Chinese evergreen
Sources last read 6 October 2026.
Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.
Also called green-for-ten-thousand-years and lily of China.
Chinese evergreen is toxic
- Toxic to cats. The plant holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Biting into it hurts and irritates the mouth, the lips and tongue can swell, and an animal may drool heavily, vomit (horses excepted) and struggle to swallow. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. The plant holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Biting into it hurts and irritates the mouth, the lips and tongue can swell, and an animal may drool heavily, vomit (horses excepted) and struggle to swallow. ASPCA
- Toxic to people. Listed as harmful to people; the details of the harm could not be read from the source. RHS
If your pet ate this plant, call your vet or a pet poison hotline right away.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Low light 100 fcClemson Extension · read 13 September 2026Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- The plant holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Biting into it hurts and irritates the mouth, the lips and tongue can swell, and an animal may drool heavily, vomit (horses excepted) and struggle to swallow.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- The plant holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Biting into it hurts and irritates the mouth, the lips and tongue can swell, and an animal may drool heavily, vomit (horses excepted) and struggle to swallow.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Listed as harmful to people; the details of the harm could not be read from the source.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Bleached, papery patches on the leaves nearest the glass
On a Chinese evergreen the damage sits where sun lands through the window: dry, pale tan patches, sometimes ringed with yellow, on the upper face of the leaves turned toward the light. Leaves shaded by others on the same plant stay green and unmarked.
RHS places it in partial shade and advises bright light that has been filtered, warning that unfiltered sun can burn the leaves. Sun through glass heats the leaf faster than it can shed that heat by giving off water, and the cells on the exposed face die.
Telling it apart: Where the damage falls. Scorch follows the line of the window and stops where a leaf is shaded; damage from cold or from wet potting mix spreads over the plant whichever way a leaf faces.
RHSDiagnose spots on the leaves on this Chinese evergreen
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Chinese evergreen.
Routine care
- Watering
- Water moderately; in winter let it dry out a little between waterings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- Through the growing season, mist every day and give a balanced liquid fertiliser each month.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Repotting
- Move to a larger pot every 2-3 years.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Detach basal shoots bearing 3 or 4 leaves, preferably with roots, or divide in spring.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Pruning is not needed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Mealybugs can occur. Diseases: stem and root rots when the potting mix is very wet.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Aglaonema modestum, called Chinese evergreen, green-for-ten-thousand-years, and lily of China, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aglaonema, native to Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and southeast and south-central China. In these areas, it is found in tropical swamps and rainforests.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- SE. Bangladesh to S. China and Indo-ChinaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026S China, N Laos, N ThailandRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- wet tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- subshrubWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Clump forming (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 0.5-1 metres; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 2–5 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers green in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
More of the Araceae family
AlocasiaBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Arrowhead plantEdges of the leaf blades brown while the middle stays sound
Calla lilyEdges of the leaves brown while the middle stays sound
Dumb caneLeaf tips go crisp and brown
Elephant earCrisp margins that appear in winter
Flamingo flowerBrown brittle margins with a green centre
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 6 October 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.