Syngonium Rayii is an extraordinary plant. You cannot find it easily in garden stores. Its beautiful velvety arrow-shaped leaves make it an excellent piece of decoration. The white line in the center of the leaves makes it a stunning foliage plant.
Rayii is a costly plant and one should learn about its care needs before buying. Below is the complete care guide that will help you to grow and keep this plant healthy.
Every step is explained in easy words.
Let’s start
About the plant?
Syngonium Rayii is naturally found in Costa Richa and Panama. Under ideal conditions, the leaves grow up to 10 inches long and 4 inches wide.
If you do not prune it regularly then the plant grows up to 5 to 6 feet long.
This means you need to use the shears every spring and summer to keep the plant at a controlled height.
For brighter leaves expose them to indirect bright light. Low light results in leggy growth and your plant will produce fewer leaves.
Light Needs
You will be happy to know that Rayii needs indirect bright light to grow. This means you have to protect it from strong sun rays.
If you left it in direct sunshine then the leaves will lose their stored moisture and turn brown.
The first sign of overlight exposure is burned leaves. This condition can be corrected by moving the plant to a less bright place.
To avoid all light-related issues, place the plant pot near the sunny window. Morning sunlight is good for plants.
But after 10 am move the plant pot to an indirect bright place. Because the sun starts emitting sharp rays.
Potting Soil
It does not like to sit in water-logged soil. The soft roots get damaged due to extra water in the potting soil.
Therefore, you need soil that drains extra water in a few minutes and also contains a high amount of organic nutrients.
Compost is the best material to add natural nutrients to regular potting soil.
My formula is:
1 part regular potting mix + 1 part perlite + 1 part compost + 1 part coco coir.
It works best for my Syngonium Rayii plants. I have never faced root rot, stem rot, and other watering-related problems.
Aeration is the second most important thing that this pant needs. So do not use regular potting mix without altering its qualities.
Coco coir and perlite make the soil fluffy and increase the airflow.
Note: Garden soil is not recommended at any cost. Because it gets heavy after watering and suffocates the Syngonium roots.
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Watering
This is the crucial part because the plant needs moist soil and cannot survive in dry conditions. But overwatering is also another problem.
Therefore, you need a balanced watering routine that adds enough moisture to the soil without making it wet.
This is only possible with the deep watering technique. In this method, you keep watering your plant until you see it coming out of the bottom hole.
Then stop watering and leave it for 40 minutes. Then drain the extra water that gets collected in the saucer.
This technique prevents overwatering and underwatering problems.
Make sure that the water you are using for watering plants is chlorine-free. Plants do not need chlorine to grow and this only harms the roots.
It gets collected at the base of the pot and after sometimes it blocks the normal functioning of roots.
Fertilization
Syngonium Rayii is a light feeder which means you do not need to spend much money on fertilizers. For the best health, fertilize it once in spring and a second time in mid of summer season.
No extra nutrients in winter. Let your plant take a rest on cold days.
A general-purpose foliage nutrient bottle will work best for it. No need to buy a special type of fertilizer for Rayii plants.
The compost in the formula is to supply almost all essential nutrients.
Temperature & Humidity
55 to 75 degrees F is the recommended temperature range for Syngonium Rayii. If it drops below 50 F your plant will start suffering from cold.
This slows down the water absorption rate and the plant starts getting weak.
For humidity, keep it above 55% if you do not want to see dry brown leave tips. Generally, it likes humidity near about 70%.
But this range is not possible to maintain for the 365 in our homes.
The good news is it can live comfortably in humidity ranging from 55 % to 65%.
To increase home humidity, you can use a plant humidifier. They are specially designed for plants, not for humans. Just place it next to the plant and turn it ON.
Some people prefer the pebble tray method but I do not find it helpful for the Rayii plant. They need a strong solution to low humidity which is an electric humidifier.
Misting water on plant leaves only increases the risk of leaf rot. It does not help in increasing the humidity level.
Repotting
Repot it once in 2 years to keep it fresh and vibrant. The soil also loses its nutritional value in 2 years.
Also, add some new mixture of potting soil and add some organic fertilizers (compost).
For potting up choose one size large pot with drain holes. The material of the pot does not matter in Syngonium Rayii care and propagation.
Propagation
There are 2 options one is stem cutting and the second is Stolons. Stolons are stems that have air roots.
Cut the stem that is healthy and 4 inches long. Remove all the leaves at the bottom and only leave one or two at the top.
Or
Cut the Stolon 1 inch below the air root.
Use water for propagation for both stem and stolon. The water must be clean and does not contain heavy minerals.
Then place the glass of water in a warm location away from direct sunlight. Within a few days, you will see the tiny roots.
Let them grow 2 inches long then transfer them into the potting soil. In the time frame, you must change the water when it gets unclear or dirty.
New leaves of Syngonium Rayii are not unfurling
If the new leaves of your plant do not unfurl. The reason for this problem is the lack of nutrients in the potting soil. Sometimes lack of bright light triggers this situation.
But in most cases, infertile soil is the reason.
Low humidity is also another reason for not opening leaves. Use a hygrometer to measure the room humidity and then make adjustments accordingly.
I have already mentioned humidity-increasing tips.
Conclusion
It is a rare and costly plant but is easy to grow when you know about its requirements. Syngonium Rayii needs higher humidity for good health. There are many ways to increase it.
Overwatering is the only issue that you can face if you do not know the deep watering technique. Also, keep eye on room temperature do not let it drop below 50 degrees F.
