Syngonium Wendlandii: Care Guide, Tips & Fun Facts
Syngonium Wendlandii care is relatively simple once you get to know this stunning plant.
The Syngonium Wendlandii is a highly coveted houseplant for many collectors. This rare Syngonium is native to tropical South and Central America, most prominently found in Costa Rica.
The Wendlandii is named after the German botanist who studied Central American botany, Hermann Wendland (1825-1903).
As a member of the Araceae family, this plant grows epiphytically on the trunks of trees in tropical rainforests. It is also called the “Silver Goosefoot” or “Green Velvet.”
Wendlandii Characteristics & Availability
This beautiful houseplant is known for its deep emerald, green leaves with silvery white midveins. As the Wendlandii matures, its arrowhead leaves form dramatic lobes that almost look like separate leaves from a distance.
Wendlandii leaves tend to fascinate people since they have a velvety sheen but feel thin and delicate to the touch.
The Wendlandii was once very rare and only sold at specialty plant shops. For those lucky enough to find this plant, Syngonium Wendlandii care tips were hard to find, even online.
Although this Syngonium is becoming more common, it’s still rare to see it in a big box store. However, you can now purchase this plant online or at houseplant nurseries.
In addition, many collectors have grown it for some time now, and we’ve learned what it likes and dislikes with care.
Syngonium Wendlandii Care
While most Syngoniums share similar care requirements, the Wendlandii has a few preferences. This houseplant is excellent for intermediate plant growers but is slightly higher maintenance than the more common Syngoniums. We’ll discuss tips and tricks to keep it healthy and growing well.
Water
The Syngonium Wendlandii tends to be thirstier than other Syngoniums in my collection. It does not like to dry out completely and may drop old leaves when drought-stressed. Water it when the top two inches of soil feel completely dry.
While initial drought stress may cause the leaves to droop mildly, the Wendlandii is less communicative about thirst than other Syngoniums.
Instead, it may start to look dull and lose leaves when drought-stressed. Therefore, a weekly soil test will ensure you water it enough for your environment.
This houseplant must drain well after each watering and be kept in well-draining soil. It can develop root rot if the soil is not well draining.
Overall, the Wendlandii thrives when it is watered on time and allowed to drain well.
Additionally, you should avoid getting water on the Wendlandii’s leaves. These velvety leaves don’t like water and may form small white stains that are hard to remove.
Due to its finickiness with wet leaves, avoid misting this plant and boost humidity with other methods.
Light
Like other Syngoniums, the Wendlandii enjoys plenty of light, as long as it isn’t direct light. Give medium to bright indirect light for a happy fast-growing plant.
They can also tolerate low light but might start stretching toward the light source, becoming leggy. If switching to a lower light location, you’ll likely need to water less often to prevent root rot.
Humidity
In a greenhouse, the Syngonium Wendlandii will enjoy a humidity of 60-80% (a bit high for your home). Indoors, it still thrives in much lower humidity but does need at least 50% humidity year-round to prevent crispy leaves.
For your Wendlandii to thrive and grow rapidly, provide higher humidity of 55-65% indoors. This range should be safe for people and not so high that mold becomes a concern.
As a tropical plant, the Wendlandid will be healthiest in an environment that best resembles its native habitat. Furthermore, tropical plants use ambient moisture in the air to aid in photosynthesis. Therefore, humidity is ideal for this plant’s growth.
While the humidity requirements make Syngonium Wendlandii care more challenging for some growers, running a humidifier is a simple way to maintain humidity.
Differences in Humidity Information
In researching this plant, you might notice that plant enthusiasts don’t all agree on the need for supplemental humidity.
Although some plant influencers have said that the Wendlandii doesn’t need any added humidity, many of us have found that not to be the case for this Syngonium.
Since everyone’s household humidity can vary based on location, I believe this explains why people have had different experiences with this plant.
My experience with Wendlandii Humidity
Last winter, the humidity in my plant room got low at 35-40% when I didn’t run my humidifier on a few cold days. My Wendlandii developed crispiness on the edges of its newest leaves in that lower humidity. (No other elements of my plant’s care had changed.)
