Aglaonema 'Arctic Lime'

Background of ‘Arctic Lime’

‘Arctic Lime’ is a cultivated Aglaonema with pale lime foliage and cream-coloured stems. The genus occurs naturally from northeastern India across tropical Southeast Asia to New Guinea, where many Aglaonema species grow in humid forest beneath taller vegetation.

Keeping Aglaonema ‘Arctic Lime’ healthy

• Protect the pale foliage: Give it bright filtered light, but avoid hot direct sun on the lime leaves. Increase exposure gradually after a darker period.
• Water by the root zone: Wait until the top few centimetres have dried before watering thoroughly. Let excess water escape and do not leave the lower root ball continuously wet.
• Keep the mix open: A moisture-retentive base combined with fine bark and perlite or pumice gives the roots both water and air. Replace compacted mix that drains slowly.
• Temperature and humidity: Aim for 18–27 °C with ordinary indoor humidity. Protect the plant from cold windows and from very dry heat that repeatedly crisps the leaf edges.
• Feeding and leaf care: Use a low-strength complete fertiliser while new foliage is forming, and wipe dust away with a soft damp cloth. Avoid polishing products.
• Propagation: Separate a rooted basal shoot during repotting, or root a firm stem section with a healthy node in warm, aerated substrate.

Troubleshooting Aglaonema ‘Arctic Lime’

• Several leaves turn yellow: Broad yellowing can follow a root zone that remains wet, an extreme dry-down or a recent chill. Give a waterlogged pot more drying time and improve drainage; soak a severely dry root ball evenly; after cold exposure, restore stable warmth. The yellow-leaf guide can help separate the common causes.
• Tan or bleached patches: Marks concentrated on the side nearest the window usually indicate direct sun or excess heat. Move the plant into filtered light and leave healthy surrounding tissue in place.
• Brown leaf tips: Uneven moisture, dry heated air and fertiliser salts are common causes. Flush accumulated salts, keep the moisture cycle steadier and reduce the feed if damage follows fertilising; see brown leaf tips.
• Spider mites: Fine pale stippling, a dusty look that does not wipe away or delicate webbing are reasons to inspect the leaf undersides closely. Confirm spider mites by finding moving mites or their fine webbing there before treatment. Isolate the plant, rinse both leaf surfaces thoroughly and apply a treatment labelled for spider mites to both leaf surfaces and the folded new growth. Repeat it at the intervals stated on the label for the full course, and continue checking until new growth stays clean.
• Cold damage: Dark water-soaked or collapsing patches after a cold spell are typical chilling injury. Return the plant to stable warmth, keep it away from cold glass and remove only tissue that has fully collapsed.

Aglaonema ‘Arctic Lime’ is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its leaves and stems contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which can irritate the mouth, throat, skin and eyes.
• Chewing may cause burning pain, drooling, swelling, vomiting or difficulty swallowing. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional after exposure, especially if swelling or breathing problems occur.

What does the name Aglaonema mean?

Aglaonema combines Greek aglaos, meaning shining or splendid, with nema, meaning thread or filament.

Heinrich Wilhelm Schott established the genus Aglaonema in 1829 in Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Literatur, Theater und Mode, volume 1829, page 892.