Aglaonema plants, commonly known as Chinese evergreens, are beautiful and popular tropical houseplants offering a host of uses and benefits. Feng Shui practitioners prize them for their ability to foster good fortune and prosperity. This article will explore where to position Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) in the home for optimal health and to enjoy their feng shui benefits.
- Where to Position Aglaonemas in the Home – The Essentials
- About Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens)
- Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) Care Requirements
- Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) and Feng Shui
- Where to Place Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) in the Home
- Where Not to Place Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) in the Home
- Where to Place Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) Outdoors (Gardens & Patios)
- Wrapping Up
Where to Position Aglaonemas in the Home – The Essentials
Aglaonema plants will thrive in a warm position with partial shade or full shade. They grow best in east-facing aspects. Aglaonemas are associated with good luck, wealth, and prosperity, so place them in your home office. Aglaonemas also represent the wood element and can help bring vitality and energy to a space.
About Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens)
Aglaonemas are commonly called Chinese evergreens and belong to the Arum family (Araceae). Aglaonema plants are native to tropical areas in Asia such as China, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia. Aglaonemas prefer the warm, humid environments of tropical forests and jungles.
Unsurprisingly, Aglaonemas are perennial evergreen plants and retain their foliage all year. Chinese evergreens can have glossy elliptical or blade-shaped foliage and come in a range of colors. Most varieties have green foliage in a range of shades, often with variegated patterns. Some varieties may have stunning pink or red foliage.
Some of the most popular Aglaonema varieties include:
- Aglaonema ‘Cutlass’
- Aglaonema modestum
- Aglaonema ‘Red Star’
- Aglaonema ‘Silver Bay’
- Aglaonema ‘Silver Queen’
As well as their striking foliage and easy care, Aglaonemas also make excellent air-purifying plants. Chinese evergreens were one of the best performers in NASA’s landmark Clean Air Study in 1989. Aglaonemas were particularly effective at removing benzene and formaldehyde from the air.
Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) Care Requirements
Aglaonemas thrive best when given conditions that match their natural habitat. This means warm temperatures, relatively high humidity, and moist soil.
Aglaonemas can grow well in most lighting conditions. Although they can tolerate bright, indirect sunlight, Chinese evergreens prefer partial to full shade. An east-facing room is ideal for these tropical evergreens. Chinese evergreens prefer a temperature from 65ºF to 80ºF (18 to 26.5ºC). Humidity levels should be kept between 60 and 70%, making these plants ideal for bathrooms.
Chinese evergreens prefer slightly moist, well-draining soil. Aglaonemas only need to be watered when the top inch or two of soil has dried out and will benefit from occasional fertilizing. A good aglaonema soil mix involves houseplant potting mix, horticultural sand, and perlite. Given appropriate growing conditions, you shouldn’t have too many issues with common aglaonema pests and diseases.
Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) and Feng Shui
Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practical philosophy aimed at promoting balance and serenity in one’s life. Traditionally, feng shui is concerned with balancing certain qualities and energies in your home. This is achieved by using specific colors and other decorations to help encourage harmony.
Aglaonemas are one of the most popular and influential plants for feng shui. As natives of China and other Asian countries, Aglaonemas have been used in traditional feng shui practice for thousands of years. These plants traditionally represent good fortune, luck, and prosperity, making them an excellent plant for office spaces.
Due to their evergreen foliage, Aglaonemas also represents longevity and purity in feng shui. The leaves are typically soft, which helps encourage positive energy and serenity. The air purifying properties of Chinese evergreens can also help promote calmness and reduce stress.
Because they’re predominantly green, Aglaonemas are associated with the feng shui qualities of this color. Feng shui teaches that green represents renewal, rebirth, and fresh energy. It’s also closely associated with the family.
Where to Place Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) in the Home
The easiest way to work out where to place any feng shui item is to use a Bagua map. This provides a blueprint that divides a home into specific zones associated with various qualities. The map typically has nine areas, with each section representing a direction of the compass. Here’s a brief overview of the Bagua areas:
- Center = Health (Tai Qi)
- Southeast = Prosperity and Wealth (Xun)
- South = Fame and Reputation (Li)
- Southwest = Relationships (Kun)
- West = Children and Creativity (Dui)
- Northwest = Travel and Helpful People (Qian)
- North = Career (Kan)
- Northeast = Knowledge (Gen)
- East = Family (Zhen)
Chinese evergreens are mainly associated with good luck and prosperity. According to the Bagua map, Aglaonemas will work best in a southeast position as this represents prosperity and wealth.