Once I corrected the humidity by increasing it to 50%, the growth after that looked just fine.
Other plant enthusiasts living in dry climates have also reported similar experiences with the Wendlandii. Its leaves are thinner and more delicate than many other Syngoniums, so it needs humidity.
Temperature
Household temperatures comfortable for us are also great for the Syngonium Wendlandii. It thrives in temperatures between 60-85°F (15-29°C). Unfortunately, this houseplant is not hardy enough to tolerate cold drafts.
In colder temperatures below 50°F, the Wendlandii will typically show signs of cold stress. These include drooping leaves, yellow spots on the leaves, and leaf loss.
Soil
Provide a chunky well-draining soil mix with moisture-retaining elements. Think of an aroid mix with just a bit of added moisture. The Wendlandii benefits from plenty of aeration for draining. To achieve this, you can mix equal parts of perlite, Orchid bark, and potting soil.
Fertilization
The Wendlandii is a medium feeder, as it prefers regular fertilizing at reduced strength. If the fertilizer is too strong, this can easily burn its beautiful leaves. Fertilizing with half-strength liquid fertilizer works great.
During the growing season, fertilize every other week.
In winter, the plant either goes dormant or grows slowly. Therefore, fertilize in the winter once every 1-1.5 months at half strength. If you run grow lights in winter and see steady growth, you can fertilize every 3-4 weeks at half strength.
Toxicity
This plant is toxic to pets and people. It is not a pet-friendly plant and should also be kept away from small children.
Ingestion of this plant can result in serious health complications. Like other Syngoniums, it contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. The plant irritates both the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal system.
Wendlandii Maturity and Support
In its juvenile form, Wendlandii leaves are smaller without pronounced lobes, and the vines are shorter. It won’t need support in this life stage.
As the Wendlandii matures, it develops large leaves with prominent lobes and longer vines. At this point, you should provide it with support. The Wendlandii will start to become somewhat leggy and even droopy without support. Provide a trellis, moss pole, coco coir pole, or wooden plank.
FURTHER READING: 3 Ways To Train Your Pothos to Climb As They Do in the Wild
Wendlandii Root Attachment
This Syngonium loves to climb but is slow to attach. Therefore, it will need help by training it up a moss pole or wooden plank. Use plant clips, pins, or plant tape to adhere the vines to the support surface.
And as you may have guessed, provide high humidity of 55-65%. As previously mentioned, elevated humidity accelerates growth. It also gives the aerial roots the moisture they need to spread out and attach.
To see Wendlandii’s aerial roots as it climbs on a small tree, check out this YouTube video.
Syngonium Wendlandii Pests
The Wendlandii is prone to mealybugs and spider mites. With other pests, the plant may become infested when exposed but isn’t particularly susceptible.
For example, I, unfortunately, got a thrip infestation in my plant room. Still, the Wendlandii was one of the few plants not infested. While that’s not to say they can’t get thrips, I was relieved mine did not. Additionally, you can reduce the chances of all pests by keeping your humidity up.
If your Wendlandii becomes infested with pests, clean it thoroughly with insecticidal soap first. Then spray the stems and backsides of the leaves with neem oil (testing one leaf first to see how the plant responds).
For the front sides of leaves, try manual removal of pests with insecticidal soap and water rather than spraying neem oil due to the delicate velvety leaf texture.
If this does not work, by all means, treat the entire leaf. However, the leaves may develop some permanent stains from the pesticide application. It’s still better to control the infestation as a priority.
Propagation
The Syngonium Wendlandii is simple to propagate.
Similar to how you would propagate a Pothos, you can take a stem cutting with 2-3 leaves and a node. Cut ½ to 1 cm below the node.
You can grow the propagation in water or a jar of LECA.
To preserve the health of the mother plant, never remove more than ⅓ of the plant.
Ensure that you keep your cuttings away from direct sunlight. Once the roots have grown approximately two inches long, you can transfer them to the soil. This takes about 4-5 weeks. Happy growing!
