how to fix a leggy/stretched aglaonema with results + propagation the cut portions 

I am so glad I found this video! I inherited one of these plants & had no idea how to take care of it. I'm thinking what it needs is a big chop & it'll start looking better.

Hey Jeff. I think it’s interesting that their natural growth habit is considered “decumbent”… meaning they grow upright until the weight of the leaves cause the lower stem to “recline” and lay along the ground. This means they tend to “creep” along the ground. Of course, when kept as a potted plant, that trait isn’t so welcome.

Thanks for showing how to get a fuller plant.

I want you to know that I followed your instructions and months later my plant grew a flower and I lost my absolute shyt. I ran with it around the house showing everyone with eyes and a mouth to comment. It was weak at first when I took the sad leaves off so I tied it to the other one to help it grow strong and recover. I took the tie off after a few weeks and it stood without help. So funny that I’m coming back to this video ages later to tell you!

This is a great video! I was wondering about the little protrusions starting on my aglaonemas and now I know. Our cats also seek out clean laundry and our assumption is that they want other cats to know that this is their house, and have to put their scent back on everything after it's washed.

I have a red Siam? Ag. Looked great first year but then suddenly each of the stems started snapping off, eventually leaving me a pot of short 3-4 inch stems. Sigh. I continued to water it. I tried rooting the tops in water, no luck. Finally I put each leafy top into small pot of soil, watered well and put each entire pot with cutting in a large ziplock bag. A few months later, each of the bare stems from mother pot developed 2 branches at their tops and many new sprouts appeared in the soil. Each of the cuttings grew new leaves and roots and I was able to plant them back into mother pot. Now years later it is a wonderful bushy happy plant. Made me feel braver.

Would love to see a follow-up video showing the cuttings and the mother plant 🌱

Thanks for this great video! I think you clearly communicate how to care for these plants. At the end of the video, you said you hadn't tried propagating the stem segments with no leaves. Your assumption that they can be propagated is absolutely correct. You can propagate these plants from just pieces of stems. I recommend cutting them into +/-3 inch long pieces just to make it easier, but I've propagated smaller pieces. In my experience, the success rate just goes down when you get smaller than 5-6 nodes because the lower couple of nodes often will rot before roots start to form (if that happens, I just remove the rotting parts - the rot will end at a node - and stick them back into the water). BTW, you can also just stick the stem segments in potting soil. I've had about the same success with propagating stem segments in soil as I have in water. Just treat them the same as you would if they had leaves, and they will eventually start to grow. Someone's they take a while, but as long as the exposed tops are green, they're alive. Lastly, concerning the tops of the stems, I'm not sure if it matters, but when I propagate these segments in soil, I make sure the stem bottoms are pointed down (in the soil) and the tops are pointing up (exposed), and I try to keep track of the tops and bottoms when I'm cutting them up because it can be difficult to differentiate tops from bottoms without the leaves. I'm happy to see someone taking the time to showcase these beauties and how to care for them, so thanks again for the great video! 😊

This video helped me greatly! I got two weird overgrown Ag's and this gave me the confidence to chop it back for a more attractive version of itself I'm looking forward to watch it grow back. TY!

Great video! For some reason I just can't get the hang of these plants, even though everyone always says that they're so easy. I have two, one of which is currently sitting with zero leaves, the other one is getting really leggy. I'll try to propagate it, maybe it can bounce back

Hello from Norway. I did the same with my Aglaonema. I rooted some in water and some in a plastic cup with perlite. The result was pretty interesting. The roots in just water were few an thick but the roots in perlite got really bushy and came out in a very nice radial form. Thank you for all your nice videos, I have seen almost all of them. I have learned a lot from you and I always look forward to the next.

Thanks for the awesome video! When one shows the before and after result, it removes the hesitation to follow that technique..

Great video on the Aglaonemas! Love your channel and the style of your content. Always informative with a lot of great tips. Also love seeing your fur babies. They are adorable . Happy growing! 👌🪴🥰

I rarely watch a tutorial video all the way through, but I did this one-a first one of yours I’ve seen. You have a nice way about you, very informative, plain speaking, and you discussed all the things I wondered about. Fabulous that you had Befores and Afters. Very helpful! Curious whether in any of your other videos you show the space where you keep your plants and what kind of lighting you have for them. I’m in Boston, by the way. 😊

That actually really took my scare of cutting my ten year old leggy as funk Silver Bay. The comment of that other guy, that they're supposed to 'fall on the floor under the weight of leaves and creep along the ground' also helped to understand that I did nothing wrong 😅 However: Would you recommend a specific season? So should I wait until spring or can I unpack my scissors right now in January? Thanks so much 😊

Great video. I have my first ag now and wondered why the lower leaves kept yellowing and dying. I overwatered it then had to repot to ensure I saved it. Thanks for your content, very helpful!