Aglaonemas and East-Facing Aspects
Fittingly, Aglaonemas grow best in east-facing areas, so a southeast position is perfect. You can put Chinese evergreens in either the southeast room of your home or in the southeastern portion of a different room.
Because they’re primarily associated with prosperity, it’s best to place Aglaonemas somewhere related to your work. An office is the best choice. This works well because Aglaonemas can also help reduce stress. Seeing the green foliage of a plant has been proven to reduce stress and improve productivity.
Adding an Aglaonema to the home also helps enhance the qualities of the color and element associated with this plant. Aglaonemas are predominantly green, which represent fresh energy and renewal in feng shui. Green is often recommended as a color that boosts the feng shui of home offices.
Like other houseplants, Aglaonemas are also associated with the wood element, which represents vitality. Suitably, the wood element is associated with the wealth and family zones of the Bagua map.
The Best Rooms for Aglaonema Plants
The feng shui benefits of Aglaonemas aren’t just reserved for your home office. Other rooms can benefit from the green, wood attributes of Chinese evergreens. Rooms that require positive energy, such as the living room, are also good locations for these plants. Green is also associated with the family section of the Bagua map, making Chinese evergreens a good addition to family areas.
Aglaonemas are associated with yin (feminine) energy. Yin energy is seen as soft and receptive and is often generated by the gentle curves of plant foliage. In contrast, yang (masculine) energy is more energetic and vibrant and is associated with angular, straight lines. Put Aglaonemas anywhere where you’re trying to cultivate yin energy.
In terms of the care requirements of Aglaonemas, you should try and place these plants in a warm or humid location. Bathrooms are ideal for Chinese evergreens as the steamy surroundings help them stay humid and warm.
Aglaonemas thrive best in partial shade, so look for areas of your home that suit this. These plants can tolerate some indirect sunlight, especially the more variegated varieties. East-facing or northeast-facing windows can help achieve the right light levels for an Aglaonema. Try not to leave them directly on a windowsill, though.
Where Not to Place Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) in the Home
Although Aglaonemas are excellent feng shui tools in some areas of your home, other rooms aren’t well-suited to these plants. Many practitioners believe that bedrooms shouldn’t contain houseplants. This is because the wood element is associated more with energy and growth than it is with rest and recuperation.
It’s also important to bear in mind the relationship between wood and other elements. If you’re trying to cultivate earth, metal, or water energy, items associated with wood can negatively impact these elements. The kitchen is commonly associated with the earth element. Placing a houseplant like a Chinese evergreen in your kitchen can upset earth energy.
Where to Place Aglaonemas (Chinese Evergreens) Outdoors (Gardens & Patios)
Just like the interior of your home, your garden or outdoor space can be used to cultivate feng shui. Adding soft-edged plants like Chinese evergreens can help introduce yin energy to areas with too much yang, such as patios.
Chinese evergreens can also help bring some vitality into dull outdoor spaces such as courtyards. This is because Aglaonemas and other plants are associated with wood energy, which represents fresh energy. Use Chinese evergreens to liven up a bland patio or courtyard space. As evergreen plants, Aglaonemas can help sustain this wood energy throughout the entire year.
Aglaonemas aren’t suitable for growing outdoors in most climates. These tropical plants need warm, humid areas to thrive. In the US, this means Aglaonemas are mostly confined to USDA Zones 8 to 11. If you’re growing Aglaonemas outside, you need to give them a fully-shaded area.
Wrapping Up
Aglaonemas make excellent feng shui plants for home offices because they represent wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. These qualities also make Chinese evergreens suitable to be positioned in the southeast area of the Bagua map, which represents prosperity and wealth. Aglaonemas also help introduce the vitality of the wood element to rooms in your home.
If you’re looking for your next Chinese evergreen to add to your collection, see our in-depth guide to the best plant shops delivering Chinese evergreens nationwide.
Andrew is the Editorial Director at Petal Republic. He holds a BSc degree in Plant Sciences and has trained professionally at leading floristry schools in London and Paris. In amongst overseeing a global editorial team, Andrew's a passionate content creator around all things flowers, floral design, gardening, and houseplants.
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