Aglaonema Silver Bay Plant Care

Last Updated on March 15, 2022 by Admin

The Aglaonema Silver Bay is also called the Silver Bay Aglaonema, Silver Bay Plant and Chinese Evergreen Silver Bay.

As such, if you see any of these names, they all refer to this same plant.

The Aglaonema Silver Bay has a compact growth habit. And it features stunning green and silver foliage that will grow long and wide making it stunning to look at.

It is a very easy plant to care for.

The Aglaonema Silver Bay is native to the tropical and subtropical forests of Asia, which means that it is a fan of hot and humid weather.

How do you care for the Aglaonema Silver Bay? The plant thrives in bright, indirect light although it will do well in medium or low light as well. it enjoys, warm, humid environments and needs moderate watering.

However, always allow the soil to dry between waterings to avoid excess moisture issues.

While it does not need fertilizer, it will benefit if you feed it during its growing season.

Table of Contents

Light Requirements

The Aglaonema Silver Bay will do well in a wide variety of lighting environments.

For the best growth, place it in medium to bright indirect light. However, it won’t mind low light as well and will do well there.

If you don’t get a lot of natural light through your windows, you can use artificial lights as well and the plant won’t have a problem.

You can put it under fluorescent lighting, and it will do just fine.

This is one of the best features of the Aglaonema Silver Bay as it can tolerate all sorts or lighting conditions. Thus, making it a great indoors plant.

That said, there is one kind of light you want to keep it away from, direct sunlight.

As with many other houseplants, direct exposure to the sun’s rays for hours at a time every day will eventually burn its leaves.

Therefore, keep it away from strong, intense light.

Outdoors the plant will thrive in partial shade and semi-shade. Again, avoid full sun.

Temperature

The Aglaonema Silver Bay is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. Therefore, it prefers warm to hot weather. And its ideal temperature is 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is where the plant grows its best.

Again, this matches well with indoor temperatures in homes which usually runs between 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit because it is what people feel most comfortable with.

As such, there’s no need to make any special accommodations for the plant at home.

That said, one important thing to keep in mind that the Silver Bay Aglaonema is not cold hardy. In fact, it will not tolerate temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Therefore, avoid leaving in areas that may have sudden changes in climate.

Indoors, keep it away from air conditioners and cold drafts.

Outdoors, make sure to bring it back indoors before the weather gets colder around year end.

It is also worth noting that the plant will thrive outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11. That’s because these areas get sunshine and warm weather throughout the year.

Thus, I mimics the weather in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia.

Humidity

The Silver Bay Aglaonema prefers humidity between 60% and 80%. But it will tolerate low humidity without any problems. However, there is a limit to how dry the air can get before the plant will become unhappy.

That said, it won’t have problem in most homes as it can tolerate the humidity.

But just in case, the main sign to look for are brown leaves on the tips and edges. These will get crispy and brittle as the plant experiences dry air.

If it is not treated, the leaves will turn yellow after a while.

Therefore, if you see your Aglaonema Silver Bay turn brown on its leaf tips and margins, it means it needs more humidity.

Similarly, many growers will use humidifier anyways to keep the plant happy.

That’s because if you can maintain its desired humidity of 60% to 80%, it the Silver Bay plant will reward you with faster grown and more lush leaves.

How Often to Water Aglaonema Silver Bay

Allow the soil of your Silver Bay plant to dry between waterings. This means waiting until the top two inches of soil feels dry to the touch before you add more water.

Alternatively, I like to wait until half the soil is dry before watering. This ensures that I avoid any possibility of overwatering and potentially root rot.

With the first method, you can use your finger and stick it into the soil. Go down until the second knuckle of your index finger. That’s about 2 inches.

Then take out your finger and feel for moisture. If it is moist or wet, wait a few more days before you test the soil again.

Only water when that depth feels dry.

For the second method, you can use a wooden chopsticks. Any wooden stock will work here.

Just insert the chopstick all the way down until I hits the bottom of the pot. Then take it out.

The wet spot in the chopstick will tell you up to what level of the pot the soil still has moisture. And once the wat link on the wood is about halfway down the pot, it is time to add water.

This way, the roots stays moist and you allow enough of the soil to dry out to avoid overwatering the plant.

Another thing to consider is the quality of the water you use.

The Silver Bay plant can be sensitive to top water that contains a lot of salts, chlorine and fluoride. This can cause the tips of its leaves to dry out and turn brown.

In case this happens, you may want to filter your tap water or use rainwater instead.

Alternatively, you can also leave tap water overnight to allow the excess chemicals to evaporate before you use it to water the plant.

Related

Aglaonema Silver Bay Potting Soil

The most important thing about Aglaonema Silver Bay potting mix is it needs to be well-draining.

This will prevent overwatering and waterlogging. Both of these are threats to your plant because they can eventually damage or even destroy it.

So, in combination with allowing the soil to dry between waterings, it is important to use potting soil with good drainage.

The simplest way you can make this potting mix at home is to combine equal parts of:

Potting soil
Peat moss
Perlite

This will give the soil enough moisture retention but at the same time have good enough drainage to quickly get rid of any excess water.

In addition to using a well-draining potting mix for your Aglaonema Silver Bay, make sure to use a pot with drainage holes at the bottom.

This will allow the excess liquid from the soil to drip out of the container instead of just accumulate at the bottom which will keep the soil wet.

