Any advice for a sad-looking chinese evergreen?

I recently was given a chinese evergreen from my mom, who didn't know what to do with it and who was sick of trying to take care of it. She'd gotten it from my uncle, who gave it to her for similar reasons.

It looks...not like it's supposed to. It's really tall and lanky (all of the lower leaves are gone; they look like little palm trees with only a few leaves right at the top). There are four or five bigger stalks and a handful of little baby stalks in an 8" pot. The soil won't absorb water (every time I try giving it a little drink, the water runs right through to the bottom), so I've started misting the soil to try to give it some moisture.

Is there a way to make lower leaves grow again, or is it better to cut it down and start from scratch? A friend of mine suggested cutting the little buds on the stalks (they kind of look like boils), since the plant might try to regrow where there's damage. But I don't know if that's a good idea.

I'm not really sure how to make the poor thing happy again, so I'd love advice from anyone! I'm pretty handy with dummy-proof plants (like pothos and spider plants), so I'm hoping that I'll be able to revive this guy, too.

I'll try to post a picture of him at some point, too.

I'd take it out of that overly porous mix it's in, cut all the top growth off, repot what's left in a good potting mix that drains well but retains a reasonable amount of moisture, put it in good light but not direct sun, and hope for the best.

I don't think there is any way to get the lower leaves to grow again. I agree with dp72. Cut down the lankiest stalks and let the babies grow. The fact that you have babies is a good sign that the plant is still viable.

Hmm, I was sort of afraid that would be the case. Do cuttings take root pretty easily? I'd like to try to save the taller plants, if I can, since they're all still sending out new leaves...even if it means cutting them down and replanting them.

No pain, no gain. I have never tried rooting cuttings from this plant.

Can you post a picture of your plant? Are you sure the plant you have is Aglaonema? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/70490/ I grow this one and find it very easy. They like low light situations and I keep mine on the dry side. The description of little buds/boils on the stalks is what's throwing me, although they could be little suckers that will produce new branches. The Aglaonema's are very slow growers.

Your description of short and tall stalks with a few leaves at top resembling a Palm also makes me think of another plant I grow, the Dracaena: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/732/

I'll have to take a picure of it. I'm 99% sure it's aglaonema, since it still has the little stake with the label and care instructions from the nursery. Also, the leaves look exactly like aglaonema. I'm thinking that my uncle (who had it originally, I think) severely underwatered it, which made all of the lower leaves dry out and die, which is how it came to look so lanky. (The stalks are about 5-8" tall.)

A friend of mine thought that the little bud/boil/thingies would probably send out new growth at some point (sort of like how new leaves sprout from the nubs on a pothos), but I have no idea if it's worth even trying to get them to grow.

If it is Aglaonema, those little boils are probably nodes where new leaves will form. The Aglaonema's are just very slow growers.

I have a Chinese Evergreen which is doing fairly well and is definitely a slow grower -- been about the same size forever ... I do occasionally have a problem with yellowing leaves ... is this a sign of overwatering? Or maybe too much light - it is close to the window though not right in it ... otherwise seems to be healthy ...