texture.

The short and pink-colored stems enhance the beauty, even more, giving the plant a lush appearance.

Remember that the pink color is a prominent one in this species.

This Aglaonema plant may reach up to 20 inches tall. It would be best if you kept them under a bright indirect light.

Although direct sunlight can be harmful to the leaves, you can keep them in the morning sun for 4 hours.

Before you water them, make sure that the topsoil is dry.

Use coarse inorganic and organic materials to improve the potting mix’s drainage system and water retention capacity.

Aglaonema Brevispathum

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Aglaonema brevispathum is a perennial evergreen species with glossy textured, lance-shaped, dark green leaves with creamy-white central veins.

This plant can be found near streams in the southeastern region of Asia.

This Chinese evergreen species often grow branches from its pale green stems.

Each branching stem has 0.5-inch thick leaves and an 8-inch long narrow elliptically shaped leaf. 

This Chinese evergreen thrives well in shady areas. So, you can certainly grow them as houseplants. Remember that humidity is essential for this species.

That’s why you should try keeping them in a humid place like the kitchen or bathroom. If the air seems too dry, you can spray water or mist the leaves.

The drainage system of the potting mix should be good because the wet conditions will give rise to fungus diseases.

Aglaonema Chocolate

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Aglaonema chocolate has a unique foliage color. You will see a mix of burgundy, chocolate, and green on the leaves.

The chocolate and green color combination is the most prominent in this plant. The matured leaves have a dark green appearance.

The green chocolate leaves have striking red-colored veins that enhance the beauty even more.

Due to its outstanding appearance and fewer demand, we recommend growing this species as a houseplant.

These plants grow well in bright to low light conditions.

Since this species is a little variegated, you should try placing them near a bright spot that receives a minimum of 4 hours of the morning sun.

Water the soil and try not to let the topsoil dry, but don’t overwater. These plants prefer to grow in humid conditions.

You can either mist the leaves or place a pebble tray at the bottom of the container.

Aglaonema Commutatum

Aglaonema commutatum is one of the most popular Aglaonema varieties.

It is also known as the original Chinese evergreen, native to northeastern China and the Philippines, and grows in indoor gardens.

The elliptic and dark green leaves with pale silver-green spots The lance-shaped leaves can reach up to 8 inches long and 3 inches wide.

These Chinese evergreens bloom very rarely.

This Chinese evergreen variety does well under indirect sun and high humidity.

If you live in an arid region, don’t worry because they can tolerate dry air for a particular period of time. It is best to mist the leaves.

Water it moderately and plant it in a well-drained potting mix.

Insects are not so common, but you should be careful of mealybugs and aphids, which are pretty hard to eliminate.

Aglaonema Creta

Aglaonema creta is another impressive variety of the Aglaonema genus that will enhance the beauty of your indoor garden.

It has oval-shaped green leaves with creamy spots and bright pink veins. You will also see the light pink color on the edge.

This plant will match your living room if the background or wall color is white. It is also known to brighten the moods of the gardeners.

In short, this species can be a perfect addition to your bedroom, office, or study room.

Although these houseplants are pretty easy to grow, a few criteria must be fulfilled. For instance, you should try providing it with a bright light.

Dark green leaves can tolerate low light as they have a lot of chlorophyll and can produce food for plants.

While watering, remember that they are susceptible to root rot. So, water these plants moderately.

Aglaonema Cutlass

Aglaonema cutlass looks somewhat like spider plants because of their spider-like leaf pattern, but you can easily recognize them.

This plant has long, blade-shaped foliage with pale silver and dark green edges and veins. This color combination makes their appearances quite interesting.

Like the other Aglaonema varieties, this one is also a slow grower and may reach approximately 20 inches in height.

You may place them on your table to enhance their beauty.

These Aglaonema varieties grow best under bright but filtered light. Make sure that they receive a minimum of 4 hours of the morning sun.

They prefer humid conditions. You can gently mist the leaves, or you may use a pebble tray at the bottom of the container.

The gardener should feed these plants with liquid fertilizer twice a month during their growing season.

Aglaonema, Diamond Bay

Aglaonema diamond bay is famous for its wonderful variegation. The lance-shaped leaves are pretty long and have a pale green center with dark green margins.

