Maria Arrowhead Plant which is also known as Syngonium Maria, Maria Allusion, or Merry Maria is a type of arrowhead plant (Syngonium podophyllum) that is also sometimes labeled in nurseries as Arrowhead Vine or five fingers which are the names of the plant family. The Merry maria allusion syngonium plant has leaves that are of deep red color but you can also find options with pink or green or bronze color leaves and it grows with white flowers similar to that of other aroid plants. Maria Arrowhead Plant is an offbeat choice for a houseplant if you are looking for different color foliage and for the fact that they can be used either as a trailing plant, hanging plant, or even as climbers.
These plants belonging to the species of Allusion Syngonium have beautiful leaves that look like butterfly wings which is why these plants are sometimes also called butterfly plants. Merry Maria Allusion Syngonium plant is a native of Latin America mostly Brazil, Bolivia, and Mexico it is also grown in some pacific islands. On maturity, these plants can reach a width of 1.6 feet and a height of 1.9 feet.
How to Care for Maria Arrowhead Plant (Merry Maria Allusion Syngonium)
To Care for Maria Arrowhead Plant provide it with shade and expose it to low to medium sunlight while keeping it in temperatures between 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit also ensure that you provide it with a well-draining soil mixture and water it twice a week. Let’s look at its care requirements in detail.
Light Requirements
Maria Arrowhead Plant likes shade and can handle bright but low to medium sunlight so place it accordingly in your windows or garden so that it gets indirect sunlight. If you expose it to direct sunlight it will end up with either burned or bleached leaves. If Sunlight conditions are not correct it will lose its specialty of pink and red mixed with green foliage.
Temperature Requirements
The ideal temperature range for Maria Arrowhead Plant is between 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius) to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 degrees Celsius) which is the average indoor temperature. Merry Maria Allusion Syngonium plant can not handle cold weather and will struggle if the temperature falls below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). In winter it is best to put this plant indoors while it can be grown outdoors in summer. It is best suited for growing outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 9 and 10.
Water Requirements
Maria Arrowhead Plant needs to be watered 2 to 3 times a week, especially during summer as it likes moist soil. While the soil needs to be moist you should also avoid waterlogging and so should allow the soil to dry out between two watering sessions. In autumn and winter reduce the watering frequency to once every second week from the weekly frequency in summer. In winter as the plant is not growing, you should make sure that the soil is drier compared to summer but is not allowed to be completely dry. When watering the plant in a pot make sure that you keep watering until the water starts coming out of the holes for drainage in a pot so that the whole soil is completely moist, especially in summer.
Soil Requirements
Standard potting soil mixture which is well draining and aerated will work well for Maria Arrowhead Plant. if making your own mixture you can mix perlite and orchid bark into a standard potting soil.
Humidity Requirements
Maria Arrowhead Plant requires humidity to be greater than 50 % humidity and doesn’t do well if the atmosphere is dry and you may even see a decline in its growth rate. Overall humidity in the range of 30 to 100 percent humidity works fine for the Merry Maria Allusion Syngonium plant. You can add a pebble tray or a humidifier to increase humidity if needed.
Fertilizer Requirements
Maria Arrowhead Plant needs to be fertilized every two weeks during the growing season in summer. You should ideally use a standard balanced liquid fertilizer for houseplants diluted to half the strength. You can also try feeding the plant compost with some worms casting early during the spring if you want. If fertilized correctly during the growing season it will lead to more flowers and more beautiful foilage from the plants
Potting and Repotting Maria Arrowhead Plant (Merry Maria Allusion Syngonium)
The best practice for Maria Arrowhead Plant is to repot this plant every two years into a bigger pot and you will see faster growth for this plant. Even before two years if you see signs of slow growth despite following all other care instructions you can move this plant to a bigger pot. Whatever soil mix you use starts becoming more and more compacted over a period of time and that is why you should also keep on refreshing the soil mixture every year. Every time you are refreshing the soil mixture you can look at the health of the roots of plants and look at repotting them. Refreshing the soil mixture also helps reduces bacteria and fungi in the plants.
Pruning Maria Arrowhead Plant
This plant requires pruning regularly as it is a spreading plant and if you don’t prune it its leaves will creep and take over the whole of its surrounding areas in the garden. if you regularly prune this plant you will be able to maintain its beautiful bushy appearance
Propagating Maria Arrowhead Plant
You can propagate the maria arrowhead plant by water propagation and soil propagation by leaf cuttings
How to Propagate Maria arrowhead plant by Water
You can propagate this plant in water for faster growth of the roots as compared to soil.
- Start the propagation of this plant during spring which is the growing season so that the plant has time to grow
- Take Small parts of the stem a few inches long so that there are root nodes present on the stem
- Place the stem cuttings in the water and place them in such a way that they are away from direct sunlight.
- Depending on the temperature and the plant variety you will start seeing the roots of the new plant in a few weeks.
- Initially, when the plant is young the foilage will not look similar to the older plant but as the plant matures it will start looking similar
Maria Arrowhead Plant Flowers
This plant doesn’t bloom indoors but if you plant it outside in the garden you may start seeing whitish-green flowers which will alter on turn into dark red or brown colored berries. Blooms of the merry maria has similarity with those of the Peace Lily with the difference being that the Maria Arrowhead plant has a spadex that is thicker.
Maria Arrowhead Plant Pests & Diseases
Maria Arrowhead plant usually faces mealybugs, aphids, and spider mites as common pests or diseases. to deal with them the ideal way is to spray them with neem oil every two weeks but if you don’t have it and you are facing pest issues you can use insecticidal soap or dishwasher soap.
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