How do you differentiate the Chinese Evergreen and Dieffenbachia?

Hello 👋 my dear friend thank you for the tutotial it's a beautiful 🤩 aglaonema🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿👍🎁🔔👍 New friend,Stay connected 🫶👍🫂

should we let the cut parts to callus over before we put em in water? when is the best time for making a cut - before or after watering, dsnt matter..?

Thanks! Didn't know what to do with this leggy plant. Now I do! Thanks again!

I just transplanted mine the other day. How long should i wait until I prune it back. It's very overgrown and leaning hard to one side. currently have it tied up so it's not pulling itself out of the soil.

Thanks so much for sharing your propagation experiments! So helpful especially with the results included! I've had success doing this with my tall dracaenas but my aglaonema silver queen cutting has been in water in a clear jar for months with no roots yet. I'm going to move it to a dark container. Thanks for the tip!

Oh Pickles! Busted

I am not one who comments but loved this video and subscribed. You have a great demeanor and totally helped with my questions so thanks!!

Do you let it callous over before water propagation?

Haha! I looked over at my Birkin to remind him, “you’re fine, honey!”

Will it survive if you don't leave any leaves behind? Mine is all leggy with no lower leaves

Love this video. A few questions came to mind as I watched. Should you propagate only at a certain time of the year or is any time of the year suitable? Does a cutting root faster in the spring and summer? I was very surprised with the difference a clear vs opaque container makes for rooting cuttings. Thanks for sharing that. I’ve added aglaonema to my online wish list for before the snow flies and our dreary Canadian winter arrives. I love my Birkin - hope he didn’t hear you trash talking his family!

The stem will grow if laid length wise in medium. They propagate them this way in Indonesia.

I love your channel! I have an Agloanema that the leaves get brown spots, like mushy and feels like that they are melting. Do you know what it can be? I don’t want to lose the plant .

That was helpful. I recently acquired one even more stretched out than yours was and haven't known what to do with it until now.

This video is massively helpful to me, thank you so much!! I have a Silver Bay that's currently just one long stem and a single, not unfurled leaf. I had no idea what to do with it, so now I know!!

oscar is perched!

I've been wondering what's been going on with mine because it's SUPER leggy and the bottom leaves keep turning yellow and drooping while there is new growth at the same time. Assumed it was sad for some mysterious reason... water? light? pot size? Turns out that's just how it is! Thank you! I just gave mine a chop and now hoping for the best 🤞

Thanks for giving me ‘permission’ to chop my leggy plant! 😜 On a completely different note, what color is the wall behind your doggy and laundry basket? I love it!!!

Do you have a video as to when you should repot one of these?

Thx for this video! I've had mine for about 25 years and it keeps getting taller. Can I simply cut it down from the top? If so, can I simply cut the stems?

I have a small (4” pot, single stem plant) Red King variety that I bought to gift to my MIL for Christmas tomorrow, but a tragedy has occurred! I have no idea how, but the stem broke right at the soil level (I suspect my sleeve may have caught it while watering surrounding plants a few minutes earlier but I never noticed?). The plant was perfectly healthy and there is no evidence of stem or root rot. No soft or brown parts, nor was it too dry. Can it be saved? Not knowing what to do I covered the pot with the roots with a zipper bag to retain some humidity. The stalk, I took the couple bottom leaves off and put in water under grow lights. The leaves I removed are also in the water. Do you have any additional advice for me? I really love this little plant and hope to save it.

I wonder, Can't you activate a note as well, like a ficus so the aglaonema keeps growing straight up. great video!!

I have a pink one that suddenly started dying! The soil became very dry and wasn’t absorbing water, so I have just repotted it but it only has 1 leaf now that’s also become very droopy. If that leaf dies and it’s a stem with no leaves left, will it still grow back eventually?

I have the silver bay in water for months either no roots, I'm about to give up on it lol

Thanks for the video. Question? When propagating, don't you have to wait until the ends dry out and scab otherwise won't they just rot in water?

my plant becomes droopy recently ….idk what’s wrong with it . i watered them every 3 weeks… all the stems just droopy… look really sad …i took out the whole plant the roots all surrounded together look healthy. how can i save my plant ?

