Hello, I have had a Chinese Evergreen houseplant for 3 years. We have it located by our front window. I seems to bend to one side, most likely do to where the sun comes from. It has however began primarily growing from the top of the stems and is not as full as I would like it to be. I water it when the soil is dry to the touch (probably comes to once a month), and fertilize every other watering. Any suggestions on how to improve this plant?
Nick, your plant is a member of the genus Aglaonema. Aglaonema are aroids and all are members of the larger plant family Araceae. This genus is found in SE Asia as well as a few islands including some in the Philippines. Almost all available for sale are hybridized plants that were "created" by crossing one or more wild species. Some aroids will tolerate very little water but the plant will grow best if given water on a regular basis, at least once a week. Just be sure you don't keep the soil constantly wet. As long as you are using a dilute fertilizer every other watering is fine but don't give the plant full strength fertilizer that often since the build-up of salts can be very bad. More house plants are killed by too much fertiler than too little. Many serious aroid collectors as well as commercial growers prefer to use Osmocote 30-30-30 for aroids but others use a highly diluted fertilizer drip. The drip is a small percentage of the normal dose given on a daily basis. I prefer the Osmocote 30-30-30 since you only use it once every thee to four months. Again, don't use too much! We grow hundreds of aroids in an artificial rain forest atrium and if you click on the link to our website by my name at the bottom of this page you'll see the plants grow very well using this regimen. Your plant will stop bending if you move it closer to a window. Right now it is begging for light and the only response it can make is to "lean" toward the source since it can't move itself. You'l see more even growth if the plant is given better light. The leaves are supported on petioles which grow from the actual stem. A stem isn't the support for any single leaf but instead is the central axis of the plant. Stems produce nodes divided by internodes in most species. The nodes produce both roots and petioles as well as the inflorescence of the plant. The inflorescence is often called a "flower" but it is truly a group of near microscopic sexually divided flowers born on the spadix which is a fleshy axis protected by a spathe. My guess would be if you move it near a window, water it more frequently and don't over fertilize your problems will go away. These are very easy aroids to grow and very tough to kill. This link explains about stems and petioles: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/What is a stem. What is a petiole.html
