Houseplants are no longer found in regular shades of green only. You can also find plants in vibrant color combinations like green and pink, and Maria Allusion Syngonium is a perfect example of this.
It will stand out in any indoor or outdoor setting.
Maria Allusion Syngonium is an interesting plant to grow as a houseplant, and mine was a gift from a gardening friend.
It comes from Latin America, mostly found in Brazil, Mexico, and Bolivia. It features the traditional arrow-shaped Syngonium leaves.
This plant is labeled with many names in nurseries or online plant shops. Some of them are Syngonium Maria, Arrowhead Vine, and Five Fingers.
Allusion Syngonium species are also called butterfly plants as the leaves resemble the butterfly wings.
This plant grows beautiful colored foliage in shades of red, bronze, pink, and green, plus it will bloom with white aroid-type flowers. It can trail, climb or hang.
These types of plants are famous in the nurseries year-round, and they sell pretty fast. So, if you find one in your nearest nursery, do not miss the chance of growing a unique houseplant.
Overall, it’s an easy plant, but further details are shared below.
Table of Contents
Maria Allusion Syngonium Care
Maria Allusion Syngonium can handle bright or low to medium light conditions, but it’s best to choose a semi-shaded location. This Syngonium plant will not give you any trouble as long as you keep it watered, preferably 2 or 3 times every week in summer. For potting mixture, use regular potting soil with perlite and orchid bark. Keep the temperature between 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 to 26.6 degrees Celsius).
Soil
Any average soil mixture works for Maria Allusion Syngonium, but it should be well-draining and rich. Your potting soil needs two other things as well; aeration and drainage.
I have planted all my Syngoniums in a mixture created using orchid bark, potting soil, and perlite. If you want to display this plant in the garden, note that the USDA hardiness zones for this plant are 9 to 10.
Water
Maria Allusion Syngonium needs regularly moist soil but make sure the water is distributed evenly throughout the soil in the pot.
This can be done easily by watering the plant until you see the water coming out from the drainage hole. This way, all the soil from top to bottom will be moisturized.
It has high water requirements compared to the average houseplant. I water mine 2-3 times per week depending on the soil condition.
It is important to allow the plant to dry out between watering sessions if you want to protect it from waterlogging.
Keep the soil on the drier side in winter and autumn as the plant is not growing actively but do not allow the soil to be bone dry.
Simply reduce the watering frequency so if you were watering every week in summer and spring, water it every second or third week in winter.
Light
Maria Allusion Syngonium loves growing in partly shaded spots in your house or garden. Do not leave it sitting in full sun as this will result in bleached or burned leaves.
Remember that incorrect lighting conditions can easily alter the leaf color, and you might not experience the actual pink and green foliage.
Temperature
The Maria Syngonium grows well in any temperature that falls within the range of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit(15.5 to 26.6 degrees Celsius).
This is the temperature range for average households, so do not worry much about temperature when growing it indoors.
Your plant might struggle if the winter temperature in your region falls below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
You can bring your plant inside during cold months and keep it away from doors or windows where it might be exposed to cold weather.
Humidity
This plant is more towards the high humidity side. In fact, you will notice a decline in plant growth if you keep it in a dry atmosphere.
It is best to maintain your air humidity between 70 to 100%.
That does not mean you need this level all the time; gardeners have reported that it performs just fine with 30 to 70% humidity.
You can create a pebble tray setting to elevate the humidity around this plant. All you need is pebbles, a bottom tray, and some water.
Place few pebbles in the tray and add water. Keep this tray at the bottom of the plant, and as the water evaporates, the moisture in the surroundings will increase.
Fertilizer
Fertilizers are a must for any foliage or flowering species. I would suggest feeding this plant every two weeks when it’s growing actively.
Feeding the plant at this stage will provide all the extra energy required to produce more flowers and foliage.
You can use a balanced houseplant fertilizer that is diluted at half the rate recommended by the manufacturer.
Your soil should have adequate organic matter for excellent plant growth. Fertilizers can also help you add organic matter to the soil.
You can fertilize this plant with compost and worm castings once in the early spring season.
Repotting
If your Maria Allusion Syngonium shows signs of stunted growth, immediately shift it to a bigger pot. A good practice is to repot this plant every two years so that it has enough time to grow and expand the root system.
Did you know that if you regularly repot this Syngonium variety, it’ll grow faster?
No matter the soil type, it will become compacted with time. For this reason, gardeners recommend refreshing the soil mix every year.
This also eliminates any bacteria or fungus possibly lurking in the soil. You can also inspect the root health while refreshing the soil for Maria Allusion Syngonium.
Pruning
This plant is high maintenance only in terms of pruning. Because of its spreading nature, if you do not prune the leaves, this plant can easily creep around and take over its surroundings.
This plant looks lovely in a bushy appearance. But if yours is not bushy due to any reason, pruning will help.
You have to regularly pinch the new leaves to help the plant grow more leaves.
Propagation
Water propagation
I prefer rooting this plant in water as the roots grow fast compared to soil.
- The best time for propagation is the growing season, ideally spring, because your plant will have enough time to establish itself.
- Take small sections of stems that are few inches long. Make sure some root nodes are present in these sections.
- Now place these cuttings in the water and keep them away from direct light. The cuttings will grow tiny roots within few weeks. The exact duration varies depending on the temperature and plant health.
The foliage for this Syngonium varies in appearance for a young and mature plant. So you might notice the propagated plant does not look like its mother plant.
But as the plant matures, it’ll begin resembling the mother plant.