This is so helpful my Silver Bay had a major growth spurt last year and is dropping a ton of old leaves this year. I may chop it!

Soil mix once there are roots?! I last used coco coir, perlite, some vermiculite, and some worm castings..seems to be doing well but curious!

My Aggie has leaves that are curling atm. Not been repotted for a couple of years but not outgrown its pot yet. Any tips of why the leaves are curling?

Love the tips and tricks, they r usually a deal breaker when it comes to successfully growing some plants💚

My what a green thumb you have! I have cut some of my stems and nothing ever happened i guess ill try to cut off some more and try again...i really like this plant but its been through alot. I guess its time to open it up and see whats going on.

I want to know why my aglonama stems r not bcoming thick. Even the roots are not multiplying

great video! i'm wondering how often (if at all) the water should be changed for the propagation? and do you continue to water the stem that is left in the soil the same way as if it still had the leaves on it?

So I have two stems coming out of the soil one of them feels very secure and healthy the other one feels very loose almost feels like it's rotted from The Roots. But all the leaves are very green and healthy looking in fact there's a new leaf about to sprout! How do I save it? Do I take it out of the soil because it feels like it's a loose tooth.

Hello, do you have a Zoom class. I would like to know how to keep my aglaonema alive

I watch a lot of plant videos, I want to do the very best for my crew. Your video was so precise and full of the right information I needed. I'm definitely subscribing. Thank you!

I’d love your stems lol an I’ll pay for shipping lol

Valuable information. Thanks so much. ❣❣❣

Thanks for the info on the Aglaonemas. I have two but haven’t had them long enough for them to get gangly. When they do now I’ll know what I can do. 💚🪴🌿🌱💚

Thank you for helpful video pls wisch type of soil you use😊

1st timer, thanks for all the great propagating tips.

Always learn something new from your videos. Thanks so much for your good content! Love the pups too 👏

Super appreciate you doing videos on Aglaonemas! I too think they are so under rated. I'm still formulating my Aglaonema wish list because there are sooo many and I'll end up with a house full if I don't do a little research into the different varieties lol. Not gonna lie, it hurt my heart a little to know you were throwing away the thick chonks of stem. I would have loved to prop those. I've propped a few dieffenbachia chonks rather quickly in a stratum-perlite mix and they turned into gorgeous little plants.

❤❤❤ The dumb cane is really toxic. The sap scratches like fire! Angel/Trinidad. ❤❤❤

I'm just wondering if there is a limit on how long you can leave the cuttings rooting in water and still have them be successful in soil. I have some cuttings from a red aglaonema from my sister and I am ashamed to say that they have been living in a jar of water for more than a year. They seem to be happy, however, they haven't grown very much. I'd like to plant them into soil but I worry that at this point they may not appreciate the transition. What do you recommend? Should I just let them live in a jar or plant them in soil?

Great Video. How long do you leave them in the water before repotting? I am trying to save a family plant from 1995 and it is showing signs of strength. Had to throw out the soil as it was full of Gnats. I placed it in water for a couple of days while I wait for my new soil to dry out to confirm no fungus gnats in there. I have this plant on the road with me in my Motorcoach as I am traveling while my son has the other part at home. Hoping one if us will save this family plant.

Does it matter what season I cut it? It is winter now and I don’t want to do more harm than good…

Hello! Very informative video 😊 I have a super leggy aglaonema tri color but I’m scared to cut it 😅. Would this way of pruning work for the tri color?

I need to trim mine and it needs to repot. I'm guessing bad to do at the same time?

Jeff is it possible to propagate a single leaf in water or perlite

Thank you so much for posting this! I just bought an Aglaonema Boxer, it's beautiful but leggy. Now I know what I can do next spring , and hopefully I can even give my daughter a new plant.

Thanks for trying things! Great tips and info as always.

Very informative thank you. Do you seal the stem after chopping the branches? Some say to put cinnamon on the cut to prevent fungus etc...

Luv seeing Oscar and Pickles! Thx for the tips Jeff,greetings from Florida🐊

I found your channel because I was looking for tips to chop up an Aglaonema. I will give mine another year maybe, but I am happy to now know what to do. Thank you for this video. As for the Birkin: I don't know if you still have yours, but mine is sitting in a pretty dark spot (

Thank you so much for this video!!! So helpful! I had no idea what to do with my aglonema that started doing this!