Fertilizer

The Aglaonema Silver Bay does not need fertilizer. So, you don’t need to use it if you don’t want to or are on a budget.

I have friends who have very happy and healthy Aglaonema Silver Bay plants. And they don’t feed them.

On my part, I like to fertilize the plant just to be thorough. It can also help the plant grow faster and stave off any potential nutrient deficiencies.

But be careful not to over feed it.

Too much fertilizer is worse than not giving it any plant food.

That’s because excess fertilizer can damage the roots and eventually cause problems for your plant. This is not worth the time or stress.

So, make sure to just follow the instructions on the produce label.

I like to feed my Aglaonema Silver Bay plant with a an all-purpose fertilizer. I use an N-P-K of 20-20-20 but you can use 15-15-15 or 10-10-10 as well.

Apply once a month during the spring and summer. Stop by early fall and don’t feed it in the winter.

Once in a while, it is also good practice to flush the soil.

This will help remove excess minerals, salts from the soil along with some debris as well.

In doing so, you avoid salt buildup that can eventually become toxic to your plant’s roots.

To do so, just run water through the soil for 5-10 minutes. Then allow the soil to completely drain.

Do this once very 2 to 6 months depending on how much fertilizer you use. The more you use, the more salts will collect in the soil. So, you’ll need to flush the soil more often as well.

Pruning

The Aglaonema Silver Bay can grow to between 2-3 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide.

This is a beautiful plant who’s leaves are stunning when allowed to become bushy. As such, I encourage you to let it grow and prune only minimally.

In my case, I don’t even prune the plant outside of removing dead, dying leaves or those that get damaged. I just let it grow and get dense which makes it very pretty.

On the other hand, if you have a sparse plant, you can also prune it to encourage new growth.

Besides, pruning, don’t forget to clean the leaves as well.

Do so when dust accumulates.

Dust is problematic to plants because it can block the leaves from absorbing light. The thicker the layer of dust, the less light is able to pass.

Additionally, dust particles also interfere with the pores on the leaves that allow for transpiration.

Finally, pests are attracted to dust. So, by cleaning your plants regularly, you decrease the chances of pests as well.

How to Propagate Aglaonema Silver Bay

The most common ways of propagating the Aglaonema Silver Bay are via stem cuttings and division. Both work well but are very different methods.

As such, they each have their uses.

Here’s how to propagate the Aglaonema Silver Bay from stem cuttings.

Begin by taking a healthy stem cutting. You’re looking for a stem that has a at least 2-3 leaves on it and one node.
Having at least one node is crucial as the new plant will not propagate without that.
Then, take a sterilized pair of scissors or shears and cut just below the node. You want to make sure the cutting comes with the node.
Plant the stem cutting into a pot with well-draining potting mix.
Place it in a bright location with no direct sunlight. And water the plant to keep it moist.
It will take about 3-4 weeks for the cutting to grow a basic root system.

On the other hand , you can also propagate the Aglaonema Silver Bay plant by division. Here’s how:

Carefully take the plant out of its pot and remove excess soil you can see the root system.
Once you can check the root system, decide which sections to divide. Make sure that each division has a few stems and leaves on it above the soil. And it also have enough roots below the soil.
Take a sterilized knife and separate the sections. You can also use your hands if they easily come apart.
Plant each of the divisions into their own pots with fresh potting soil.

How to Repot or Transplant Aglaonema Silver Bay

The Aglaonema Silver Bay usually needs repotting every 12 to 24 months. Although, I prefer to see what the plant is telling me instead of following a specific schedule.

The reason is that the same plant can grow at different rates depending on how much light, water, humidity fertilizer and other factors it gets.

As such, the same plant will grow differently because you have different people taking care of them at different places.

So for me, I like to check the drainage holes at the bottom oft eh pot.

Once I see a few roots peeking out from there, it is a sign that the plant needs a bigger pot.

The pest time to repot is spring to early summar.

And when you do, move the plant to a pot that is one size larger and use fresh, well-draining potting soi.

Again, make sure the new pot has drainage as well.

Is It Toxic/Poisonous to Humans, Cats & Dogs

Yes, the Aglaonema Silver Bay plant is toxic to people and pets. While touching or holding the plant poses no danger, ingesting the leaves or stems can cause mouth, throat and tongue irritation and even pain.

It can also cause vomiting, nausea or other digestive issues.

Aglaonema Silver Bay Problems & Troubleshooting

Pests

The Aglaonema Silver Bay is not particularly prone to pests. But it can experience these bugs at any time especially if it is stressed, weak or unwell.

Therefore, it is important to keep the plant healthy.

Additionally cleaning it regularly will help prevent pests from coming around.

The most common pests of the Silver Bay plant are mealybugs, aphids, scale and mites. These aren’t harmful when there are only few of them because they are tiny and don’t cause damage then.

But they are dangerous because they grow in population very rapidly.

And when they do, they can inflict substantial damage since they suck the sap of the plant when feeding. This will weaken your Aglaonema Silver Bay.

Diseases

The biggest threat to the plant is root rot. Although, bacterial and fungal diseases can also happen.

All of these are caused by excess moisture.

Therefore, it is very important to know when to water, how much to water and how to water.

Avoid overwatering and using well-draining soil and a pot with holes are the best way to prevent root rot.

As for leaf infections, avoid wetting the leaves late in the day or leaving the plant in low light or areas with poor air circulation. This will prevent water on the leaves from drying quickly.