Rhaphidophora decursiva

: When dealing with Aroid species, there is a lot of variation in preferred temperatures as Aroids come from many different elevations. It is not easy to give a blanket statement. For the “lowland” type species, they are usually liking warm and humid temperatures without large drops in temp at night. For highland species, it seems that they don’t want it hot, but prefer intermediate temperatures and want a cooler night period. Research the species you’re looking to grow. As a baseline, I would recommend temperatures 65-85F, not going below 60F, which is why they tend to do well in average household temperatures (if not on the warm side of house temps).

Pure water is generally the “ideal” source due to lack of salt buildup and some Aroids can be particularly sensitive to salt levels. Usually will do best with distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis (RO) water. Tap water can contain extra dissolved salts and minerals that may cause it to not grow as well and/or eventually die out. (Some regions may be able to use Tap water, just depends on your water source quality. Personally, I use RO water). If you fertilize with a soluble fertilizer, it is good to leach the pot out regularly to avoid accumulation of salts.

Fertilizer is a large topic of debate in the Aroid world (in my experience) some sources will say that they don’t need fertilizer, others say only use delayed release granular, and yet even more will say use whatever soluble fertilizer you want. In all of this confusion, I would say that if you are using soluble fertilizer, make sure that it is at a dilute concentration to avoid salt buildup in the pots, or if you decide to use granular, start with half of the recommended portion for houseplants and if the plant looks like it is deficient in nutrients or could use some “help” for promoting and holding new leaf growths, then you can always increase from there. Be careful that some delayed release fertilizers are truly TIME activated or they are TEMPERATURE activated. If using a temperature activated delayed release granular fertilizer and keeping temperatures regularly over 70-80F, it can over-fertilize your plant by releasing too much salts as you water. No matter the media you’re using, a regular leaching with pure water is necessary. *Also, depending if your plant hails from an area that has alkaline soils, keep an eye out for aborted new growths and increase incidence of root/stem/leaf rot= signs that your plant may be calcium deficient.

Aroids appreciate a well-draining, porous media that allows for good oxygen exchange, but is still moisture-retentive. There is a lot of variation among the Aroid growers of what recipe they have tweaked for their conditions, however, the blanket statement I want to make is that usually peat-based “soil-less” potting medias from the big box stores will be too dense/water retentive right out of the bag. I add orchid bark, additional perlite, and some charcoal to my mix to help aeration and keep the soil mix “fresh” (aka avoiding toxin and decomposing material). Usually it’s when soils get water logged that you get root rot in a hurry!

• it is not uncommon for your plant to arrive with a dead or dying leaf/leaves. These plants can/will throw big tantrums from shipping stress, but tend to recover in a few days up to a week or two without any issues going forward.
• Generally easy-going plants, but they can be prone to scale and mealybugs if you don’t keep a close eye on them.
• Leaves turning brown and/or crispy at leaf edges are usually a sign that it has been underwatered, high salt content in the water or potting media, sudden change in humidity of conditions, or potassium deficiency.
• Wilting, leaf curl (of a leaf that has already unfurled like in Monstera types) usually is from underwatering