I had a silver one given to me that was about 18" high and only a few leaves on top. It was starting to bend so the person that had it, tried staking it but it was not working. It was also in a pot way too big for it. Considering the size, the roots were very small and not very thick. As I was attempting to res-take it and re-pot it, I snapped the top portion off. I was not sure what to do so I stuck the top portion in water and hoped for the best. Meanwhile, the bottom portion with scarce and not so strong looking roots I was considering chucking it in the trash. But...I put it in a small pot and within a few weeks it began to show some nodes, The top part in water quickly grew roots. Here it is a year later and the top portion (still in water as I don't want to ruin a good thing) has a ton of huge strong roots and has grown about 10 leaves. The bottom part, although has not grown any taller, now has two leave and another on the way. On the other hand, I had a beautiful Red Aglaonema that I received as a gift from my coworkers 7 years ago. I kept it in my office that got bright but not direct sunlight for two years. When I retired two years alter I brought it home. It was nice a bushy although it had not grown taller yet. Within a few months it began to go down hill. No matter what I did I could not save it and finally it was gone. I bought another one that was doing well for months then suddenly it too began to go bad. I took it out of it's pot to check the roots and found the cages on the three stems. I cut them off and re-potted it but it too died after a week or two. My daughter had one that was pretty bushy also. Hers too began to die off and she brought it to my house, hoping I could save it. I've had it with me for about a month and it's losing leaves and not growing. I took it out of the pot to check the roots and they are nice and white and strong, but I think it was in a pot that was too large. So now I am considering growing what is left of it in water like the silver one I have. Wish me luck!

Perfect timing! I have Siam that I have been itching to cut but was afraid to. Thanks!

I have three ags and love them. I am NT going to go out trying to collect every variety there is of them. I LOVE how we can actually just renew our plants when they grow leggy . A big upside of that for me is the ability to work on keeping the overall plant and pots smaller. I just used your air layering on my big Monstera Delicosia. I am ust over lugging a 6 foot tall heavy plant in a five gallon bucket around when cleaning or spraying is needed. Considering this is my second go round with thrips Decision made keep that plant at a smaller size. Hopefully I will find some oe that wants the bottom section of the mother plant. I have also air layered two other plants. One worked great and I got three cuts from it to add to the mother plant pot. Much smaller sized vine type plant.

Thank you so much for bringing the plants up close to the camera so that we can see it up close, thanks on e again.

😟A secateur with an anvil is a much better choice to use on thick stems, to get nice, clean cuts. Scissor-like secateurs crushes the capillaries on the cuttings. I don't even use them for tulips.

I have the Maria and it's finally putting on some size. Thier so easy to care for.

Great information! I did 30 years in Interior plant care and design. Aggies where always leggie, thanks for the tips. Now I know😊

Very helpfil

Thank you.

Thank you so much for the video. Im headed in the morning to propagate. My plant is oh gosh probably six or seven years old. Was gifted to me. You video was very informational and i cant wait to give it my best shot. Don't ever trash your plants because dont like them. Send them to me! Im the plant horder. Plants give me so much peace in my life. Believe me I need peace😊. I love your Berkin. ❤️

❤❤❤ Oscar is cute! He wanted to be in the video. 😆😆😆 Angel/Trinidad. ❤❤❤

Im not loving my Birkin either. Think i will do some chopping !

Love your videos, very informative! Try putting your Birkin on your window seal to get full sunlight. I have mine there and it's growing like crash very bushy.

Hi Jeff! My Aglaonema has some stems that are splitting and have some brown scarring. It looks a lot like the leave you took off the plant (at 2:20 in the video). Is this a bad thing? what can I try to do about it? If googled it, but couldn't find anything about it. Thanks!

I always get so much from your videos! Thanks for all you share!

Nice! Here's your New Subscriber.🤝🤝👍🌱

Thanks so much! I was about to treat my very mature and leggy aglaonema like a peace lily, and divide it! Now I'm going to propagate as you showed.

What size pots do you recommend if I just want to plant one stem once the roots have come out. Do you recommend just doing one or multiple in one pot

Thank you for sharing beautiful plants good luck

Hi bro super bro

Awesome. I have a pink one of these that I pulled apart and split up. I think the tall gangly one is going to get cut, and I'll put them all back together. Thank you for this tutorial!

I murder aglaonemas. They just up and die a year in my care for random reasons. I wish they were easy care for me lol.

Super helpful! Thanks for posting!

Excellent video! Going to prune 2 of my aglaonemas now, wish me luck.

Hi Jeff, are you cutting on or in between the nodes?

I love how clear and detailed you are. Thank you. Great tip on the opaque propagation container.

Thank you for the video! Cannot wait to try h this with mine!