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Aglaonema Silver Bay Care – A Complete Guide

aglaonema silver bay
aglaonema silver bay

How To Care For aglaonema silver bay

The aglaonema silver bay is a simple yet beautiful plant that’s small enough to fit into most environments. If you want an easy to maintain plant that can give your home more of a tropical feel, it can provide you with the perfect solution.

Unlike many other tropical plants, it doesn’t require much space to own one.

What does your aglaonema silver bay require?

Despite not being the most challenging plant, aglaonema silver bay is native to China. Taking it away from its natural environment will cause it to need some extra care.

When you take good care of it, it can grow up to 12 inches high, and it’s leaves can be up to 4ft wide.

Light Requirements

All plants need light. It’s essentially their version of food. Animals get their energy from digesting the food we eat. But plants get it from turning the energy from the sun into fuel for their growth.

There is no such thing as a plant that doesn’t need any light to survive. That’s why you don’t usually find plants in dark places such as caves or the very bottom of the ocean.

Some plants require high levels of lighting. But not aglaonema silver bay. As long as the light is indirect, it doesn’t matter how low or high the light is. In the wild, this plant is surrounded by other plants to protect it from direct sunlight.

However, giving it more indirect light can help it to reach its full potential.

Temperature Requirements

Different plants are suited to different temperatures. If you put a cactus into the arctic, it isn’t going to last long. However, most of the houseplants we buy can be kept in temperatures that we can easily get within the home.

Ideally, aglaonema silver bay should be kept between 60-79F. But it’s essential to avoid sudden temperature changes, as it can take a while to adapt to temperature changes.

And importantly, avoid cold drafts as this can really mess with a room’s temperature.

Soil Requirements

As with a lot of other plants aglaonema silver bay lives best when the soil is well-drained. Too much water in the soil and the roots will become unable to absorb any of it. However, being used to a more tropical environment, it does like it when the soil is slightly damp.

Dry soil will mean it can’t absorb any water, but wet soil will have the same effect. It’s all about balance.

Humidity Requirements

While most water for most plants comes from the soil, the leaves still like to be kept moist. However, this doesn’t apply to all plants, some plants are used to having no moisture.

As you can imagine, being a tropical plant, aglaonema silver bay is used to a bit of humidity. For optimal growth, you might want to invest in a humidifier. But if this isn’t an option, using a pebble tray can also work just fine.

How to Water

All plants need to be watered sometimes. In the wild, this is done by the rain. At your house, you will need to give your plants the water that would usually be delivered by clouds.

Most of the time, aglaonema silver bay should be watered 1-2 times per week. This will allow it to absorb all the water it needs to without being overloaded.

You will need to water it slightly less during the winter as the coldness will enable it to hold onto it’s water for longer.

If you notice the leaves becoming droopy, take it as a sign to water it more often.

How to Fertilize

Fertilizing a plant means adding nutrients into the soil. In the wild, this is done by dead plants leaking their nutrients into the soil. At home, you will need to give fertilization a helping hand.

Fertilizing the aglaonema silver bay is easier than you probably think. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a special tropical fertilizer.

A general houseplant fertilizer that you use for the rest of your plants should do the trick just fine.

Extra tips for aglaonema silver bay

If you want your aglaonema silver bay to be as healthy as it can possibly be, follow these tips to make the most out of your green friend.

Pests & Diseases

Pests and diseases can kill entire forests of plants. Thankfully in the home, it’s easier to combat them.

When you first buy it, be careful it doesn’t have any mealy bugs. These are tiny white insects that eat at the plant and prevent it from absorbing nutrients. If you’re in a plant shop and see a plant with one, make sure to inform someone who works there.

When you take it home, aglaonema silver bay can catch diseases, here’s how to solve them.

Fusarium stem rot is when the stem is rotten. To solve it, just cut off the rotten bit before it can spread.

Pythium is caused either by the plant being too dry or too wet. As you can imagine, the solution is to either water it more or less, depending on what caused it.

Pruning

Pruning is the process of removing leaves or branches to help a plant grow. Many gardeners will spend most of their time pruning their plants. Although much of the time, it doesn’t do much beyond making the plants look nicer.

Most of the time, aglaonema silver bay doesn’t need to be pruned. However, if you notice dead leaves, feel free to remove them. Pruning of aglaonema silver bay is usually done for aesthetic, rather than health reasons.

Propagation

Propagation is how plants reproduce. Some plants can do this by pollination, but most houseplants need a hand from us to have children.

The aglaonema silver bay has small flowers that get pollinated by bees. However, when it lives inside, it’s unlikely to have many bees pollinate it.

At the base of most mature plants, you can find seeds. After you remove them, wash with water and plant in damp soil. This will usually take 45-60 days.

You can also clone your phone from a stem or root cutting. Simply cut off a small sample, and dip into the appropriate hormone.

Afterwards, stick it into some nutrition-rich soil, and place it in a room with the ideal temperature.

Commercially, propagation is done using tissue culture. However, to do this, you will require a laboratory. And I’d be surprised if many of our readers have a lab in their house.

No matter what method you use, the best temperature to keep the room will be between 20 and 35C.

FAQ

Caring for the aglaonema silver bay takes a bit of work, but you don’t need to be an expert.

Make sure to keep it out of direct sunlight, but still let it get plenty of direct sunlight. Be sure to water it once a week, and keep it in a pot where excess water can be drained out.

How do you care for aglaonema Silver Bay?

It’s a plant, so of course, it needs light. However, compared to other plants, aglaonema silver bay doesn’t require that much light.

You can give it direct sunlight by blocking the window with other plants.

Does aglaonema need light?

Yes, aglaonema silver bay is a plant that works great indoors. In fact, in our climate, it has a higher chance of survival indoors than outdoors.

Is aglaonema toxic?

Aglaonema silver bay is moderately toxic. It’s unlikely to kill you, but it can cause mouth and stomach irritation. For many people, it will even cause vomiting.

Overall, our advice for eating it would be “don’t”.

Some animals eat aglaonema silver bay in the wild. However, none of these animals is human, so eating it is not recommended.

How do I make my aglaonema bushy?

Some of you might prefer a bushy plant. Bushy plants can bring more life to your rooms, and you might find them nicer to look at than skinnier plants.

If you want to make the aglaonema silver bay bushy, you will need to prune it by removing some of the leaves and allowing more light to hit the stem.

When you remove the leaves, do so with your hands, not scissors. Using scissors can damage the plant tissue, decreasing the chances of it getting bushy.

Simply grab the bottom of the leaf, and gently pull.

Is aglaonema an air purifier?

Aglaonema silver bay is an air purifier. And a very good one too.

Not only does it turn carbon dioxide into oxygen (as most plants do), it also removes formaldehyde and benzene from the air. Formaldehyde and benzene are poisonous chemicals that can make you very unwell if consumed in high quantities.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has given you everything you need to know to care for the aglaonema silver bay. You just need to make sure it gets plenty of indirect sunlight, and you water it enough but not too much.

If this is your first houseplant, it could be a great place to start as it doesn’t require much effort, and it looks lovely.

Regardless of whether it’s your first or your 101st, the aglaonema silver bay is an excellent addition to any household. It can bring lots of character to an otherwise dull room.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

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