Where To Place Arrowhead Plant? (Ideal Placement+Tips)

Arrowhead plants or Syngoniums are tropical houseplants that can tolerate different conditions. If you want to introduce an arrowhead plant in your living space, you must first figure out where to place the arrowhead plant first. Placing the plant in the correct spot helps it thrive.

Arrowhead plants should be kept in a bright, well-lit spot with indirect light, warm temperature, and high humidity levels. Choose a spot where your pets and children can’t reach the plant, as the plant’s sap contains toxic elements that can cause skin irritation and vomiting upon ingestion.

If you don’t keep your arrowhead plant in favorable conditions, the plant will get stressed and undergo different problems.

In this article, we will discuss the factors you must keep in mind while deciding the placement of your arrowhead plant.

Factors determining the placement of the arrowhead plant

You must consider a few factors before deciding the placement of your Syngonium, as these will determine the health and growth of the plant.

Light

You can’t deny the importance of light as plants depend on light for photosynthesis, with which they generate energy and food.

If you want your arrowhead plant to thrive, you must provide enough light to it.

If you have a greener variety, you can keep your arrowhead plant in a slightly less bright spot, but a variegated species will require bright indirect light to thrive.

However, you must keep the plant away from direct sunlight as they can’t tolerate the sun’s intense rays.

The excess light and heat can burn the leaves and dry the plant.

An arrowhead plant that gets direct sunlight will develop crisp brown spots on the leaves, signs of sunburn.

On the other hand, low-light areas are also not ideal for your arrowhead plant. 

Low light areas receive little light and make it hard for plants to survive.

Although some plants, such as snake plants, can survive in low-light spots, I don’t recommend a low-light spot for an arrowhead plant.

Therefore, the ideal spot for an arrowhead plant gets bright but indirect sunlight.

Here, the arrowhead plant will thrive without getting scorched or leggy due to lack of light.

Keeping these in mind, you can place your arrowhead plant near a south-facing window with a distance of at least 6 feet between the window and the plant.

You can also use a curtain to filter the direct sunlight.

If you place your Syngonium outside, you can keep it under a big tree or a partially shaded spot or receive dappled light.

Also read: Arrowhead Plant Light Needs: What Type, How Much & More

Temperature

Placing your arrowhead plant in an area with the wrong temperatures can be stressful for the plant and damage it.

The ideal temperature for an arrowhead plant is between 60-85°F.

If you can maintain this ideal range, you will find your Syngonium thriving.

If you don’t know the temperatures, you can get a thermometer and use it to measure the temperatures around your arrowhead plant.

If the temperatures are suitable, you have chosen the correct spot for your arrowhead plant.

But if it is higher or lower than this ideal range, you need to move the plant to another location.

You should avoid some locations or spots as these areas cause temperature fluctuations.

• Avoid placing your arrowhead plant too close to fireplaces, radiators, vents, furnaces, or other heating sources. Keeping the plant too close can burn its leaves. Maintain a distance of at least a few feet.
• Don’t place your Syngonium outside if the temperatures fall below 60°F.
• Avoid placing your arrowhead plant near windows and doors that are opened and closed too frequently. These spots cause temperature fluctuations.
• Keep the Syngonium away from frosty windows during winter.

Also read: Do Arrowhead Plants Go Dormant? (Winter Dormancy+Care)

Humidity

High humidity is important for tropical plants such as the arrowhead plant.

Since these plants are used to high humidity levels in their native lands, it will require the same even when growing in the house.

However, low humidity will not be suitable for these plants, and they will show signs of stress when you expose the plants to it.

Try to maintain humidity levels between 60-70% to keep your arrowhead plant happy.

You should not let the humidity levels drop below 40-50%.

To provide high humidity to your Syngonium, you can use a humidifier near it or keep the plant in a room that already has a humidifier.

You can occasionally mist the plant to increase the humidity, but it is not a long-term solution to low humidity problems.

Make sure you keep the plant away from hot and cold drafts as these rob moisture out of your plant.

Also read: Do Arrowhead Plants Like Humidity? (+Misting?)

Things to keep in mind while placing an arrowhead plant at home

Let us have a look at some common spots for your snake plants.

Near a window

Spots near windows are ideal for houseplants as these areas provide the brightest light to the plants.

Before you place your arrowhead plant near a window, you must check the intensity of the sunlight coming from that window.

You can check the intensity by bringing your hand to the light.

If you feel the heat, the intensity is high, and it is direct sunlight, but if you don’t feel much heat, it is indirect light, ideal for most houseplants.

If the intensity is high, you must move your arrowhead plant away from the window and place it 6-10 feet away.

You can also use curtains to filter the direct sunlight, so the plant only gets indirect sunlight.

You can try experimenting with your arrowhead plant by keeping it near windows in different directions.

You can keep the plant in the direction where it looks happiest and healthiest.

If the windows get frosty in winter, relocate your arrowhead plant as keeping it near frosty windows can damage its health.

If you keep your plant near the window in winter, keep an eye on the leaves and make sure that they are not touching the window as that can cause temperature stress.

When placing the Syngonium near a window, make sure that the plant doesn’t get:

• Direct sunlight
• Frost
• Cold drafts

Place the arrowhead plant away from children

The sap of the arrowhead plants is toxic for humans and children.

