Chinese evergreen is Aglaonema. Those names belong here. Labels may say Aglaonema spp., Aglaonema modestum, Golden Evergreen, or Philippine evergreen. NCSU: it can look like Dieffenbachia. The difference they name is vein count. Aglaonema tends to have 5 to 8 main lateral veins. Dieffenbachia has more. Snake plant is a different plant.
Clemson HGIC lists division, stem cuttings, tip cuttings, air-layering, and seed. UF/IFAS FP025: propagation is by cuttings. Illinois: tip cuttings, or air-layering. NCSU: division and stem cutting. Missouri G6560: herbaceous cutting and stem section. That table does not check division or air layer for Chinese evergreen.
UF/IFAS FP025 and NCSU: calcium oxalate crystals. This guide is not a toxicity sheet.
Indoor only. Florida mass planting stays off.
For mix, see soil propagation. Water lives on water propagation.
Stem cuttings
Clemson, UF/IFAS FP025, Illinois, NCSU, and Missouri G6560 all name a stem or tip cutting. UF Gardening Solutions: cut off leggy stalks and root them. Clemson and DUMN: if the lower stem is bare, cut the top and root it.
Sources don't give a cutting length, a node count, a week count, or a hormone instruction for Aglaonema. Missouri's general cutting line, shared across table plants, is 4 to 6 inches, cut just below a node. Illinois's general stem how-to is 3 to 6 inches, two to six nodes. Iowa State's stem-tip sheet is 3 to 6 inches, at least two nodes, 3 to 6 weeks, hormone if desired. Aglaonema is not on Iowa's named best-list. Those generals are not one Aglaonema recipe. Where the node sits on a stem, with a diagram: what is a node on a plant.
Missouri G6560: may be rooted or grown in water. Illinois's plant page: grow in water or in humus potting soil. DUMN: will grow in water. Illinois's general propagation page does not recommend water as a medium.
Division
Illinois's key marks Chinese evergreen A and D, stem and division. NCSU names division. Clemson includes division. UF Gardening Solutions: divide it into two smaller plants.
Missouri G6560 does not check division for Chinese evergreen. Do not treat that table as the same list as Illinois, NCSU, Clemson, and UF.
Sources don't give a piece count or weeks-to-root for Aglaonema division.
Stem sections
Missouri G6560 checks stem section for Chinese evergreen. General stem-section how-to on that sheet: 1- to 2-inch sections, horizontal, covered slightly. Transplant when roots are at least 1 inch long.
DUMN names stem sections for Aglaonema. Illinois's cane how-to names Dieffenbachia and Dracaena, not Aglaonema. Do not import those cane lengths as if they were this plant.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a set cutting length or rooting time for Aglaonema. No source gives one specific to this plant.
- Using Dieffenbachia cane methods on this plant.
- Confusing this plant with snake plant.
- Expecting one Aglaonema cutting length. Missouri's general figure is 4 to 6 inches and Illinois's is 3 to 6 inches.
- Treating Missouri G6560's missing division check as a ban, or ignoring it. The sources disagree.
Chinese evergreen and Aglaonema belong here.
People also ask
Water or mix?
Missouri G6560 and Illinois's plant page allow water. DUMN says it will grow in water. Illinois's general propagation page does not recommend water. No Aglaonema-only week count for water.
Can I air-layer it?
Illinois's plant page and Clemson's list name air-layering. Missouri G6560 does not check it. Illinois's air-layer how-to names rubber tree, dieffenbachia, and croton, not Aglaonema. Not a numbered home recipe here.
How long until roots?
Sources don't give weeks for Aglaonema cuttings or divisions. Iowa's 3 to 6 weeks is a general houseplant stem-tip figure, and Aglaonema is not on that named list.