Do Chinese Evergreen Bloom? (How Often+Why Not)

Chinese evergreen, popularly known as Aglaonema, is a popular indoor plant. But did you know they can bloom? Although Chinese evergreens are known for their beautiful foliage, they also grow flowers that are often removed.

So, in this article, we shall learn if Chinese evergreen actually blooms and how often?

In general, healthy Chinese evergreens blooms during spring or summer every year. However, it is recommended to remove these flowers as they don’t last long, and foliage growth is more noteworthy for these plants. Chinese evergreens produce flowers similar to peace lily but not as attractive.

However, if you want your Chinese evergreen to grow flowers, you need to provide the ideal living conditions so that the plant remains healthy and gets ready for flowering.

If you want to know more about the Chinese evergreen blooms, keep reading this article.

Do Chinese evergreen bloom?

Some Chinese evergreen or Aglaonema plants bloom in summer and some species in spring. However, the plant needs to be matured, and then only it can bloom.

Chinese evergreens are primarily grown for their attractive leaves as their flowers are not vibrant. The flower of Aglaonema blooms into a spadix form, often surrounded by a green spathe. It is common among all the plants in the arum family.

Under a suitable environment, Aglaonema can bloom once a year. Few species experience blooming time during spring, while most bloom during summer.

The flowering in your Chinese evergreen indicates that it has reached maturity.

Though the flowers of Chinese evergreens are insignificant, they utilize a lot of energy for growing.

People adore these plants because of their attractive leaves. When flowers utilize unnecessary energy, it hampers the growth of those leaves. That’s why Chinese evergreen owners prefer to trim off those flowers.

But does pruning those flowers harm your plant? Or should you trim off the flowers? No worries, you will get all the answers. But before that, let’s find out the conditions that lead to blooming in these plants.

Favorable conditions for Chinese evergreen to bloom

Though Chinese evergreens are less dramatic than other houseplants, they still have specific requirements. They need to generate a certain amount of energy to produce flowers.

Providing them with all the essentials is crucial during their growing phase. There are a few favorable conditions needed for them to bloom. 

Sufficient light

Every houseplant’s first requirement is sufficient and suitable lighting. The plant type suggests whether they’ll need low light, direct sunlight, or indirect light.

The ideal light for an Aglaonema to bloom is bright indirect sunlight. The light they get from a window that gets enough light protected by a curtain will be good enough for their growth and bloom.

You can use grow lights if there is insufficient natural light in the house, but you still want to see your Chinese evergreen remain healthy and bloom.

Also read: How Much Light Does A Chinese Evergreen Need? (Light Requirements)

High humidity

Moderate to high humidity levels is the ideal humidity requirement for Chinese evergreens. A sufficient humidity level in the atmosphere stops excess water loss from the leaves. This also helps to keep the plant moist.

Humidifiers and misting techniques are popular among gardeners. A humidifier can help maintain the proper humidity level around the plant. You can also keep your Chinese evergreen in the humid corners of your house, such as the bathroom or kitchen.

Also read: Should I Mist My Chinese Evergreen? (+Humidity Guide)

Proper watering schedule

If your Chinese evergreen is dry, it will never bloom. One of the most critical conditions after the light is watering your plant correctly.

Summer is their blooming season, and you should water at least once every seven to ten days. Whereas during their dormancy, watering every two weeks is enough. But whatever you do, ensure that the topsoil is dry before watering.

For blooming, plants need a lot of energy. To provide them with this energy, you need to water them properly.

Crisp, brown leaves, cracked soil, and falling leaves indicate a low-moisturized plant. Soggy soil, yellow or brown leaves, and soft roots indicate an overwatered plant. Both these conditions are unsuitable for a Chinese evergreen.

Also read: How Much Water Does A Chinese Evergreen Need? (How Often+Summer & Winter)

Fertilization

Houseplants often lack nutrients due to limited soil and nutrition. Their nutrition supply is limited to the soil allotted to them. Thus, sometimes external nutrition is added to meet their demand.

Chinese evergreens don’t need much fertilization but will bloom better if fertilization is done. Mature plants can be fertilized during their growing phase with some water-soluble fertilizers.

Organic fertilizers are a good alternative if someone is skeptical about chemical fertilizers. 

Also read: Does Chinese Evergreen Plant Needs Fertilizer? (How Often+Best Fertilizer)

Should I cut the flower off my Aglaonema?

There is a famous debate among houseplant owners or specifically Chinese evergreen owners, whether they should trim off the flowers or not.

I recommend that all Chinese evergreen owners trim off the flowers irrespective of the species. Aglaonema, or Chinese evergreen, is mainly grown for its dark green leaves, and flowers are not its primary attraction.

The flowers of Chinese evergreen stay alive for 3-4 days, and the blooming season can last for a few months indoors. Under favorable conditions indoors, the size of the flowers can range up to 5-10 centimeters.

Many people claim that their Chinese evergreens don’t bloom when grown as houseplants.

Fertilizing the plant with liquid fertilizer once a month during its blooming season can make the flowers bloom even bigger. So if you enjoy its flowers, you can fertilize the plant when needed.

The main reason for cutting off flowers from Aglaonema is to reduce unnecessary energy and nutrients for producing flowers.

