How To Plant, Grow And Care For Aralia

Light

Aralia thrives in bright but indirect light. You might want to plant it in a spot that gets bright morning sunlight for a couple of hours, avoiding the direct scorching heat of the afternoon while rotating the plant periodically so that it gets light on every side for even growth.

The health and color of its leaves entirely depend upon the intensity of the light it receives so, keep in mind not to expose the plant to the harsh and direct rays of sunlight which can harm the tender foliage turning its color to ugly brown.

Soil

While planting the aralia, make sure to look out for moist soil with a proper drainage system having slightly acidic to neutral pH levels. It would be better to use a mix of partially decayed vegetable or organic matter, commonly known as peat mix, in the soil.

Choose fertile soil that has a high potential of retaining moisture while draining quickly. You would be required to consider a natural soil mechanism that avoids water logging and provides a thriving environment for the aralia.

Water

Water is very crucial to aralia. You would not want to grow them in dry and crispy soil so, sufficient watering is essential for the moist soil throughout their growing period. Keep in mind not to make your soil soft and wet, known as soggy, while growing aralia.

During the hot weather, you need to increase the frequency of watering while constantly checking your soil. It is suggested to use the rule of thumb for inspecting your soil dryness where the top 1-2 inches of soil remaining dry is ideal for the next watering.

Temperature and humidity

Another essential requirement of aralia is temperature and humidity. The ideal temperature for the aralia to grow vigorously has been found between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit avoiding cold weather for prolonged periods.

Although it can tolerate the low temperature of about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, temperatures below 60 degrees have been found very unfavorable for them to survive and grow resulting in the leaves dropping off and killing the plant eventually.

Similar to this, aralia favors humid weather with a humidity level of at least 50%. Make sure to offer these favorable conditions in your indoor spaces or outdoors for aralia to be true to itself.

Step 1: Select Suitable Aralia

There are several varieties of aralia. It entirely depends upon you and your location for your aralia to grow and flourish since the varieties have slightly different attributes and thriving environments. It is recommended to every aralia grower that they should first search for suitable cultivars as per their surrounding.

Planting and growing suitable aralia that are more likely to adapt to the local climate and environment will ensure their successful growth and enhance the survival rate while offering a vibrant environment at their full potential.

Step 2: Choose the Right Location

After having decided on the right cultivars of aralia in your place, you now need to choose the right location for them. It has been found that they love indirect bright light with increased humidity levels and warm weather.

Make sure to choose the location, most probably, next to your window if you are planning to grow it indoors or partially shaded region in your garden so that it is not exposed directly to the intensified sunlight rays.

Step 3: Choose the Proper Soil

Another important step you need to consider is to choose the proper soil for your aralia to grow as anticipated. Soil should be enriched with essential nutrients while making sure of a proper drainage facility that avoids water logging.

Your soil should be evenly mixed with the organic matter so that it has improved soil-retaining potential providing a comfortable nutrient-absorbing environment for the roots of the aralia.

Step 4: Plant Aralia

Pick a suitable pot or container that has a decent drainage system with perfectly aligned holes at the bottom to avoid water logging. If required you can make the use of small stones or gravel at the bottom layer to improve the drainage.

You should now carefully dig your aralia from their growing spot along with their roots without bringing damage to them and plant it in the new location or prepared pot at the same depth it was growing while ensuring the rootball is completely covered by the soil.

Step 5: Water and Fertilization

After the successful plantation of your aralia in the new suitable location, make sure you are giving it an adequate amount of water throughout its growing period, more specifically, during the spring and summer.

Keep in mind to make your soil moist while being careful during the dormant season when it needs reduced watering. You shouldn't forget to check the soil before watering and only water them if the top inches of soil are dry. Similarly, while fertilizing during the growing season, make sure to use the half-diluted liquid fertilizer every 4-6 weeks.

Step 6: Aftercare and Maintenance

After the successful plantation of aralia in its thriving environment followed by timely watering and fertilizing, constant care and maintenance are required just like any other houseplant such as regular pruning and trimming, and protection from pests and diseases.

You should ensure proper air circulation and adequate spacing for your plant to grow fungal disease-resistant while regularly removing the lengthy and old leaves using clean and sharp tools.

Offer Favorable Climate and Soil

It is recommended to grow your aralia indoors or outdoors considering your local climate. It would be best to grow them outdoors if you live in USDA Hardiness Zones 10–11 since aralia favors warm and humid weather otherwise, indoor growing would be suitable.

Make sure the temperature of your indoor space does not fall below 55 degrees Fahrenheit and that your plant receives good filtered sunlight for significant hours every day. Keep in mind to water the peat-mixed soil frequently except during the fall or winter ensuring a well-drained system.

Provide Bright Light and High Humidity

While growing your aralia outside, make sure it receives bright indirect sunlight throughout the day. Avoid full exposure to direct sun rays as it can hamper the foliage so, make sure of partial shade. While growing inside your house, you would want them to grow close to the window that receives the warmth of the sun throughout the day.

If your local climate is less humid having a humidity level below 50% then you might want to bring a humidifier to enhance the humidity of the indoors for the optimum growth of the aralia.

Take Care of Pests

Just like other houseplants, aralia is prone to pests and diseases. It is always recommended to prevent it from coming close to your garden or house but it is quite hard to achieve complete prevention still, it can be controlled.

While inspecting the plants, if you encounter any insects, spider mites, or aphids around your garden or on your aralia then without further delay, run for the insecticidal soap. Make sure to apply this pest control on the leaves and on topsoil very carefully to prevent them from further developing and damaging the plants.

