Plant Encyclopedia

Other Names:  Serpent Tree, Emerald Tree

Description:

A broad-leaved evergreen tropical presenting beautiful dark green, glossy foliage; rarely flowers when grown indoors; a graceful accent plant for bright indoor areas; move outdoors in summer to enjoy on the patio

Features & Attributes

China Doll's attractive glossy oval compound leaves emerge light green, turning dark green in color throughout the year on a plant with a round habit of growth.

This is a multi-stemmed evergreen houseplant with a more or less rounded form. This plant can be pruned at any time to keep it looking its best.

Planting & Growing

When grown indoors, China Doll can be expected to grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 40 years. This houseplant will do well in a location that gets either direct or indirect sunlight, although it will usually require a more brightly-lit environment than what artificial indoor lighting alone can provide. It does best in average to evenly moist soil, but will not tolerate standing water. The surface of the soil shouldn't be allowed to dry out completely, and so you should expect to water this plant once and possibly even twice each week. Be aware that your particular watering schedule may vary depending on its location in the room, the pot size, plant size and other conditions; if in doubt, ask one of our experts in the store for advice. It is not particular as to soil type or pH; an average potting soil should work just fine.

There are many factors that will affect the ultimate height, spread and overall performance of a plant when grown indoors; among them, the size of the pot it's growing in, the amount of light it receives, watering frequency, the pruning regimen and repotting schedule. Use the information described here as a guideline only; individual performance can and will vary. Please contact the store to speak with one of our experts if you are interested in further details concerning recommendations on pot size, watering, pruning, repotting, etc.

-- THIS IS A HOUSEPLANT AND IS NOT MEANT TO SURVIVE THE WINTER OUTDOORS IN OUR CLIMATE --