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

Chinese evergreen or Aglaonema is a tropical shrub that comes from Southeast Asia. These plants have high humidity requirements that might make you wonder if you should mist your chinese evergreen or not.

So, in this article, we shall learn all about misting your Chinese evergreen.

Chinese evergreen prefers to stay in a high humidity environment, and if you live in an area where humidity is not adequate, then misting 2-3 times a week might help. Apart from that, adding a humidifier, using a pebble tray, and grouping plants together can also help with humidity.

Many people consider misting their plants to provide more humidity, but many are against it and consider other options for providing humidity to their plants.

If increasing the humidity is your motive behind misting, you should look at other options as misting is not a long-term solution. 

I will cover all information regarding misting your plants in this article so you can decide if your Chinese evergreen will need misting.

Does Chinese evergreen like to be misted?

Chinese evergreen plants don’t require misting, but you can mist them once in a while, and it will not be a problem. Although many people list their plants to add humidity to them, it will not be effective in the long run. 

As per a study, if the room has humidity below 50%, misting will not be of much use. This is because the water will evaporate fast and not help the plant for long. 

On the other hand, if the humidity level is already high, misting can lead to fungal infections and bacterial growth as the water will take time to evaporate and remain on the leaves for too long. 

However, if you want to mist for cleaning the leaves, you can go ahead with it. But misting alone will not provide enough humidity to your Chinese evergreen. 

To mist or not to mist

Before you decide whether you want to mist your Chinese evergreen or not, look at different people’s opinions. A group of people supports misting while another group doesn’t think it’s worth it.

Supports misting	Against misting
Increases the humidity around the plant	Increases the humidity but only for a short while
Keeps the foliage clean and shiny	Can lead to pest infestation and fungus infections
Misting with a Neem oil solution will prevent pests	Can damage the leaves

After going through the different opinions about misting, you can understand how it can help your Chinese evergreen. I will not recommend misting if you want to increase the humidity as better options are available. 

However, I recommend misting a Neem oil solution once a month to keep the pests away. 

If you want to try misting your Chinese evergreen, keep these tips in mind. 

• Mist your Chinese evergreen with room temperature water. Don’t use cold or hot water as it can shock the plant. 
• Mist the plant during the daytime so that the water droplets can evaporate fast and not cause any fungal or bacterial disease. 
• During a cloudy or rainy day, don’t mist as the water will get trapped due to lack of sunshine and heat. 
• Don’t mist your Chinese evergreen too often as it can lead to different problems.

I hope these help you decide whether you want to mist or not, and if it is a yes, you don’t end up misting incorrectly.

Does Chinese evergreen like humidity?

Chinese evergreen or Aglaonema belongs to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia. Hence, it enjoys high humidity of around 60-70%. 

If the Chinese evergreen gets enough humidity, it will thrive and grow fast. However, since the Chinese evergreen is a highly tolerant plant, it can even survive with average room humidity, as low as 30%. 

But I am sure you don’t want to stress your plant by providing low humidity. Therefore, you must try to keep the humidity as high as possible. 

All plants go through transpiration, releasing some humidity into the atmosphere. If the humidity level is low, the plant will lose excess moisture, causing slow growth and other health problems. 

Try to maintain the ideal humidity level for your Chinese evergreen to keep it healthy.

How to check the humidity level inside the house?

Many people don’t understand whether their houseplants need humidity as they don’t know the humidity level inside the house. 

But you can measure the humidity level by using a hygrometer device. This device helps you measure both humidity and temperature inside the house. 

Depending on the current humidity level, you can decide how much more humidity your Chinese evergreen might need. 

Using a hygrometer has helped me maintain the ideal humidity for my Chinese evergreen, and it can help you too.

How much humidity do Chinese evergreens need? 

Chinese evergreen plants do best with 60-70% humidity. These plants can tolerate extreme and diverse conditions and even survive humidity levels as low as 30%. 

Although Chinese evergreens can survive low humidity, they might develop problems and give out certain signs.