These leaves can grow up to 5 inches long. Placing these Chinese evergreen plants will surely add an exotic touch to your plant collection.

This is a relatively newer variety of Aglaonema species considered toxic to pets.

This plant prefers thriving under indirect or medium light, but you may keep it under the morning sun for a few hours.

The soil should be well-drained and organically rich, and make sure that you water these plants well.

Don’t let the topsoil dry out, as these plants cannot withstand dry conditions. The ideal temperature for growing them is 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

You may fertilize them with liquid fertilizer in the spring and summer.

Aglaonema’s Emerald Beauty

Aglaonema emerald beauty is one of the most attractive Aglaonema species. Identification of this variety is relatively easy.

The leaf color is predominantly green with silver or creamy green spots.

This variety looks similar to the Aglaonema Silver Bay, which has more silver patches than the plain green color, and it may grow up to 4 feet tall.

This indoor plant is also known by its other name, Aglaonema Maria.

This indoor plant can be grown under low light conditions. You can easily maintain it in your living room or bedroom.

Remember that since it has light-colored leaves, it needs comparatively bright light to thrive. Before you water, observe the topsoil.

If it looks dry, then water it moderately. Maintain the soil moisture evenly.

Otherwise, the plant may lose its variegation. Don’t leave them outside during the winter.

Aglaonema’s First Diamond

Aglaonema’s first diamond is an impressive variety of houseplants. This species has stunning pale or light green leaves with deep green margins.

This Chinese evergreen is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This plant has short stems and may grow up to 1 foot tall.

Many people often consider it a lucky plant, although it has nothing to do with luck.

These air-cleaning plants are pretty easy to grow. Since it is a variegated form, you must ensure that the plant receives abundant sunlight to produce its food.

At the same time, you should avoid keeping it in the direct sun for a prolonged period.

Water these plants to maintain an even soil moisture condition. Overwatering may cause root rot and various diseases.

Green Papaya Aglaonema

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Aglaonema green papaya plants have hot pink tones at the center of their leaves. This species is the easiest one to identify among the pink Aglaonema varieties.

This plant is native to Southeast Asia. The leaves of these plants have lime-green leaves.

You may grow them in a 6-inch container, in which they will grow up to 12 inches tall.

This plant is an ideal one for growing under low light conditions. Gardeners should plant this variety in a well-drained potting mix.

You can prepare a well-drained growing medium by mixing coarse and organic materials. Feed these plants twice every month, from spring to summer.

Keep in mind that they cannot withstand freezing temperatures. Therefore, you should keep them in a warm place during the fall.

Aglaonema Harlequin

Aglaonema harlequin is considered the most stunning Aglaonema plant compared to the other Aglaonema varieties.

It has beautiful, dominating pink veins that give the plant a more charming look.

These pink veins and green-yellow leaves will surely add a vibe to your tropical garden.

This striking color combination makes it a mesmerizing and demanding Aglaonema variety.

Aglaonema harlequin is easy to grow as its demand is similar to the other Aglaonema varieties.

Remember to place them in the bright morning sun for 4 hours. Since this plant has less chlorophyll, it needs more light to produce food.

Keep the soil evenly moist and allow the top 2 inches of soil to dry before you water it. Use well-drained soil for growing these species.

Aglaonema Modestum

Aglaonema modestum is commonly known as “summer snapdragon.”

This is a well-known Chinese evergreen plant native to the subtropical and tropical climates of Asian countries.

This flowering plant has plain green leaves and produces arum-like blooms when mature.

This variety is mainly famous for its beautiful flowers rather than its foliage pattern. 

These species require humid conditions for growth. You have to maintain the humidity level at a minimum of 60% for their active development.

Moreover, these Aglaonema varieties enjoy shady areas.

Don’t keep them outside if the temperature falls below 55 degrees Fahrenheit or exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can use clay soil to grow them, as it has a higher water retention capacity.

Aglaonema Nitidum

Another Chinese evergreen variety that may reach around 1.5 feet tall is Aglaonema nitidum. It has short stems that stand upright, bearing plain green leaves.

We suggest you grow these Aglaonema varieties in containers. Keep in mind that they cannot withstand freezing temperatures.

So, during this period, you may have to take extra care. 

