Syngonium 'White Butterfly'

There are several options open to you upon receipt of your plant:

• Layer the base of a decorative pot with potsherds or gravel. Handy if there are holes in the base too. Stand the Syngonium podophyllum in the pot, nursery pot and all, and water immediately.
• Pot up into a decorative pot with holes in the base. Layer the base with potsherds or gravel, add potting compost and stand the Syngonium podophyllum root ball at the correct depth. Fill up with potting compost and press firmly down. Water generously.
• Just stand the nursery pot on a saucer and water immediately.

Stand your plant in a light position out of the mid-day sun. Never allow excess water to stand for longer than one day. Syngonium podophyllum must never be allowed to dry out. Use normal potting compost when potting up.
  The best spot for your houseplant The most ideal position for your plant is:

1. Somewhere with lots of light but somewhat shaded from the strongest mid-day sun. It likes a lot of sun, just not too hot! The morning or evening sun is no problem. Around 3 metres from the window is probably best. Shade will also be tolerated and even as far as 6 metres from the window is fine. Variegated varieties need more light than the plain green varieties.
2. Somewhere warm (18-23 degrees centigrade) – underfloor heating would be perfect although directly beside or above any central heating is inadvisable as the warm air would dry the plant out too quickly – chance of brown leaves.
3. Somewhere relatively humid (60-70% humidity). Spraying the plant to keep humidity up will help – several times a day won’t hurt.

 

Syngonium podophyllum is a genuine jungle plant and really does not like full sun! It likes it to be kept humid so spray the leaves regularly with rainwater to keep them looking nice and healthy. If the air is too dry, the edges of the leaves will dry out.

The warmer and more humid, the better and bigger those leaves will grow!

Water regularly – twice a week spring and summer, once a week autumn and winter. Add some houseplant feed for leafy plants to the watering can fortnightly when the plant is in growth.
Choose a warm place for your Syngonium podophyllum (not below 15 degrees Celsius), where direct sunlight can reach the plant. Variegated forms need more light than the green varieties. If you see new leaves growing that have less white on them it is worth moving it to a lighter place.

 

Syngonium podophyllum belongs to the arum family (Arecaceae) and is originally from the tropical rainforests of South and Central America where it climbs the jungle giants and grows leaves that are much bigger! This won’t happen in your home but leaves of 20-30 cm are common, in perfect conditions.

The leaves are beautiful when grown in good conditions. The alternating white and green parts of the leaves are what make the plant particularly decorative. You may, with great care, get green and white Arum like blooms. The flowers are inconspicuous and are formed on a spike that is surrounded by a large bract.