Species · genus Aglaonema · Araceae

Chinese Evergreen

Aglaonema modestum Schott ex Engl.

Also known as: Japanese-leaf

Growth habit

subshrub

Native range

Bangladesh, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam

Reference · A. modestum

Cultivars of A. modestum

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. modestum yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Aglaonema modestum is an understory subshrub from the warm, humid forests of mainland Southeast Asia and southern China, so it is adapted to dappled shade rather than direct sun. Give it a medium-light spot out of harsh rays and let the top inch of mix dry before watering again. It tolerates ordinary household humidity and is prone to root rot if kept soggy, so err toward the drier end of the interval.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Medium light

Water

≈ every 14 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

16–27 °C

Soil mix

Peat-based potting mix lightened with perlite

Propagation

Division at repotting, or stem cuttings

Fertilizing

Half-strength balanced feed monthly in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Occasional spathe blooms indoors; often trimmed to favor the foliage

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Araceae contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which cause oral and digestive irritation if chewed. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 7-14d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Chinese Evergreen yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.