Aglaonema nitidum needs indirect or shady areas to grow.

Don’t worry about insects and diseases because this plant is quite disease-resistant, except for the fusarium.

Just make sure that you don’t make the soil too soggy and waterlogged.

Gardeners can easily propagate these Aglaonema varieties by the stem-cutting method.

Aglaonema Pictum Tricolor

This species is fascinating because of its elliptic, broad, pale, and deep green spotted leaves.

We recommend you grow this Aglaonema variety in your tiny tropical rainforest. The stems are comparatively thicker.

These Chinese evergreens are called tricolors because of their three different greenish colors.

Further, because the leaf pattern looks like military camouflage, they are sometime referred to as “camouflage plants”

Aglaonema pictum tricolor grows best in well-drained soil. Make sure that the soil is not too compacted.

To prepare an ideal growing medium, you can mix perlite, pumice, and other inorganic coarse materials. Don’t overwater these plants.

Also, try to maintain a minimum of 60% humidity. These Chinese evergreens grow well under indirect light.

Pink Dalmatian Aglaonema

The Aglaonema pink dalmatian is native to the tropical forests of southeastern Asian countries, especially the Philippines.

This is an attractive, slow-growing Chinese evergreen houseplant with dark green, broad leaves. This classy variegated plant has soft pink spots on the foliage.

This plant is known to be an air purifying plant and is listed by NASA. 

These plants are sensitive to extreme temperatures and abrupt fluctuations. To grow them, you must maintain a regular watering schedule.

Keep the soil evenly moist, but don’t overwater, as it can give rise to fungal diseases.

You should watch the humidity level carefully, or the leaves may become yellow or show brown tips. This indoor plant grows well under indirect light.

Aglaonema Prestige

Aglaonema prestige is another beautiful species of Aglaonema varieties. This species is native to the subtropical and tropical regions of Asia.

These Chinese evergreens have green and pink foliage patterns. It produces beautiful flowers that have a green and white color combination.

Under the most favorable conditions, this variety can reach up to 20 inches tall. They are sensitive to drought and extreme temperatures.

These Chinese evergreen varieties can survive in low to medium light. Avoid placing them in the direct sun, which can burn the leaves.

Water these Aglaonema varieties when the top few inches of the soil become dry but don’t let the whole potting mix dry.

Lack of sufficient humidity is another problem that can ruin the colorful foliage. Feed them once every two weeks with liquid fertilizer.

Aglaonema, or Red Valentine

Aglaonema red valentine, also known as Painted Drop Tongue, is an excellent Chinese evergreen plant with green leaves and pink patches.

The midrib and margins are green in color. This plant removes air contaminants like formaldehyde and benzene and keeps the indoor air clean.

It can grow up to 1 foot tall if grown in a 6-inch container.

Like the other varieties, this one thrives well under bright light.

Keep them away from the midday sun, as direct sunlight for a prolonged period may damage the leaves.

The soil should be organically rich and well-drained. You can use coarse and organic materials to make such a potting mix.

We suggest you add peat moss as these plants prefer slightly acidic conditions.

The ideal temperature for growing Aglaonema red plants is between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Silver Queen and Silver King Aglaonema

The Aglaonema silver queen and the Aglaonema silver king are pretty similar.

Silver Queen is a wide variety of Aglaonema with a cream and dark green color combination.

On the other hand, the silver king doesn’t have too many green stripes like the Silver Queen.

You can easily identify them by observing their leaf pattern.

Both of these plants thrive well under medium to low light conditions. Make sure you water them profoundly and maintain the soil moisture evenly.

Humidity is an essential factor in growing them. You may increase the humidity level by misting the leaves or placing a pebble tray beneath the container.

The best time to propagate these plants is in late winter to early spring.

Aglaonema plant care guide

Although Aglaonema plants don’t require much attention to grow, these Chinese evergreen varieties need the minimum care to maintain their beauty and dense foliage.

Remember that they don’t need much attention, but that doesn’t mean these plants don’t need any attention. You should at least meet their basic demands.

Therefore, we will mention a few recommendations for growing these colorful houseplants.

Light

Aglaonema varieties prefer growing under indirect or even low light conditions.

We suggest placing these plants near the bright spot that receives dappled sunlight.

