What Kind Of Soil For Arrowhead Plant? (+Best Soil Mix)

Arrowhead plant or Syngonium is a tropical plant with beautiful spade-shaped foliage. When you grow it as a houseplant, you need to be careful of its soil. Without the correct soil mix, your arrowhead plant will not thrive.

Let’s find out what kind of soil is best for arrowhead plants.

As a general rule, arrowhead plants prefer a well-drained and fertile soil mix. An ideal mix would be 50% potting soil, 30% parts of coco coir, and 20% pumice. Also, arrowhead plants prefer acidic soil, so the ideal soil pH of the soil should fall between 5.5 to 6.5.

The potting mix will retain the moisture these plants need, while the coco coir will aerate the soil and improve the soil structure. And pumice will prevent root rot.

Let us dive into further details regarding the type of soil, the ideal mix and some other factors to consider while creating a well balanced soil mix for arrowhead plants.

What kind of soil do Arrowhead plants like?

It is important to understand the preferences of your arrowhead plant or Syngonium before you can choose the ideal potting mix for it.

Before you head to the market to get the ideal soil mix for your Syngonium, keep these factors in mind that help decide the ideal soil mix for this plant.

The soil should be fertile.

Arrowhead plants originate from tropical rainforests, where the soil has enough nutrients.

These are smaller plants that grow under big trees.

The dried and dead leaves that fall off big trees add nutrients to the soil, making it fertile.

But as a houseplant, it will not experience such circumstances, so you should prepare soil that is fertile enough for the plant.

The soil should be well-drained.

Syngonium is prone to root rot and therefore requires light and well-drained soil that will not trap the excess water but allow it to drain out of the system.

The soil should retain enough moisture.

Arrowhead plants don’t prefer dry soil.

These plants thrive in moist soil, so while preparing the soil, you must make sure that it holds enough moisture to keep the plant happy.

The soil should be well-aerated.

The soil needs to remain well-aerated to allow the roots to breathe, water to drain, and prevent fungal and bacterial growth.

You must not prepare a heavy soil mix that gets compact but a lightweight soil mix that allows the roots to breathe.

Signs of using the wrong soil mix for Arrowhead plant

If you don’t use an appropriate soil mix for your arrowhead plant, you can put it in danger.

Some common signs that your Arrowhead plant might give out if you put it in the wrong soil kind of mix are:

Wilting leaves

Leaves wilt when they don’t get enough water and try to retain the remaining water left in them.

So, if you use a soil mix that can’t hold the required moisture for your Syngonium, its leaves will wilt.

Brown leaves

If the soil mix is too light or heavy for your arrowhead plant, you will spot brown leaves.

If the soil mix retains excess water, it will keep the roots wet for long and give birth to the root rot disease.

Brown leaves are a sign of this root rot disease.

Whereas, if the soil mix is so light that it can’t even hold the required water, the plant will get dehydrated.

The leaves will lose all moisture and turn brown and dry.

Slow growth

Soil is responsible for providing water and nutrients to the plants.

When the soil is too heavy, it holds water for too long and doesn’t allow the roots to function.

Due to this, the plant doesn’t receive enough nutrients or water.

But if the soil gets dry too fast, the roots fail to absorb enough water or nutrients from the soil.

Both these conditions cause slow growth in your arrowhead plant.

Falling leaves

A wrong soil mix will affect the overall health of your arrowhead plant, and the leaves are one of the first to show signs.

But if you don’t identify the initial signs or don’t do anything about them, the leaves will start falling off the plant.

Foul smell coming from the soil

This occurs when the soil mix you use is too heavy for the arrowhead plant.

It retains water for too long and cuts the oxygen supply to the roots.

Due to this, the roots start decaying, and as a result, the soil starts giving out a foul smell.

What kind of soil is good for Syngonium?

The ideal soil for arrowhead plants is the one that takes care of the necessities of the plant.

I have already mentioned the factors you need to consider while selecting the ideal soil for your Syngonium, so now let’s understand how you can attain that.

Retention

Arrowhead plants require soil that can remain moist and not get bone dry.

Although it depends on the watering to some extent, it also depends on the type of soil you use.

Using a regular potting mix can help the soil retain the required moisture.

If you think the soil mix is not retaining enough moisture, add compost to improve the retention capacity of the soil.

You can also mulch the soil to improve retention.

Drainage

Drainage is a crucial factor, especially for arrowhead plants.

Since the roots of these plants can rot easily, you need to be careful and make the soil well-drained.

You can use elements like perlite, pumice, sand to increase the drainage capacity of the soil.

Compost can also increase drainage as it improves the overall quality of the soil.

