Houseplant · Araceae
Arrowhead Plant
Syngonium podophyllum
Easy-going and quick to fill out, the arrowhead plant climbs or trails wherever you point it, given bright indirect light.
Bright indirect
64–81°F · 18–27°C
USDA 10–12
3–6 ft · 0.9–1.8 m
Overview
The arrowhead plant earns its name from the shape of its young leaves, which start out as neat arrowheads on a low, bushy plant. Native from Mexico through tropical America, Syngonium podophyllum belongs to the arum family and has become one of the most forgiving houseplants you can keep. It comes in green, variegated, and pink-veined forms, so there is plenty to choose from.
What surprises most people is how the plant changes as it ages. The compact juvenile gives way to a climbing vine with longer stems and leaves that split into several leaflets. You decide the shape: train it up a moss pole, let it spill from a hanging basket, or keep pinching it back for a tight, leafy mound.
It asks for little. Bright indirect light, soil kept lightly moist, and warm air suit it, and it shrugs off the odd missed watering. The one thing to respect is the sap, which contains calcium oxalate crystals that irritate mouths and skin, so place it where pets and small children can't chew the leaves.
Care
The short version: give it bright indirect light, keep the soil lightly moist but never soggy, and hold it in warm, humid air. Ease off the water in winter, and give it a pole or basket once it starts to vine.
Light
Give it bright, indirect light for the best color and the fullest growth. It puts up with medium light and even low light, but direct sun scorches the leaves, so keep it back from a hot window.
Water
Keep the soil lightly moist but never soggy through the growing season, watering once the top starts to dry. Cut back from fall through late winter, when the plant slows down and wet soil quickly turns to root rot.
Soil
Plant it in a light, well-draining potting mix with a soil base. Free drainage is the thing that matters most here, since standing water at the roots is the fastest way to kill this plant.
Temperature
It likes ordinary room warmth, roughly 64°F to 81°F (18°C to 27°C). Keep it away from cold drafts and chilly windowsills in winter, since it has no tolerance for frost.
Humidity
This is a tropical plant that wants high humidity, ideally 60% or more. It survives average household air, but the leaves look their best with a humidifier nearby or a spot in a steamy bathroom or kitchen.
Feeding
Feed during active growth in the warmer months with a balanced foliage-plant fertilizer. A few feedings across the growing season are plenty, and you can stop entirely once growth slows in fall.
Pruning
The plant takes hard cutting back without complaint. Pinch and prune to shape it, whether you want a compact mound, a trailing basket, or a vine trained up a moss pole or trellis.
Repotting
Repot only when the plant outgrows its container and the roots crowd the pot. There's no fixed schedule; move it up a pot size whenever it starts to look cramped.
Size & spacing
Indoors it reaches about 3 to 6 feet (91 to 183 cm) as a climbing or trailing vine, with a spread near 1 to 2 feet (30 to 61 cm). Give it room to vine or a support to climb, and leave air moving around the leaves.
Troubleshooting
Arrowhead plants are tough, and most of their problems trace back to light or water. Read the early signs on the leaves and stems, match them below, and fix the cause before it spreads.
Soft, mushy stems or roots that have started to rot
Soggy soil invites soft rot, a bacterial decay that turns stems and roots to mush. Cut away the rotted tissue, then fix the cause: switch to a light, well-draining mix and let the pot drain freely. Ease off the water through fall and winter, when the plant drinks far less.
Fix:
- Remove affected tissue
- Improve drainage and avoid waterlogged soil
- Reduce watering, especially from fall through late winter
Pale, bleached, or burned patches on the leaves
Too much direct sun scorches arrowhead leaves, leaving washed-out or crisp patches wherever the light hits hardest. Move the plant to a spot with bright indirect light or dappled shade and the new growth comes in clean.
Fix:
- Move plant out of direct sun to a bright indirect or part-shade location
Brown or black spots spreading across the leaves
Discrete dark lesions usually point to bacterial leaf spot, which spreads on wet foliage. Pick off the marked leaves and keep water off the leaves from then on. Good air movement around the plant does most of the work in stopping it.
Fix:
- Remove affected leaves
- Avoid wetting foliage and improve air circulation
Webbing, fuzzy spots, or sticky distorted new growth
A few common pests go after arrowhead plants, and each leaves its own calling card. Spider mites stipple the leaves and spin fine webbing, mealybugs show up as white cottony tufts, aphids cluster on soft new growth, and scale sits on stems as hard little bumps. Isolate the plant the moment you spot any of them, wash the pests off, and follow up with an insecticidal treatment.