Use Fertilizer and Water Plenty

Aralia doesn't essentially require any type of external aid other than nutrient-enriched soil for them to grow fully fledged. However, fertilizing them to give some boost during their growing season, more specifically at the peak of growth would do no harm but rather uplift their stamina and make them robust.

Use liquid fertilizer with lowered dilution every week in adequate amounts following the instructions properly would do best for aralia. Similar to this, giving plenty of water for hydration is always welcomed by the plant. Make sure not to water-logged the soil preventing the plant from wilting and roots from rotting.

End-of-season care typically involves the essential preparations for the upcoming cold winter that need to be done for aralia when it has started to show signs of slow growth. Below is the comprehensive guide for you to follow to ensure decent health of your aralia during this period:

Pruning and Cleaning

You should make sure all the old leaves that have turned yellowish and other unwanted and damaged parts are eliminated from the plant's body. Make use of sharp and clean pruning tools for the elimination before the winter.

Develop the practice of cleaning the leaves of aralia ensuring the removal of all the debris and dust particles off of them that can hinder the photosynthesis and transpiration process.

Adjust Watering

As soon as the temperature slowly starts to drop down getting closer to the colder winter months, you should reduce the frequency of watering your aralia while making sure to check for soil dryness every time you think of watering them.

It is equally important to avoid overwatering during this period which may cause the roots of the plant to rot which will eventually kill the plant following the wilting.

Adjust Light

Aralia favors the warm weather with a significant amount of time spent on the indirect bright rays of sunlight. With the winter months getting closer more and more, the days will eventually get shorter with the reduced sunshine period.

You should be able to prepare your plant for this unfavorable situation by keeping your plant closer to the source of light for more periods than usual, which might be achieved by removing the nearby shades or introducing artificial lights.

Propagating any plant is a method to multiply them through several reproduction techniques so that you can regrow them in a new suitable or preferable location. Aralia is usually propagated through seeds or cuttings however, these methods are not very reliable.

These days, people are often seen purchasing a new plant for effective propagation of the aralia. Here's a descriptive guide for you to follow for the possible propagation method.

Propagating Through Seeds

You need to initiate this process by soaking the seeds of aralia in lukewarm water for about 2 days after carefully removing them from the fruits. After soaking, drain the seeds to make them completely dry.

Now place the dry seeds in a moist container or jar placed at around 70 to 75 degrees F containing a mixture of sand and sphagnum moss until they emerge. Finally, plant these seedlings in a pot with having moist seed-starting mix until leaves start to develop from them.

Remember to provide the container with adequate lighting and temperature for the optimal growth of your aralia.

Propagating Through Cuttings

Another technique of propagating your aralia is through soft and green stems of well-developed aralia. The cutting is suggested to be performed during the spring where you need to cut about nine inches long softwood stem at an angle.

Plant this stem in a container that consists of a moist seed-starting mixture of sand, perlite, and moss or coco coir in sufficient amounts along with a hormone powder for the deep root development. Remember to give plenty of water to this container regularly and you will have a fresh new aralia.

Propagating Through Seedlings

One of the easiest approaches to propagate your aralia is to purchase a new plant from the nearby plant store. Before introducing it in your house or garden along with other plants, make sure to isolate it for some weeks just as a precaution that you are not bringing any harmful diseases or fungal bacteria along with it.

After the preliminary inspection, plant the new plant in a container that consists of a potting mix and sphagnum moss for some period giving it plenty of water and sunlight.

Now, gently dig the plant with its unharmed roots and place it in the ground or a new bigger container with a well-drained system and enough soil to cover the entire rootball.

Here's a simple guide for you which includes the common problems with aralia along with possible remedies for each of them ensuring enchanting and fully-fledged aralia back to their life in your garden or indoors.

1. Environmental stress

Aralia is very sensitive regarding the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere where it grows. Having slight differences between them, it starts to show unusual behavior resulting in the dropping of the leaves.

Apart from the favorable environmental conditions such as warm temperatures, partial shade, slightly higher humidity, and good moisture, aralia doesn't even try to fight the cold, heat, and dryness.

How-to-fix

There is no other way than to provide a consistent thriving environment for your aralia to grow elegantly. Make sure it receives warmth from the sun's rays every day, sufficient water for the moisture, and at least 50% humidity level.

If it is difficult for you to offer them from natural sources, you might want to introduce artificial aids such as a humidifier or source of light.

2. Diseases

Several pests and bacteria adore your aralia just the way you adore them. Aralia is prone to diseases and fungal infections that might result from fungal foes like spot leaf and powdery mildew eventually shutting your plant down after the ugly spotty mess.

How-to-fix

You should constantly check on your plants and their leaves for any signs of pests or diseases. Early attention might help to overcome these nasty problems. You need to provide your aralia with good air circulation so that wet leaves would dry quickly.

Also, try avoiding overhead watering to prevent splashing of the soil on the leaves.

3. Rotting Roots

Another unignorable issue with your aralia is the rotten roots that might result from the overwatering making a pool on the pot or ground. People often get mistaken about the frequency of watering and the amount, of course.

Water logging will cause the roots of the plant to rot to which your plant might respond by wilting or yellowing leaves.

How-to-fix

It is mandatory for you as an aralia cultivator to be aware of the watering practices during different stages of the plant's growth. Over or under-watering is the enemy to your aralia. Make sure to check the soil dryness before watering regularly.

During the fall, you need to reduce the frequency of watering while during the summer or spring, you need to give it plenty of water depending upon the soil where you are growing your aralia.