Siam Aurora (Aglaonema 'Siam Aurora') care
Aroids · easy to keep
Siam Aurora (Aglaonema 'Siam Aurora') 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.
Also sold as Red Lipstick: broad dark leaves outlined in a clean red margin, with red midribs and stems. One of the most widely grown coloured aglaonemas and among the more forgiving of them in ordinary indoor light.
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.
- Difficulty
- Easy.
- Mature size
- 40–60 cm tall.
- Native to
- A cultivated hybrid of Southeast Asian parents.
Watering a Siam Aurora
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.
-
Colour washing out of a pink or red variety
Not enough light.
Fix: Move it brighter, out of direct sun.
-
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
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.
Named cultivars and variegations
Aglaonema 'Siam Aurora' is sold under several cultivar names. Care is the same unless noted; variegated forms carry less chlorophyll, so they grow more slowly and want more light than the plain species.
| Cultivar | Also sold as | Water |
|---|---|---|
| 'Red Siam' | Red Siam | every 9 days |
| 'Pink Dalmatian' | Pink Dalmatian | every 9 days |
Questions people ask
How often should you water a Siam Aurora?
Water every 9 days as a starting point — that is the cadence PlantParlour sets for Aglaonema 'Siam Aurora'. 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 Siam Aurora need?
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.
Is Siam Aurora 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.
How do you propagate a Siam Aurora?
Divide the clump, or root a stem cutting with two or three nodes in water.
Related plants
- Aglaonema commutatum
- Aglaonema 'Red Siam'
- Aglaonema 'Pink Dalmatian'
- Monstera deliciosa
- Monstera adansonii
- Monstera obliqua
- Monstera standleyana
- Philodendron hederaceum
Or browse every plant in the library.
Keep this plant's record
PlantParlour gives your Siam Aurora its own page: a photo timeline, reminders set to the cadences above, and every watering, feed, repot and problem written down. Trade or sell it and the whole history goes with it.
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