Blooms
This plant will not produce any flowers as an indoor houseplant. Growing it outside increases the chances of seeing it bloom.
The flowers are whitish-green in color and have a close resemblance to Peace Lily blooms. The main difference is the spadex. Maria Allusion has a thicker spadex.
If you are lucky enough to have the blooms, you’ll see that the small flowers will turn into dark-colored berries, usually a shade of red, black, or brown.
Growth
This plant has a compact growth habit, but since it’s an arrow variety, it likes to spread the foliage in all directions. If you plant it outside, it matures as a ground cover but inside this plant is a vining variety.
This plant has a typical Syngonium houseplant structure with most branches at the base and foliage above, but it’s a top recommendation for ornamental gardening.
The leaves are mostly green but with a touch of bronze or red. The leaf veins are pinkish red.
The leaf color can vary based on the growth stage. Young foliage is pinkish-red, but as the plant matures, hues of green start appearing on the leaves.
The variegation is more prominent on young leaves, whereas most parts of the mature leaves are green.
The leaf shape also changes. Young leaves are arrow-shaped, whereas the mature ones have a lobed finish.
This plant has an average growth rate, but the mature indoor plant has a height of 1.9 ft (0.5 m) and a width of 1.6 ft (0.4 m).
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Common Problems for Maria Allusion Syngonium
This plant is susceptible to spider mites, mealybugs, and aphids.
If you regularly keep a check for bugs or pests, you will never have to deal with a large pest infection.
But this might not be possible for some gardens, so the tips below will help you get rid of pests on Maria Allusion Syngonium.
- First of all, isolate the infected plant to avoid spreading the bugs.
- Spray your plant with insecticidal soap or dishwasher soap.
- You should also wash the bottom tray and pot with a soap mixture. This will get rid of any pests or bacteria hiding in the pores of the container.
- If you want a strong defense against the bugs, I would recommend using rubbing alcohol or neem oil instead of soap.
- Repeat this procedure every week or two to kill all the bugs.
Tips for Growing Maria Allusion Syngonium
- Grow this plant in a hanging basket to support its vining or trailing growing habit.
- To add further beauty to this plant, grow it in decorative containers or pots.
- The foliage for this plant is heavily shaded so never overwater it because the soil takes longer to dry out, and your plant is vulnerable to root rot.
- Use gloves while handling or pruning this plant because the Syngonium plants produce sap that causes skin irritation.
- Although this Syngonium plant can grow in low light, I would not recommend doing that if you want to grow it fast with vibrant foliage.
- If you want to experience the maximum size of this plant, grow it outside in the garden as it can easily reach a height of 3 to 6 ft.
- Do not allow this variety to remain dry for a long period; otherwise, the foliage will start drying. You will also notice hints of brown on the leaves.
- Pruning helps in maintaining the natural and tidy appearance of this plant; otherwise, you might have to deal with the flop effect.
Frequently Asked Questions about Maria Allusion Syngonium Care
In what season will Maria Allusion Syngonium bloom?
This plant produces blooms in the spring season.
What is the best way to flaunt the multicolored foliage of Maria Allusion Syngonium?
I would recommend growing it in pots with totems or in hanging baskets.
Is Maria Allusion Syngonium an air purifier?
Based on plants studies by NASA, this plant can absorb harmful toxins from the air through its leaves. All these toxins are redirected to the root zone and converted to plant nutrients. So many gardeners grow it for its air-purifying qualities.
Can I grow Maria Allusion Syngonium as a terrarium plant?
You can grow the young or baby version of this plant in a terrarium. However, the leaves grow pretty large after a year’s growth, so you might have to grow it as a houseplant once the foliage is too large for the terrarium.
What is the toxicity level of this Syngonium?
Like other Syngoniums, this one also has calcium oxalate crystals in different plant parts, which makes it toxic for humans and pets. This is another reason why I prefer growing this plant in hanging baskets, as it’s kept away from the reach of my pets.
What other plants can I grow with Maria Allusion Syngonium?
Companion planting helps you grow more plants with minimum effort because you are pairing the houseplants with similar care requirements. Golden Pothos and climbing Philodendrons will be great companions for Maria Allusion Syngonium. Even their foliage compliments each other.
Will Maria Syngonium grow in low sunlight?
This plant can easily tolerate low light, so it will thrive in multiple light settings. You can even grow it in a dark corner of your house that receives very little light.
How can I rehydrate an underwatered Maria Allusion Syngonium?
If you have accidentally allowed your plant to dry for too long, rehydrate the soil by soaking the pot in a bathtub or bucket with water. Make sure you remove the tray at the bottom before doing this so that the water can penetrate the soil from below.
Conclusion
There are many varieties of Syngonium to try as a houseplant. Most of them have attractive foliage in shades of green, silver, cream, white or purple.
Houseplant owners are fascinated with plants that have colored foliage. This is why Maria Allusion Syngonium’s so popular.
It has striking foliage in shades of pink, green, and bronze; even the leaf veins are red.
Most plants in the Allusion series have compact growth, but to have a fuller plant, prune the foliage on a regular basis.
Don’t be intimidated by the colorful foliage if you are new to the gardening world because this plant is still easy to care for, and you can definitely pick this one as your first plant.
Daniel has been a plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He owns hundreds of houseplants and prepares for the chili growing seasons yearly with great anticipation. His favorite plants are plant species in the Araceae family, such as Monstera, Philodendron, and Anthurium. He also loves gardening and is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, and many more vegetables.