ANTHURIUM CARE

Family: Araceae Arum
Common Name: Flamingo Flower, Tail Flower, Painted Tongue Plant, Bird's Nest Anthurium, Water Dragon Anthurium, Laceleaf
Botanical Name: Anthurium andraeanum

Everyone has seen those eye-catching, colorful "flowers" on the classic laceleaf anthurium thatare sold anywhere that sells plants. Well, what if I told you they were not actually flowers? They are actually leaves called spathes that are there to protect the spadix which is the actual flower. This is the attraction of the most common and easy care anthurium varieties, coming in all sorts of warm colors that easily catch your eye. Other anthuriums thatare collected for their foliage,however, have less eye-catching spathes.

Anthuriums are epiphytes, meaning they grow in the warm, tropical regions of South America and the Caribbean. They grow in the crevasses of trees where rain poors over their exposed roots every day. This makes them great houseplants, requiring little care. A chunky soil mixture is ideal.Combined with bright, indirect sunlight, and a partial drying-out period between, your plant happy.If you are growing your anthurium formultiple and frequent flowering, theybenefit from a six to eight-week resting period at cooler temperatures around 65 to 60 degrees.If you are instead growing your anthurium for its striking foliage, provide your plant withslightly lower light all year long.This avoids sun bleaching and allows the leaves to produce more chlorophyll which results in a darker green tone.

Important! Anthuriums are poisonous if you ingest them. This goes for pets and children as well so keep them out of reach. The sap can cause skin irritation as well.

Shop all Anthurium

Light

All flowering anthurium prefer bright, indirect light. Direct light can cause their foliage and even flowers to burn.On the other hand, if they don't get enough light their growth will stall.In addition, the colors of their beautiful flowers will dull and become smaller in size. East or west-facing windows work best or pulled back from a south-facing window. If you are out of window space try a grow light!

For the more rare anthurium that are grown for their foliage rather than their flowers, lower light is acceptable. In fact, it is even preferred! The lower light causes the plant to produce more chlorophyll. Making the leaves apear darker in color. This is something that is sought after in the anthurium world.

In their natural rainforest environment, anthuriums grow at the bases of trees where their rootsare exposed. Theyare watered often by the rain that drips from the trees they grow under. Understanding where theynaturally grow can help us understand their watering needs. They like toslightly dry out but not too much. Water them so they get no less than 50 percent dry.Always let at least the top third of the substrate dry out before watering so they aren't susceptible to root rot. As always your environment will affect how often it dries out so make sure to check your plant often.

Soil

Anthuriums are epiphytes, so in the houseplant world, this means they need chunky soil! Regular bagged potting soil is not going to cut it on its own. You can find all the additives you need at any home improvement store or big box store with a gardening section. Perlite and orchid bark is a must. Most easy recipes consist of one part soil (coco coir is the best), one part perlite, and one part bark. Extras can include coco husk which absorbs moisture, so if you use it add less soil. Pumice is also usedjust like perlite because it is heavier and doesn't float to the top over time.Because it's heavier it makes your pot heavy, so don't go by weight when deciding if your anthurium needs watered. A handful of horticultural charcoal is also a good idea. It helps absorb any built-up toxins in your soil. A handful of worm castings should alsobe added to any mix for easy access to nutrients. If you don'tregularly use fertilizer water, this is a good time to add a slow-release fertilizer as well. 

Temperature

Like most tropical houseplants, anthuriums prefer to be on the warm side (70-90°F).They will grow in most household temperatures, but if you have a warmer area of the house they would like to live there!Be careful they don't get too cold in the winter, temperatures below 50 degrees will cause dormancy. Anything less than that will cause cold damage, which can kill your plant!

Humidity

Humidity is something anthuriums love! They prefer levels between 70 and 80 percent. Of course, they can live in lower levels if theyare acclimated to it, but they thrive in the higher ranges.  A lot of things can help raise humidity levels. Try sitting them on pebble trays or adding a fountain or humidifier. Even clumping plants together in groups can raise the relative humidity.

Fertilizer

All houseplants, including anthuriums, like a nitrogen-heavy fertilizer. Nitrogen encourages leaf production which is what we are growing them for! If you are growing your anthurium for its flowers try a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus. You might want to switch to this when you see a flower start to emerge. You want to fertilize your plants regularly as long as they are actively growing. This means at least once a month, or more if you are diluting it.

Growth Rate

Anthuriums aren't the fastest growers! Flowering types especially, as most of their energy goes into those flowers. Those will almost never grow to more than a couple feet in height. Those grown for their foliage,however, can grow much faster and larger. Given the right environment and fertilizer, you could get leaves larger than you!

Pro Tips

1. If you are looking for blooms use a phosphorous-heavy fertilizer. If not, use one with a lot of nitrogen.
   
   
2. Use a chunky soil that allows for good drainage.
   
   
3. If you are seeing roots growing out of the stem it's a good sign! They are aerial roots that can grow into the sub-straight and add to their root system. To help with this you can add sphagnum moss to the top of the soil around the roots and water it when you water your plant. This will also add extra humidity around the plant.
   
   
4. Don't forget to repot! Anthuriums grow their roots fast and long but don't like them messed with. When you are repotting try not to mess with them too much.
   
   
5. When a flower starts to diesimply cut them off at the base. Remember, dying plant matter attracts pests and can mold.