In the wild, meeting the nutritional demand of plants is easy. The soil is present all over the ground, and suitable healthy soil can provide ample nutrition to all the plants that can grow foliage and flowers without affecting each other’s growth.

Pruning or cutting the flowers off your Chinese evergreen is easy. You need the essential tools and knowledge to trim the flowers off their Chinese evergreen successfully.

While trimming, try to prune as narrow as possible. Deep cuts might kill your plant. Take a sharp pair of scissors to trim the flowers. Disinfect the scissors or pruners before and after use.

Pruning is also done on dead and damaged leaves to make the plant look beautiful. Damaged leaves bring an unmanageable look. Trimming off the unnecessary leaves and dry flowers will make the plant look fresh.

Although the primary attraction and reason behind growing Chinese evergreen indoors are their long dark green leaves, not for the flowers. So, trimming off the flowers will not harm your plant.

Why is my Aglaonema not blooming? 

If your Aglaonema is not blooming, there might be several reasons for it.

Dry soil, insufficient lighting, and lack of nutrition can restrict the growth of flowers. Different species of Aglaonema experience differences in their growth of flowers.

We will elaborate on all the points and give you a thorough idea of the causes behind your Chinese evergreen not blooming.

Soil is dry, or the plant is underwatered

Dryness is dangerous for any Chinese evergreen. Chinese evergreen originates from Asia’s subtropical and tropical regions, so they love moisture and humidity.

Due to unsuitable environmental conditions indoors, the blooming season can get delayed or stopped.

Underwatering might cause dry soil. An underwatered Chinese evergreen shows brown tips with curly-edged or yellow leaves. The plant looks dull and unhealthy, and the soil also feels dry with cracks.

Another reason for underwatering might be the lack of moisture-retaining ingredients in the soil. The soil might fail to hold enough moisture to keep the plant from going thirsty too fast.

But, you can fix this by:

• Pruning all the damaged leaves with a pair of sharp scissors or pruners. Those damaged leaves will never be healthy, so it’s better to get rid of them.
• Water your Chinese evergreen thoroughly, soak the plant in water and drench it entirely in water. After that, let it dry for a few days.
• Always maintain the correct watering schedule to avoid skipping watering sessions.
• Do not skip the watering, especially during their growing phase and summers. They consume more water and nutrients during summers.
• Try misting around your plant. This process will provide sufficient moisture to the leaves. Get a spray bottle, add water and spray around the plant to create a mist.
• Use a humidifier to provide humidity. 

Your Chinese evergreen is under a pest attack!

Although Chinese evergreens are not prone to pests and bugs, mealybugs can show up sometimes. Mealybugs look like tiny white cotton balls stuck on the corners of leaves and stems.

Mealybugs cause a reduction in growth rate, falling of leaves, yellow leaves, and pale leaves with white spots. They suck out juices from Chinese evergreen leaves, turning them pale.

Heavy pest invasion is also capable of killing your dear plant. Sometimes, blooming seasons are delayed or hampered due to these pests. Spider mites, aphids, scales are other common pests.

Pests are hard to spot as they hide under the lower surface of the leaves. If you notice some white cottony remains of the stem and leaves, just give a thorough check.

Get rid of the pests:

• Take the blunt end or something to scrape the pests away gently. Try to scrape out as many pests as possible.
• Spray pesticide on the infected leaves and stems. Pesticides are readily available in the market.
• For the safety of plants, many houseplant owners choose homemade organic pesticides over industrial ones. For that:

1. Take some herbs (rosemary, thyme, neem, etc.) and soak them in oil for twenty-four hours inside a container.
2. Once the oil is infused with herbs, take all the herbs out of the jar.
3. Add some tablespoons of that herbal oil to a tablespoon of liquid soap and some lukewarm water and mix them. 
4. Pour it into a spray bottle and spray all over the plant. 

Neem oil is the best among them. Neem has a strong smell with a bitter taste, which is appropriate to get rid of pests.

Also read: Do Chinese Evergreen Get Bugs? (Common Bugs+How To Get Rid Of Them)

Insufficient supply of nutrients

Houseplants often suffer due to an insufficient supply of nutrients. They droop, have weak stems, stunted growth, and falling leaves due to insufficient nutrients in the soil.

The nutrients from the soil are limited indoors. Thus, the supply of nutrients might not meet the demand of the plants.

Flowers consume lots of energy to grow. During the blooming seasons, plants will need extra energy and nutrients because they have to provide energy for the growth of foliage and stems, and now, flowers.

But you can ensure that your Chinese evergreen doesn’t run low on nutrients by adding liquid fertilizer once a month during the blooming seasons accelerates the blooming process.

Moreover, it also makes the flowers and leaves look more healthy and vibrant. 

Also read: Does Chinese Evergreen Plant Needs Fertilizer? (How Often+Best Fertilizer)

Final words

Chinese evergreen is a gorgeous plant. The primary attraction of the plant is its stunning foliage. Most owners trim the flowers of their Chinese evergreen because they consume a lot of energy to bloom. 

But pruning the flowers can help the Chinese evergreen effectively utilize the energy used in blooming to grow more leaves. So, I recommend Aglaonema owners trim off the flowers and save that energy for the beautiful, attractive leaves. 

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Reference: Wikipedia, Nasa clean air study, Missouri Botanical Garden, The University of Kansas, NC State University.