Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight - Best Care Guide

So you got your hands on the amazing Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight? Here’s our guide on how to get the best out of it. The key to caring for the Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight is to not let the soil get soggy and give it decent humidity and light levels.

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight Summary

Light needs:	Bright indirect sunlight.
Watering needs:	Only water it if the soil is dry all the way down.
Fertilizer:	Use a balanced fertilizer or one with higher nitrogen for the foliage (an npk of 5-5-5 or 5-3-3) monthly in summer.
Soil:	Cactus and succulent mix.
Humidity:	60%.
Temperature:	18°C to 25°C (64-77°F).
Where to buy:	Try our list of Rare Plant Shops or Etsy.
Other names:	Sterling silver.
Common issues:	Overwatering and underwatering.

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Introduction

Silver-leafed plants have become really fashionable, and the Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight along with it. It is related to the popular scindapsus pictus, and grows in a similar way, but is a striking silvery green color. We run down all you need to know about ‘treubii moonlight care…

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Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight Light Needs

Ideal light conditions for scindapsus treubii moonlight is bright indirect sunlight. I keep mine just off to the side of a south facing window, I have a big plant shelf that is set back and to the side of the window so it gets loads of light but no direct sun.

How Often to Water

Check your scindapsus treubii moonlight weekly, but only water it if the soil is dry all the way down. It is important that these plants do not sit in water.

Fertilizer

Use a balanced fertilizer or one with higher nitrogen for the foliage (an npk of 5-5-5 or 5-3-3). Feed your scindapsus treubii moonlight monthly in the spring and summer months.

Tip: be patient! These plants grow very slowly, so don’t worry if it’s looks like it isn’t growing.

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight - close up of leaf — Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight – close up of leaf

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight Soil

This scindapsus needs a cactus and succulent mix. A scindapsus treubii moonlight soil mix must be really well draining, this is really important as the biggest problem for these plants is waterlogging, they are really sensitive to root rot. You can also use normal potting compost but add plenty of perlite as well as orchid bark. You want them to have dry bottom!

When To Repot

The best time to repot is in spring before the main growing months (although year round is also fine). Pot it up a size if it becomes root bound.

These grow up trees in the wild, so many people use a moss pole to replicate this, and the plant looks great when trained to grow vertically. Personally I think a moss pole is a must to get the best out of these climbers.

Tip: give it a moss pole to climb, this will encourage the plant to put out larger leaves.

Humidity

60% humidity is ideal to get the best out of your scindapsus treubii moonlight. They will do fine in most normal household environments but you can mist them a few times a week or even daily in the summer, to get the best out of them. I would recommend misting them in the drier months, but they are not fussy in this regard

Temperature

18°C to 25°C (64-77°F), normal household temperature. Honestly they do well down to low temperature, even when freezing outside.

Tip: Get a humidity meter to monitor the temperature and humidity (they give maximum and minimum read outs so you know if they are falling off at night). They’re really cheap these days, under 10 euros / dollars.

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight Propagation

This plant grows fairly slowly, so I would favor using soil propagation as you can ‘set it and forget it.’ Well, almost, you’ll need to keep it moist.

Follow our step by step process to scindapsus treubii moonlight propagation:

Take a cutting including at least 2 nodes, with leaves on the higher up of the nodes.
Keep the leaves on the higher node and strip the leaves from the lower one. This is where roots will grow from.
Get a pot with some wet but not soaking soil and plant the cuttings in the soil with the naked node under the soil.
Put the whole thing in a clear plastic bag that is big enough to cover the whole pot and plant.
Spray the plants with water and then seal the bag. You want it to be really humid. Then poke 2 holes in the top of the bag to allow a small amount of air to circulate, but keep a lot of the humidity in.
Open it once a week to change the air and to spray it if the humidity has dropped.

It should be fully rooted and putting out new growth in a month or two.

Scindapsus Treubii USDA Zone

You can keep this plant outside if you live in zones 10-12.

Where To Buy

Try our list of Rare Plant Shops or Etsy.

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight Toxic To Cats

Scindapsus treubii moonlight is toxic to cats. It can cause vomiting and oral irritation so keep it away from pets. (Source).

Scindapsus Officinalis Vs Moonlight

You can tell the difference between the scindapsus officinalis and scindapsus treubii moonlight as the leaves of the moonlight are elongated and pointed, and the officinalis has much rounder leaves. Also the officinalis has more pronounced green and silver areas that are clearly separate. Other than this they are relatively similar plants.

Is Treubii Moonlight A Philodendron Moonlight?

The treubii moonlight and philodendron moonlight are very different plants, the scindapsus treubii is dark and silvery green, but the philodendron moonlight is a bright neon green color.

Other Names

Sterling silver scindapsus, sterling silver scindapsus treubii. It is also know incorrectly as ‘moonlight pothos plant’.

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight Darkform

The scindapsus treubii moonlight darkform is a much darker version of the plant, with very dark green foliage. It has very similar care needs, but will often cost a bit more.

Technical, Trend and Price Info

Habitat And General Info

Genus/Species: Genus: scindapsus treubii. Species: scindapsus treubii. (source).

Natural Habitat: South East Asia (source).

Zones: 10 (source).

Are they toxic to pets?: Toxic to dogs, cats sources. (source).

Popularity

Taken September 2021, showing the last 5 years of worldwide Google search traffic.

Price Data

Europe: 20-30 Euros. USA: 20 USD.

(Prices taken from Etsy and Ebay sellers, September 2021, for a full plant).

Social Demand

Instagram Trend: 14023 uses of tag #scindapsustreubiimoonlight.

(Count taken September 2021).

Patent

No patent data found.

Please note: Although every effort has been made to provide complete and accurate information, we cannot take responsibility for any error or omissions in the information.

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight FAQs and Common Problems

Common issues with scindapsus treubii moonlight are overwatering and underwatering. Make sure you are checking the plant once a week to see if it needs watering, but then only watering when it is completely dry.

How To Tell It Part From The Other Scindapsus?

It has slightly bigger and more elongated leaves and it is not speckled like the others, it’s bigger leaves have big silver patches that cover almost the entirety of the leaves up to its green borders. They are really silver and stand out from normal green foliage.

Scindapsus Treubii Moonlight Curling

If you get leaf curling on your moonlight, make sure you are watering it properly, the most common reason for curling is lack for water form the soil or humidity, so up those and the problem will clear up.

Additional Resources

Buy: we recommend a digital thermometer hygrometer (amazon affiliate link) to measure humidity.