Syngonium Albo Care (Full Guide With Expert Tips)
Welcome to our guide to syngonium albo care (aka syngonium albo variegata aka syngonium albo variegated) I cover all to you need to know about care and propagation…
Syngonium Albo Care Summary
| Light needs: | Bright indirect sunlight. |
| Watering needs: | Check soil weekly, water when almost dry. |
| Fertilizer: | A well diluted feed balanced feed, weekly in the summer. |
| Soil: | Well draining mix with perlite. |
| Humidity: | 50%. |
| Temperature: | 15-30°C (59-86°F) during the day, 10°C (50°F) minimum. |
| Where to buy: | Try our list of Rare Plant Shops or Etsy. |
| Other names: | Syngonium albo, syngonium albo, variegata aka syngonium albo variegated, syngonium podophyllum albo variegata, syngonium podophyllum albo variegatum, variegated arrowhead plant. |
| Common issues: | Yellow leaves due to overwatering. |
Introduction
Syngonium albo care is an easy to care for as they are tolerant of most household conditions and they grow very fast, they are fairly cheap to, making them a really popular variegated houseplant. The only real thing you need to look out for is to not over water them, and make sure they don’t get too dry or low humidity either as the leaves (especially the white parts) of the leaves can turn yellow or brown. But if they do, they grow so quickly you can trim them back and they’ll grow back in no time.
Tip: we recommend Etsy for buying plants. Look for the best rated seller you can, and try to buy as close to your home as possible so the plant does not travel too far.
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Syngonium Albo Light Requirements
You want to give your albo plenty of light if you can. They tend to grow slightly more variegated leaves in brighter light and greener leaves in lower light conditions. But you don’t want to give them direct sunlight as it can burn the variegated parts of the leaves.
See also: Syngonium Milk Confetti, Types Of Syngonium Plants, Pink Syngonium, Best Soil For Syngonium Plants, How To Propagate Syngonium Albo (Easy Propagation Guide), Syngonium Mojito Care, Reverted Syngonium Mojito.
How Often To Water
Don’t want to over water your syngonium. Water them when the soil is mostly dry, check it with your finger before watering it. They are quite tolerant of over and underwatering, but if you go too far it may well result in browning or yellowing of the leaves. Tip out any excess water that sits in the container under the plant after watering as this can keep the soil sodden and lead to root rot.
At watering time, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for pests like Fungus Gnats.
Fertilizer
I don’t feed some of mine and they’re just fine, but you can give them a balanced fertilizer once a week in the warmer months of spring and summer. Don’t give them fertilizer in the cold winter months.
Soil
A good soil for syngoniums is a mix of orchid bark, perlite, potting mix (Amazon affiliate links). You can actually find some good pre-mixed syngonium soil on Etsy too.
Tip: for more on making your own syngonium soil see our guide here.
When to Repot Syngonium Albo
Syngoniums grow really quickly. Their roots grow big and will soon poke through the bottom of the pot. So you want to give the roots plenty of room to grow in a fairly big pot. They’ll be ok if they get a bit root bound so don’t worry too much. I repot mine every year at easter time so they have room to grow over the warmer months.
For more on different types of syngonium see our syngonium category with all our care guides.
Humidity
50% humidity is ideal for syngoniums. They will flourish if given the high end of normal household humidity. They will be fine in lower levels, too, but get them to 50% (or above) to get the best out of them, you don’t want the white parts of the leaves crisping up.
Temperature
Aim for 15-30°C (59-86°F) during the day, they are fairly tough and will be ok over or below this range. They’ll do well in most homes. Don’t expose them to cold draughts in the winter, as it can damage the leaves if it gets down to freezing. Aim to keep them above 10°C (50°F).
How To Propagate Syngonium Albo
They grow and propagate quickly and root with a relative high success rate. You want to take stem cuttings, root them in water them move them to soil once rooted.
Follow these steps:
- Take a cutting with a node and at least 2 leaves on it.
- Leave it aside so the wounds heal over for an hour or two.
- Put it in a jar of filtered tap water to root for a month. Make sure the water is topped up and it gets bright indirect sunlight.
- Move it to soil once the roots have started to grow well.
- Put it in a bright and warm spot (no direct sun though), and keep it moist and humid
- It should take to the soil in one or two months.
- Once it starts growing new leaves from the top of the plant you can pot it up.
For more on how to propagate syngonium albo see our full guide here.
USDA Zone
They can grow outdoors in USDA zones 10-11.
Is It Toxic To Cats?
If eaten, syngoniums can be toxic to pets, and cause oral irritation and vomiting. Your pet should be ok in a day or so, but seek vets advice in any case.
Other Names
Other names for syngonium albo are: syngonium albo, variegata aka syngonium albo variegated, syngonium podophyllum albo variegata, syngonium podophyllum albo variegatum, variegated arrowhead plant.
Where To Buy
Try our list of Rare Plant Shops.
Reverted Syngonium Albo
They can lose their variegation, although not as much as some other syngoniums like the mojito. They can turn all green sometimes. Usually it is due to too little light for a long period for time.
If this happens, cut the plant back to the last node that produced a variegated leaf, then give the plant plenty of bright light (no direct sun). It can encourage the plant to grow back variegated.
See also our other full guides where I cover in detail how to save a reverted plant: Reverted Syngonium Mojito, Reverted Philodendron Pink Princess.
Syngonium Albo Mature Form
If syngoniums are allowed to grow up trees they can change their leaf shape to be like a five-pointed star. Sometimes you see cuttings taken from these maturer plants and sold with this different leaf shape.
Syngonium Albo Price
At time of writing they currently go for 30 to 60 euros in Europe and the same in dollars in North America. Depending on size.
Syngonium Albo Frequently Asked Questions
They get yellow leaves when over or under watered, so check the soil moisture. If it’s wet let it dry out completely before watering again. If it’s dry and underwatered check the soil more regularly and water it when almost dry.
They like a well draining soil, you can add 1 part perlite to 4 parts normal potting compost as a quick and easy well draining mix. Or for a better soil mix you can add equal parts orchid compost, potting compost and perlite together.
The albo has distinct white patches of variegation on it’s leaves, the mojito does not have any white, but has light mint green mottling on it’s leaves.
These plants are very alike with similar variegated patterns on teem, the difference is that the aurea has a yellowy green variegation, but the albo has white.
They can put out all white leaves which look beautiful. They are difficult for the plant to sustain as they do not have any green and cannot produce energy easily to survive. They might die back quickly, you can trim them off if they do.
They grow really fast and will need repotting often. The roots grow fast too and my plants always seem to have roots growing out the bottom even when I repotted them recently!
They can get huge, over 2 meters (6.5 feet) or so, but they cannot support that height wihthout a moss pole or trellis.
They are available at lots of stores, you should be able to find them, if you shop around, try Etsy.
Give the plant us much indirect sunlight as you can without direct sun to give it the best chance.
Other Articles You Might Like
There you have it, here ends our guide to this beautiful plant. You might also like our other articles:
Pink Syngonium, Best Soil For Syngonium Plants, How To Propagate Syngonium Albo (Easy Propagation Guide), Syngonium Mojito Care, Reverted Syngonium Mojito.
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