You can quickly identify the lighting imbalances by observing the leaf stems, which become leggy when there is insufficient light.

These flowering plants cannot stand direct sunlight to burn the green foliage.

Temperature and relative humidity

Winter can be a problem for the Aglaonema plants. Never keep it outdoors if the temperature drops below 65 degrees Fahrenheit. They prefer warm conditions.

Therefore, if your place is too cold, we recommend moving these plants indoors and keeping them near a warm area.

Since they are tropical plants, they prefer a higher humidity level.

You can increase the humidity level by simply spraying or misting water on the leaves in summer.

Also, clean the surface of the foliage using soft cotton.

Soil

The growing medium for Aglaonema plants should be loose and light. The soil should be well-drained.

You should mix sand, gravel, and other coarse materials to improve the drainage condition of the potting mix.

However, don’t forget to apply organic materials to enhance the water retention capacity of the growing medium.

The Aglaonema variety is a slow grower. So you don’t have to worry about repotting these plants too often.

The best time to replant them is once every three to five years. The growth of their roots is quite limited, and they grow well in a restricted area.

Water and fertilizer

When grown under natural conditions, Algaonema plants receive a lot of water.

If you grow indoors, make sure that the plants get sufficient water during their growing season.

You may reduce the watering frequency when winter appears, as they become dormant in this season.

Avoid using hard water, rich in very high calcium and magnesium.

Feed the plants during the spring and summer with liquid fertilizer twice a month. There is no need to fertilize them in winter.

Propagation

You can easily propagate Aglaonema plants by cuttings, separating the offsets or daughter plants, or seeds.

Because of their slower growth rate, these plants are difficult to propagate using cutting methods.

Common diseases of Aglaonema plants

There are some common diseases and pests that are pretty hard to eliminate.

The most common pests are mealybugs, aphids, mites, and scales.

Don’t delay if you ever notice any of these insects in your plants.

Eliminate them as soon as you can because they spread very quickly.

Moreover, some diseases can kill your Aglaonema plants, and some of the more deadly diseases are:

Fusarium stem rot

This is a common disease of Aglaonema plants. The rotted plants have a mushy rot appearance at the base. You must remove the affected plants as soon as possible, or the fungal infection will spread.

Pythium

Pythium disease is also associated with the roots, and this disease occurs mainly in poorly drained potting mixes or under soggy/wet conditions.

Colletotrichum and Myrothecium

These diseases occur when propagation is done in the wrong way. We suggest you sterilize the knife or any materials that you use for cuttings or propagation. You will notice leaf spots, which may slowly become bigger.

FAQ

Conclusion

Aglaonema varieties are undoubtedly beautiful houseplants that can be kept in your reading room or bedroom.

Though the species mentioned above are the most beautiful and popular, other Aglaonema varieties are also excellent – for instance, Aglaonema white rain, Aglaonema red peacock, Aglaonema pink moon, Aglaonema prosperity, and the Aglaonema tigress.

The creamy green and deep green color combination is indeed fascinating. Moreover, these plants have fewer demands.

If you can fulfill their basic needs, these air-purifying plants will live happily and continue cleaning the air.

Just make sure that they are placed in a bright spot that doesn’t receive direct sunlight for a prolonged period.

Water them moderately, and finally, try to provide them with a higher humidity level.

References

• [1] Mariani et al. (2011). Aglaonema micropropagation using axillary shoot explants. International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 11(1): 46–53. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284898199_Micropropagation_of_Aglaonema_using_axillary_shoot_explants
• [2] Zahara, M., & Cho, C. (2020). A Review: The Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Micropropagation of Aglaonema sp. Journal of Tropical Horticulture, vol. 3 (2), 96-100. URL: http://jthort.org/index.php/jthort/article/view/58
• UF/IFAS Extension: Solutions for Your Life. (2017). Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema). University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Gardening Solutions. URL: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/houseplants/chinese-evergreen.html
• TTU Plant Resources. (n.d.). Aglaonema ‘Silver Queen’ Plant Information. Plant Resources, Texas Tech University. URL: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/plantresources/Pages/directories/landscape-info-sheets/interior-info/Aglaonema_SilverQueen.php
• About/mentions: Aglaonema, houseplants