Syngonium: General Care

What is an Syngonium?

Syngonium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. They typically grow terrestrially and are prized for the vast array of colours and patterns, as well as their tolerance of lower-light conditions and minimal care needs. They are native to Tropical America, the humid jungles between Mexico and Brazil.

Care:

Syngonium don’t require much difficult care, and are a really great way to liven up your space, as they are hardy and resistant to most regular issues.

Watering: Syngonium are from humid tropical rainforests, which means that in the wild they are rarely found in totally dry soils. Keep the soil temperately damp but never soaking wet. They are somewhat drought tolerant but will suffer from over-watering, so it is best to water little in small amounts in order to achieve the right conditions. Be sure to make adjustments based on your light conditions and potting mix. In the winter, Syngonium in the UK will enter dormancy, and watering should be reduced to as little as possible to compensate.

Potting: Syngonium like well draining soils. A chunky mix of coir, perlite and pine bark would be an ideal mix, as the perlite and bark stop clumping and allow water to drain through, and the bark will store excess water and allow access to stored water if ever the soil is too dry.

Light: Being forest-floor growers in the wild, Syngonium generally do not require huge amounts of sunlight in order to grow successfully. In fact, direct sunlight would be far too much for them. Instead, medium to bright-indirect light is recommended for ideal growing conditions!

Feeding: It is best to feed Syngonium when they are exhibiting periods of active growth, to help to strengthen the new growth. Their leaves get very vivid nutrient burn if overfed, so it is best to feed only when needed. During dormancy it is recommended not to feed at all, and allow the plant to rest.

Pests: Syngoniums are particularly susceptible to thrips invasions and the stems can also be a nice feeding ground for scale insects and mealybugs! Keep your eyes out for warning signs and if discovered, treat accordingly.

Things to look out for in Syngonium:

Underwhelming Growth: As plants with striking foliage, it is easy to tell that when a new leaf comes out shriveled, small or underwhelming. This is usually as a response to a lack of sufficient light.

Yellow leaves: This can indicate multiple things. As a general rule, if there is new growth but old, smaller leaves are yellowing, this is just a natural process of prioritizing more productive foliage. If the yellowing is widespread, then the likelihood is there is a more sinister problem, such as: overwatering, drought, pests or nutrient burn.

Spent leaves: As a fast grower, Syngonium has adapted for its strongest and most productive leaves to stand tall, while its old, unproductive leaves limp over, out of the way, so as to not block any of the better leaves’ access to light. After a while, these spent leaves can build up and look a little ugly. Their presence is not indicative of any overall stress or problem, but simply removing them can greatly improve the plants appearance and allow them to redirect that energy to the more productive parts of themselves.

Syngonium species to check out:

Syngonium podophyllum is a single species, that after years of cultivation has had its various features ringfenced into lots of colourful and fascinating cultivars. All the following plants are cultivars of S. podophyllum:

S. podophyllum cv. ‘Arrow’

S. podophyllum cv. ‘White Butterfly’

S. podophyllum cv. ‘Pixie’

S. podophyllum cv. ‘Pink Spot’

S. podophyllum cv. ‘Milk Confetti’

S. podophyllum cv. ‘Red Heart’

S. podophyllum cv. ‘Brocante’