Signs your Chinese evergreen needs more humidity

Most often, tropical houseplants develop issues due to low humidity. You can tell your Chinese evergreen plant needs more humidity if you notice the following signs: 

• Droopy leaves 
• Curling leaves 
• Yellow leaves 
• Brown tips on leaves 
• Discoloration of foliage 
• Dehydrated plant 
• Crispy leaves 

If you notice any of these, you must try to increase the humidity levels around your Chinese evergreen. 

These are more common during the winter season when humidity levels drop rapidly. If you have a hygrometer, use it to check the house’s humidity level, and you might find that the humidity level is relatively low. 

Many people like to mist their plants to increase humidity, but it doesn’t help much because the moisture only lasts for a short while. 

Some people even suggest using pebble trays. You can create a pebble tray by using: 

• A tray 
• Some pebbles 
• Water 

First, you need to put the pebbles on the tray. Next, add water and fill the tray. Now you need to take your potted Chinese evergreen and put it over the pebbles. 

When the water evaporates from the tray, it adds moisture to your plant. But this is a tedious process as you need to keep adding water again and again if the water level goes down. 

So what are some practical ways of increasing the humidity for your Chinese evergreen? Let’s find out.

How to increase the humidity for Chinese evergreen? 

Since misting will not be sufficient for increasing the humidity for the Chinese Evergreen, you must look for more efficient methods. 

I have included a few ways of increasing the humidity that has worked best for my Chinese evergreen and other plants.

1. Use a humidifier

The most effective way of maintaining the ideal humidity levels for your Chinese Evergreen is to use a humidifier. It is a small device designed to increase the humidity level inside houses.

Many people have started using this for their houseplants and have seen great results.

You can install a humidifier near your Chinese Evergreen or keep it in a room that has a humidifier. Nowadays, you also get portable humidifier devices that give you the ease of taking it anywhere and keeping it near your plant.

With a humidifier, you can maintain the ideal humidity levels your plant needs. You can set the humidity levels as per the requirement, and the machine will produce that much humidity.

Using a humidifier is by far the best way of increasing the humidity, especially for your tropical houseplants.

2. Group your plants

If you don’t own a humidifier or can’t get one, you can use this easy way of increasing the humidity. You can keep your houseplants together in one place. Make sure that all these plants require high humidity.

Now, you might be wondering how it works. I already told you earlier that plants transpire, so when the plants transpire, they give out some amount of moisture.

When all the plants give out moisture, the humidity of the surroundings increases, and it benefits all the plants in that area.

3. Use an aquarium

Good news if you have an aquarium in the house! Keeping your Chinese Evergreen near the aquarium can increase the humidity for the plant. If you don’t have an aquarium, you can get one.

An aquarium works similarly to a pebble tray, but you don’t need to add water to it again and again. As the aquarium’s water evaporates, it increases the humidity around that area.

Keeping your Chinese evergreen near an aquarium can increase the humidity by more than 5% of keeping it on a pebble tray.

Also, instead of throwing the aquarium’s water while changing it, consider using it to water the plants as this water contains a lot of Nitrogen that will benefit the growth of your plants.

4. Relocate the plant

Some rooms, such as the bathroom, have higher humidity levels than others. You can increase the humidity for your Chinese Evergreen just by relocating it to the bathroom.

However, consider this method only if the bathroom has other ideal conditions for the plant. Your Chinese Evergreen should get enough light and temperature in the bathroom.

Also, avoid splashing water on the plant as that can cause different issues for the plant.

5. Use a mini greenhouse

We all have come across the usual greenhouses filled with different plants. These provide the ideal growing conditions to these plants, including high humidity.

The good news is these are available for indoor plants in mini versions. So, you can get one of these for your Chinese Evergreen. These are available online, so you can just order one.

A mini greenhouse will increase the humidity of the plant. You can even make these yourself.

Final words

So, is misting good for your Chinese Evergreen? Sometimes. Don’t consider misting to increase the humidity. But do it for cleaning the leaves and keeping pests away.

Although Chinese evergreen can tolerate low humidity levels, you should try to give it as much humidity as possible to help it thrive. Avoid keeping your Chinese evergreen under the direct air of the AC or near cold drafts, as these areas reduce the humidity levels.

Provide all the other suitable growing conditions and watch your Chinese evergreen grow more stunning foliage.

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