All parts of the Syngonium contain this toxic sap, and if that comes in contact with the skin, it can cause skin irritation.

Since children are more sensitive than adults, they might experience more issues if they touch the plant or consume any part of it.

Ingestion of the arrowhead plant can cause oral pain and vomiting.

Even the dead and fallen leaves can cause issues if your children touch them.

Since children are curious and try to touch and taste everything they come across, you must keep your arrowhead plant away from your children.

Keep the arrowhead plant away from pets

Arrowhead plants contain calcium oxalate crystals that are toxic for pets.

You should keep your pets away from your arrowhead plant as they might touch or consume the plant out of curiosity.

If your pet touches or eats any part of the arrowhead plant, you will notice the following symptoms in them:

• Skin irritation
• Oral pain
• Swelling around the mouth, lips, and tongue
• Abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite 
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Nausea

The insoluble calcium oxalate crystals penetrate the tissue and damage your pet’s cells.

You should, therefore, place your arrowhead plant away from your pets.

You can keep the plant at a height that your pets can’t reach.

You can keep the Syngonium on a hanging basket or spray a deterrent so your pets won’t come near the plant.

If, however, your pet touches the plant or consumes it, and you notice some abnormal behavior in them, you must immediately consult the vet.

Avoid placing near a fireplace

Earlier in this article, I mentioned that you should not place your arrowhead plant near a fireplace.

Many plant owners keep their plants near fireplaces in winter to protect them from the low temperatures and provide them some warmth.

But, keeping the Syngonium too close to the fireplace or any other heating source will become very intense for the plant.

The heat can burn the leaves and make the plant and soil dry.

But you can avoid these issues by keeping a safe distance between your arrowhead plant and the fireplace.

Keep your Syngonium at a spot where it will receive some heat but not too much.

The temperature of the room

Since the ideal temperature for arrowhead plants remains between 60-85°F, the room where you place it should also have the same temperature.

If the temperatures rise higher than that, your Syngonium will require more water as it will dry out faster and face different health issues.

But that is rarely the problem.

In most cases, the temperatures fall during winter, and that is when your plant requires your support.

Ensure that you keep your arrowhead plant in a well-insulated room in winter and avoid taking it outside.

Use a thermometer to check the room’s temperature, and if it is not ideal for your arrowhead plant, shift it to a different room with more suitable temperatures.

A room that is comfortable for you should be comfortable for your plant.

But I recommend checking the temperature around the plant instead of assuming it.

Arrowhead plant in bedroom

Arrowhead plants are great air purifiers that make them perfect for your bedroom.

Arrowhead plants reduce harmful components such as benzene, xylene, and formaldehyde from the air along with airborne microbes.

Besides purifying the air, they also increase the beauty and improve the bedroom’s ambiance.

Therefore, you can add an arrowhead plant to your bedroom.

But before you place the plant in the bedroom, keep these in mind:

• Keep the Syngonium at a spot where it will get 6-8 hours of medium to bright indirect light. If not, you can add artificial lights to help the plant survive.
• Rotate the arrowhead plant at frequent intervals to give it light on all sides and not let it grow uneven.
• Don’t keep the arrowhead plant opposite the AC as the cold and dry air will reduce the humidity levels and damage the plant.
• If your bedroom has a window, you can place your arrowhead plant near it.

Arrowhead plant in a bathroom

If your arrowhead plant is not getting enough humidity, placing it in a bathroom will be suitable for it.

Keeping plants in bathrooms is not unusual, and arrowhead plants will look great in the bathroom.

Since the arrowhead plant is an air purifier, it will filter out the toxins found in the cleaning products that you use in the bathroom. 

However, you must ensure that the Syngonium gets enough light and suitable temperatures in the bathroom.

Also, try not to splash water on the leaves of your arrowhead plant as that will cause bacterial and fungal infections.

If the bathroom doesn’t have enough light, you can use artificial lights or not keep the plant in the bathroom.

Do’s and Dont’s for the placement of arrowhead plant

After going through all the information, you must have got an idea about the house’s correct placement of arrowhead plants.

This table will help you remember everything we discussed.

Do’s	Dont’s
Place your arrowhead plant near a window. Use curtains to filter the direct sunlight or place it a few feet away.	Don’t place your arrowhead plant in direct sunlight.
Place your arrowhead plant in the bedroom if the conditions are ideal for its growth.	Don’t expose the plant to the direct air of the AC.
Place your arrowhead plant in the bathroom if it gets enough light and correct temperatures there. Avoid splashing water on the leaves.	Don’t place your arrowhead plant near a fireplace, furnace, or any heating source.
If you want to place your arrowhead outside, find a shaded spot such as under a big tree where it will get dappled sunlight.	Don’t place your arrowhead plant outside if the temperatures are too low.
Place your arrowhead plant under artificial light if it doesn’t get enough natural light.	Don’t keep your Syngonium within reach of your pets or children.
Keep your Syngonium in a room with a humidifier as that will provide sufficient humidity to it.	Don’t keep the plant near frosty windows or spots with cold drafts, especially in winter.

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