Lady Valentine (Aglaonema 'Lady Valentine') care

Aroids · easy to keep

Last updated 27 October 2026

Lady Valentine (Aglaonema 'Lady Valentine') wants medium indirect light; the pink and red kinds want it brighter. Water it every 9 days. Water when the top half of the pot is dry. Aglaonemas tolerate a missed week far better than an extra one. Pot it in standard compost with perlite. Balanced feed at half strength monthly in spring and summer, and repot every 1.5 years. Humidity: room humidity is fine. Toxic to cats, dogs and people if chewed — the sap carries insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which burn the mouth and throat.

A Chinese evergreen hybrid with leaves flushed almost entirely pink, with only a green rim and flecks. Like the other pink hybrids it needs brighter light than the green ones to keep its colour, but it stays easy.

Quick facts

Water: Water every 9 days. Water when the top half of the pot is dry. Aglaonemas tolerate a missed week far better than an extra one.
Light: Medium indirect light; the pink and red kinds want it brighter.
Humidity: Room humidity is fine.
Soil: Standard compost with perlite.
Feeding: Balanced feed at half strength monthly in spring and summer.
Repotting: Repot every 1.5 years.
Toxic to pets: Toxic to cats, dogs and people if chewed — the sap carries insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which burn the mouth and throat. Keep it off the floor if anything in the house tastes its way through life. The ASPCA does not list Aglaonema 'Lady Valentine' itself, but lists a relative, Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum), as toxic to cats and dogs (checked 26 October 2026).
Difficulty: Easy.
Mature size: 30–50 cm tall.
Native to: A cultivated hybrid.

Watering a Lady Valentine

Water every 9 days. Water when the top half of the pot is dry. Aglaonemas tolerate a missed week far better than an extra one.

That cadence is the one PlantParlour sets for this species when you name it, and it is deliberately on the cautious side — a plant that asks a day early is safer than one that asks a day late. Log each watering and the reminder moves with the plant rather than with the calendar.

Light

Medium indirect light suits the green and silver varieties, which is why they end up in offices. The pink, red and cream cultivars carry far less chlorophyll and need genuinely bright indirect light to keep their colour and keep growing.

Humidity and temperature

Room humidity is fine. Central heating in winter is what turns a comfortable room into a dry one, and it is the usual reason an established plant suddenly browns at the edges or picks up spider mites.

Soil and potting

Ordinary potting compost with a third perlite. Aglaonemas are not fussy; they only object to sitting wet.

Feeding

Balanced feed at half strength monthly in spring and summer. Stop feeding in autumn and start again when you see new growth in spring — feeding a plant that isn't growing just builds up salts in the pot.

Repotting

Repot every 1.5 years. Every second or third spring. They are slow and are perfectly happy slightly potbound.

Common problems

Yellow lower leaves
Overwatering, or cold.

Fix: Let it dry further between waterings and keep it above 15 °C — they sulk in a draught.

Yellow leaves: how to read it on any plant
Colour washing out of a pink or red variety
Not enough light.

Fix: Move it brighter, out of direct sun.

Variegation fading: how to read it on any plant
Grey mushy patches after a cold spell
Cold damage.

Fix: Remove the damaged leaves and move it away from the window or door that did it.

Propagation

Divide the clump, or root a stem cutting with two or three nodes in water.

A cutting taken in PlantParlour keeps its link to the plant it came from, so a propagation years later still traces back to the mother plant — which is the point if you ever sell or trade it.

Toxicity and safety

The ASPCA does not list Aglaonema 'Lady Valentine' itself, but lists a relative, Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum), as toxic to cats and dogs (checked 26 October 2026).

If your pet has eaten a plant, call your vet, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661. Both are open around the clock and may charge a consultation fee. Take the plant or its label with you.

This is general information, not veterinary advice. We don't test plants: what we say about toxicity follows the ASPCA's published plant list as it stood on 26 October 2026, and that list can change. "Non-toxic" means not poisonous — a pet that eats enough of any plant can still vomit, and fertiliser, pesticide or leaf shine on a plant can harm it. It also only helps if the plant is what you think it is. It covers cats and dogs only; ask your vet about rabbits, birds, reptiles or anything else, and a doctor about children. Read our terms.

Every houseplant in the library the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to cats and dogs

Questions people ask

How often should you water a Lady Valentine?

Water every 9 days as a starting point — that is the cadence PlantParlour sets for Aglaonema 'Lady Valentine'. Water when the top half of the pot is dry. Aglaonemas tolerate a missed week far better than an extra one. Light, pot size and the time of year all move that number, so treat it as a reminder to go and check rather than a rule.

How much light does a Lady Valentine need?

Is Lady Valentine toxic to cats and dogs?

Toxic to cats, dogs and people if chewed — the sap carries insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which burn the mouth and throat. Keep it off the floor if anything in the house tastes its way through life. The ASPCA does not list Aglaonema 'Lady Valentine' itself, but lists a relative, Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum), as toxic to cats and dogs (checked 26 October 2026). If a pet has eaten part of a plant, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435 straight away.

How do you propagate a Lady Valentine?