Aeration

Many people overlook this but keeping the soil well-aerated is important for the root health of the plants.

Elements like perlite or orchid bark can add aeration to the soil.

Nutrients

Plants need nutrients, and soil is the source of these nutrients.

If the soil is infertile, the plant will lack nutrients, due to which you might not notice much growth.

While preparing the soil, add ingredients that make the soil nutrient-rich.

Composting is an excellent way of adding nutrients to the soil.

You can start fertilizing the soil once it starts losing its nutrients.

pH level

Every plant has a pH level it can tolerate, and maintaining this is important for a reason.

If the soil pH doesn’t match the plant’s preferred pH levels, it will develop various problems.

The ideal pH for arrowhead plants is between 5.5 to 6.5.

But if the value is higher than this, add peat moss to the soil, and in case the pH value is lower, add some lime powder.

Best soil mix for arrowhead plant 

Now, let’s look at some soil recipes that will be ideal for your arrowhead plant.

You can use the one that suits you the best.

Recipe 1

If you have a regular potting mix, you can add some other ingredients to it in the following proportion:

• 2 parts potting soil
• 1 part charcoal and pumice
• 1 part coco coir

Now let’s understand the significance of each ingredient.

Potting soil: If you use potting soil high in nutrients, your Syngonium will get all the nutrients it needs. Potting soil will also allow the water to drain fast.

Charcoal: It absorbs all the odor that the soil might give out and improves the soil’s drainage capacity.

Pumice: This also works on the drainage of the soil. You can also use perlite instead of pumice.

Coco coir: Coco coir makes the soil well-aerated and improves the retention capacity of the soil. It has a neutral pH value, so it doesn’t alter the soil’s pH level.

Recipe 2

Another recipe that works well for the Syngonium is:

• 3 parts potting soil
• 2 parts coco coir
• 1 part perlite or pumice

This lightweight formula drains water fast and retains only the required moisture.

I have already mentioned the significance of all the ingredients in the previous recipe.

Recipe 3

If you want to use even fewer ingredients, you can add these two and make a soil mix for your Syngonium.

• 1 part perlite
• 3 parts Miracle-Gro Potting Mix

Recipe 4

Here is another soil recipe for your arrowhead plant. Mix these ingredients and plant your Syngonium in them.

• 1 part potting soil
• 1 part orchid bark
• 1 part peat moss

Peat moss: This is ideal for making the soil nutrient-rich. It also increases the water retention capacity of the soil.

Orchid bark: It balances both the retention and drainage capacity of the soil.

What should I plant my arrowhead plant in? 

As I mentioned earlier, arrowhead plants are susceptible to root rot and require a proper drainage system to function at their optimum levels.

Besides using a well-drained soil mix, you must plant your Syngonium in a suitable pot.

Planting the arrowhead plant in a clay or terracotta pot will work best as these are porous materials that support proper airflow and wick away the moisture fast.

The chances of root rot are less in such pots than in plastic or ceramic pots.

However, you can still plant your Syngonium in these materials, but you need to ensure that you don’t let the plant sit in soggy soil.

You must water when 50-75% of the soil is dry, and you can get a moisture meter to check the soil’s moisture level before watering.

Whichever material you choose, you need to ensure that the pot has drainage holes to drain the excess water out of the system.

Without drainage holes, the soil will remain waterlogged and cause overwatering and root rot.

When should I repot my arrowhead plant?

Arrowhead plants like to remain slightly rootbound, but you should not keep them in that state for too long.

Your arrowhead plant might be rootbound once every 2-5 years, so the idea is to repot it whenever it starts showing signs of the rootbound state.

You must repot your arrowhead plant when you notice the following signs:

• Roots coming out of drainage holes
• Roots showing over the soil
• Slow growth
• Water drains out of the drainage holes as soon as you water the plant.
• Expanded pot

The ideal time to repot your arrowhead plant is during spring or summer.

Avoid repotting in winter as the weather conditions are not ideal for repotting.

You might need to repot your arrowhead plant in case of heavy pest infestations or fungal infections such as root rot.

Final thoughts

Understanding the soil requirement might be tricky for arrowhead plants.

Once you understand, you’ll know that arrowhead plants or Syngoniums require lightweight, well-drained, and fertile soil that keeps the soil moist.

Add elements like pumice, perlite, orchid bark to encourage fast drainage, and add compost to the soil to improve retention.

Repot your arrowhead plant after it becomes root-bound and shows the signs. Always prepare a fresh, fertile, and well-drained soil mix while repotting the plant.

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Reference: CABI, Britannica, United States Department of Agriculture, Wikipedia, Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Missouri Botanical Garden.