Red Aglaonema
Aglaonema 'Siam Aurora' · Red Chinese Evergreen
Its parent species grow on the shaded floor of humid Southeast Asian rainforest, deep-shade plants used to thin, dappled light. The red is not natural. Thai breeders crossed in a wild red-leaved species and engineered a whole spectrum of pink and crimson cultivars.
Family
Araceae
Origin
Bred in Thailand
In the wild
Forest floor
Indoors
0.3–0.6 m
Growth
Slow to moderate
With pets
Toxic
Where it's from
Bred in Thailand, from tropical Asian species
A greenhouse invention
'Siam Aurora' is a hybrid bred in Thailand, not a wild-collected plant. Siam is the old name for Thailand.
The red came from Sumatra
Breeders crossed in the wild red-leaved species A. rotundum from northern Sumatra to add the colour.
Outdoors: zones 10–11
Frost-tender. A shade-bed plant only in frost-free climates, indoors everywhere else.
A shade plant repainted red
Through most of the last century this was a tough, silvery-green, low-light office plant. Then Thai hybridizers crossed in the wild red-leaved Aglaonema rotundum and unleashed a spectrum of pink, salmon and crimson cultivars. So 'Siam Aurora' is a deep-shade plant in firetruck colours: the easy office plant your boss could not kill, repainted red by a Thai greenhouse.
The colour is bred, not wild
Wild Aglaonema is mostly green and silver. The reds are a horticultural achievement.
Still a deep-shade plant
It keeps the genuine low-light tolerance of the old green forms.
A lucky plant in Asia
Long cultivated across Asia as a bringer of fortune, which is part of its appeal.
How to keep it
LightBright indirect to low
Bright filtered light brings out the strongest red, but it tolerates surprisingly low light. No direct sun, which scorches it.
WaterKeep lightly moist
Consistently moist but never soggy, letting the top dry slightly. Less in winter. Use room-temperature water.
HumidityPrefers highTolerates average rooms, but dry air browns the leaf tips. A humidity tray helps.
Temperature18–27°CCold-sensitive. Keep above about 15°C and away from cold drafts and AC.
SoilWell-draining mixAn ordinary well-draining houseplant compost. Tolerant of pH.
FeedingMonthly in growing seasonA balanced liquid feed about monthly in spring and summer. Little or none in winter.
DifficultyEasyA forgiving beginner plant. The main risks are cold and overwatering.
With petsToxicInsoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Mouth burning, swelling, drooling and vomiting if chewed. Also a skin irritant.
PropagationDivisionSplit the clump or separate basal offshoots in spring. It multiplies like a perennial, not a vine.
RepottingEvery 2–3 yearsWhen roots fill the pot. Refresh the soil and divide if crowded.
What the data says
What it costs
One colour category that spans both ends: a mass-market commodity at one end, a genuine collector layer at the other.
$15–40
'Siam Aurora' itself is in every garden centre. The deepest-red and rarer Thai-bred selections step up to roughly $40–100 and beyond among collectors.
IUCN · Hybrid, not assessed
In the wild
An inversion of the usual collector-pressure tale.
The plant on your shelf is a greenhouse hybrid bred in Thailand, not dug from the wild, and its popularity is met entirely by nursery propagation. The conservation concern, where it exists, is for specific wild species and their forest habitat, not for the cultivar. A. simplex is assessed Least Concern.
When it sulks
Dark blotchesCold damage from exposure below about 15°C or cold drafts. Move it somewhere warmer.
Mushy stems, yellowingOverwatering or cold water causing root rot. Dry out and improve drainage.
Brown leaf tipsDry air or underwatering. Raise humidity and water more evenly.
Faded, weak redToo little light. Move it to brighter indirect light, without direct sun.
Scorched, bleached leavesToo much direct sun.
Varieties & company
The varieties
Siam AuroraRed ValentineLipstickRed CochinPink Dalmatian
Pairs with · keep apart from
PothosPeace LilyPhilodendronSnake PlantCactiSucculents
A new plant, every week.
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