Fix:
- Inspect and isolate the plant
- Wash off pests and treat with an appropriate insecticidal control
Long, bare stems sprawling with thin foliage
This is the arrowhead plant growing up. The young plant is bushy and compact, but as it matures it slips into its natural vining habit and the stems stretch out and trail. Give it a moss pole or trellis to climb, let it cascade from a hanging basket, or pinch the stems back to keep it full and tidy.
Fix:
- Provide a moss pole or trellis for the plant to climb
- Grow in a hanging basket to let stems cascade
- Prune or pinch stems to keep the plant compact and bushy
Toxicity
This is a plant to keep out of reach. Every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, and a single bite stings the mouth on contact. The sap can irritate skin too, so handle cuttings with care and set the plant where pets and children can't get at it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
A cat that bites a leaf feels the sting almost at once. Expect heavy drooling, pawing at the mouth, and a sore, swollen tongue and lips, often with vomiting and trouble swallowing soon after.
Dogs Moderate
Dogs react the same way cats do. The mouth burns on contact, so watch for drooling, swelling around the lips and tongue, vomiting, and a reluctance to swallow.
Horses Moderate
The crystals irritate a horse's mouth and throat, bringing on drooling, swelling, and difficulty swallowing. Horses don't vomit, so the trouble stays centered on the mouth and gut.
Rabbits Toxic
Keep arrowhead plant well out of a rabbit's reach. The same calcium oxalate crystals that harm cats and dogs irritate a rabbit's sensitive mouth and gut, and this is not a safe green to offer.
Livestock Toxic
Grazing animals that chew the foliage get a painful mouthful of oxalate crystals, with drooling and oral swelling the usual result. Fence the plant off from any livestock that might browse it.
Birds Toxic
The sap is no safer for birds. A pet bird that nibbles the leaves can suffer the same mouth irritation and swelling, so keep cages and perches clear of the plant.
People Caution
No part of this plant is meant to be eaten. Biting a leaf gives a sharp burning in the mouth, and the sap can leave skin irritated, so wash your hands after taking cuttings and keep it away from small children.
All parts contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals; sap can irritate. UF/IFAS notes the toxic sap makes mechanical handling (e.g., string trimming) inadvisable outdoors
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Growers have selected the arrowhead plant for leaf color and pattern, from near-white to bright green to deep pink veins. These are a few of the named cultivars you'll come across.
'White Butterfly'
Its greenish-white leaves are washed with creamy white-yellow veins and edged in dark green, giving it the palest look of the bunch.
'Pink Allusion'
Bred in Florida, it carries deep pink veins down the centers of light olive-green leaves, and that pink holds its color as the leaves age.
'Robusta'
A named cultivar grown in the commercial Syngonium trade under UF/IFAS production guidelines.
'Neon'
Another commercial selection listed in the UF/IFAS production guidelines for interiorscape Syngonium.
'Lemon Lime'
A production cultivar from the same UF/IFAS guidelines, named for its bright green coloring.
How to propagate
Few houseplants are easier to copy. A cutting taken in the warm months roots almost on its own, and patient growers can air-layer a longer stem for a fuller new plant.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer · Roots in a few weeks
This is the easy way, and the plant practically does it for you. Take a tip or nodal cutting in spring or summer as long as it includes a node, and any aerial roots already on the stem give it a head start. Stand it in water or moist potting mix and it roots within a few weeks.
Air layeringModerate
Spring to summer · Several weeks
Air layering takes more patience but works well, and it's the method commercial growers use to bulk up Syngonium. Wound a stem and wrap it in spring or summer, then wait several weeks for roots to form before you cut the new plant free.
Myths
The arrowhead plant is just a kind of philodendron.
The two share the arum family, but the arrowhead plant is Syngonium podophyllum, a separate genus from Philodendron. The giveaway is the foliage: young leaves wear the arrowhead shape that gives the plant its name, then mature into compound leaves split into 3 to 11 leaflets, something philodendrons don't do.
Sources
- Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Atlas of Florida Plants, Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida
- UF/IFAS Plant Directory
- UF/IFAS EDIS (EP244, Cultural Guidelines for Commercial Production of Interiorscape Syngonium)