What Is Pagoda plant?
An easy-to-grow houseplant, the Pagoda plant is a slow-growing evergreen member of the Commelinaceae family.
It has distinctive three-lobed foliage and spikes of tubular yellow flowers with greenish centers that appear in late winter to early spring.
The Pagoda plant (Codiaeum variegatum) gets its name from a distinctive characteristic: each leaf has five lobes radiating out from a central point on the stem-like a pagoda or umbrella shape.
Pagoda plant Care & Maintenance
The Pagoda is a very easy-care plant that is adaptable to a wide range of indoor conditions.
However, it does have a few requirements: bright light and good air circulation.
Pagoda plants do best in medium or bright indirect light, but overdoing it with all the available light will burn the leaves.
You can expect average growth under these conditions. The plant will also tolerate less intense lighting for an extended period of time without showing signs of change in its health.
As long as the foliage remains dark green and glossy, adding more light won’t cause any damage to your plant.
For keeping this houseplant happy and healthy, you need plenty of fresh air circulating around your treasured specimen.
Pagoda plant Light Requirements
Pagoda plant is adaptable to a wide range of light levels. In fact, it can actually do well in low-light conditions provided the air circulation is sufficient and you fertilize often enough.
Pagoda plants are grown under bright light or high illumination are more likely to develop a tall, leggy appearance. This happens because plants that don’t have enough space for their roots to expand will stretch out just to get some sunlight.
Such specimens tend to become lanky over time as they struggle to grow upward in search of better lighting conditions. Pagoda plant requires plenty of humidity throughout the year for successful growth.
However, indoor humidifiers may prove harmful for this tropical houseplant if misused; so be careful not to overdo it. If you want to keep your plant safe from accidental low-humidity dangers, consider using a pebble tray or some other natural water dispersion method instead of using an electric humidifier.
Water Requirements
The Pagoda plant is a very thirsty houseplant that will certainly appreciate regular watering and feeding throughout the year.
However, when you’re watering this tropical specimen, bear in mind that it requires more water than most indoor plants due to its extensive root system.
To help your plant thrive, it’s best to provide adequate moisture at the root zone while allowing the top portion of the soil to dry out somewhat between progressive soaking sessions.
Overwatering can cause problems with roots rotting and mold growth on leaves and stems, so it’s extremely important to avoid this situation.
To check the moisture level of your soil, simply lift up your plant and examine the top inch (2.5 cm) of soil for dryness. Allow your plant to drain thoroughly before you water again – a sure way of preventing root rot.
Feeding Requirements
The Pagoda plant can be fertilized every two weeks throughout the growing season with average-strength houseplant fertilizer. This should be enough to keep most plants healthy; however, as always, more is better in cases like these!
If you notice new growth on your specimen after watering or feeding, you can fertilize a bit more often than once per month since young plants need more nutrients to sustain them.
Your plant will also benefit from a fertilizer with higher nitrogen content during periods of active growth, especially if it’s being grown under bright light. If you’re putting your Pagoda in a humid environment, decrease the frequency of feeding and fertilizing sessions by one-half since the humidity is already providing plenty of fertility for the soil.
Pagoda Plant Propagation & Insect Pests
If you’d like to propagate additional pagoda plants from your old specimen or have extra leaf cuttings lying around waiting for new homes, now would be an excellent time to give propagation a try! The best way to get started is by using stem tip cuttings that are healthy and dark green in color.
The cuttings should have three to five-leaf nodes with some leaves on them. Cut off the top two-thirds of each cutting and place this part in a glass of water to allow it to callous for about one week.
You can then plant these stems directly into pots filled with soil or grow them in water until they’re ready for transplanting into your garden or indoor container garden.
Be sure that all of the stem pieces are firmly rooted before allowing them any more exposure to light since unrooted plants will die from sunburn if you expose them prematurely!
Pagoda plant is not prone to many insect pests, but occasionally scale insects can attack these plants.
Scale insects are tiny bugs with hard shells that attach themselves to the undersides of leaves, stems, and other parts in order to suck sap from their victim. They typically turn up as white or brown spots on pagoda plant leaves that may appear slightly sticky when touched.
In severe cases, these bugs can completely cover a plant surface – if this happens, consider using neem oil insecticide spray to kill off your scale infestation before the problem gets out of hand.
You should also be careful not to overwater your specimen since too much moisture will attract more unwelcome pests like spider mites and fungal diseases such as black spot fungus.
Overwatering is a common cause of root rot disease, so make sure your plant always has plenty of drainage space at its base. This will help prevent fungus from infecting your soil.
If you notice a buildup of mold on your plant and its leaves, check out our article on black leaf spot disease to learn how to get rid of this fungal infection.
Common Pagoda Plant Problems & Symptoms
Since the pagoda plants are so easy to grow, they’re also not prone to very many problems if they’re properly cared for!
The most common issues these indoor trees face is over-watering or under-watering as well as sudden changes in their watering schedule that can cause root rot.
Since pagoda plant roots do not like to be disturbed, don’t try transplanting them into new pots unless it’s absolutely necessary; always use potting soil designed for transplants instead of regular potting soil.
Areas, where dirt mixes with the plant’s native soil, can become an excellent hiding place for fungus and root rot; make sure you keep these areas free of buildup so your plant doesn’t get sick! Finally, if your pagoda plant gets yellow leaves that fall off easily, check out our article on ficus leaf scorch disease to learn how to cure this fungal infection.
Soil Requirements:
Pagoda plants will thrive under normal indoor conditions and do not have many requirements when it comes to soil depth or pH levels. Their main concern is that the soil never dries out completely since they’re native to swampy areas!
If your plant starts wilting, you should check the soil’s moisture level prior to watering again in order for drought-related problems to be prevented. To make sure the soil stays moist but not too wet, place your pagoda plant near a source of light so its leaves can catch any sprinkles from overhead and prevent water from evaporating away in dry areas.
Temperature and Humidity Requirements:
Pagoda plants prefer normal room temperatures of around 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit (18-24 °C). They will thrive in humid climates but still love breathing fresh air, so be sure to change the water in their pots at least once every week and allow the soil surface to dry out between watering sessions.
Temperature Requirements:
Overheating is more likely to affect pagoda plants than cold – they’ll start dropping leaves if exposed to temperatures over 80 F (27 C) for too long! If you notice your plant starting to lose its leaves, give it a short break from high temperatures by moving it into a shaded location while it recovers. However, if leaf loss continues after moving the plant back into a hotter environment, the damage may already be done.
Potting and repotting Requirements:
Pagoda plants like to have their roots disturbed as little as possible. When repotting, it’s best to wait until the plant has outgrown its pot before transplanting so that you won’t do more damage than necessary; loosen the soil around your plant gently with a soft brush or your hands and try not to uproot any of its roots!
If you’re moving your pagoda plant into a new container, be sure to choose one that is slightly larger than the old one to prevent root compression (and use new potting soil made for transplants instead of regular soil). However, if the difference in size is very large, make sure there are some extra holes at the bottom so excess moisture can drain away from the soil!
If you notice your pagoda plant getting leggy, feel free to give it a trim – this will help get rid of some dead leaves and allow new ones to grow in their place. Be careful when handling the branches since they’re brittle at times; use pruning shears or another sharp tool to avoid accidentally breaking off all your plant’s branches by tugging too hard!
