The Anthurium is one of the most curious and striking plants that you find in stores or florists. With a red flower, which almost looks like plastic, It is not at all demanding as the Anthurium may seem at first. Basic, normal and not difficult care to provide will allow you to have a color in your house and a plant that will make everyone fall in love.
But what are those anthurium care? How to get it to survive you for years and years? We explain it to you.
How is Anthurium
Anthurium, also called Anthurium is a plant native to Central and South America. It can also be found in the Antilles, always being a tropical environment where it grows.
With the passage of time it has been possible to export to other countries and in Spain it is one of the best-known and also cheapest exotic plants that you can find not only in nurseries and flower shops, but also in supermarkets.
The most striking thing about this plant are its "flowers", although in reality they are not such, but bracts which are red, pink or black and whose objective is to protect the flowering of the plant. Yes, as you read, what we have always thought was her flower is actually not. The color of its leaves also stands out, an intense green that contrasts a lot with the red. And although at first it may give the sensation of being made of plastic, in reality when you touch it you will see that it is soft and hard at the same time.
Anthurium care
For the Anthurium, care is an important part of survival, especially since they try to recreate their natural habitat and it is something that the plant needs a lot. So, in general, you should keep the following in mind:
Lighting design
It is a plant that needs a lot of light. A lot. Of course, as we have told you before, it comes from tropical areas, and it does not grow much, so the light it receives in those places is indirect; the same one that will demand inside the house.
Only if you provide it with adequate light will you get those red bracts; otherwise, you won't have them and it won't bloom either.
Yes, nothing to expose it directly to the sun, because the only thing you will get is that it burns.
Location
As you may have guessed already, the Anthurium You need to be inside the house. It could also be outside, as long as the right temperature and conditions are provided for it to be there (and this happens more in summer than in winter).
Temperature
needs to be between 20 and 25 degrees constantly. In fact, when the temperature drops below 12 degrees, the Anthurium begins to suffer and you will see how the leaves dry up and turn yellow. Of course, the heat is not good either, because if it rises above 28 degrees it will need extra humidity or it will die.
Of course, he does not like radiators or drafts.
Irrigation and humidity
When we think of an exotic and tropical plant, the first thing that comes to mind is that it needs a lot of water. And we water it excessively, causing the roots to rot and, in a few weeks, we are left without a plant. Also, when we see her more down, the first thing we think is that she needs more water.
The reality with the Anthurium and its irrigation care is totally different. Yes, it is true that it needs water, but not as much as you may think. You'll see:
- En winter the norm is to water it once a week. But, if you notice the cold environment, and the ground is, it is better to wait to do it every 10 days.
- En summer you should water it 2-3 times a week, but if you notice that the substrate dries out much sooner, then you should increase the irrigation.
Perhaps the most important thing in this case is not so much the irrigation as the environmental humidity. It is a plant that needs, very much, to feel that humidity (reason why in dry climates the plant does not resist).
And how to give it moisture? Well, many would think that it is spraying it with water (eye, always not calcareous), but even with that you have to be careful so that the leaves and bracts do not get too wet because they can rot.
So our recommendation is to have a humidifier, which will help you maintain a humid microclimate. Another option is to place the pots on a plate filled with decorative stones and cover them lightly with water. Of the two options, the humidifier is usually more effective and you will notice that its leaves do not become limp or paper-like but remain strong.
Fertilizer
Yes, it is a plant Thank you very much for the subscription. Of course, only during the spring and summer months. Use a liquid fertilizer for green plants and only twice a month.
Transplant
Every two years, the Anthurium must be transplanted. No chance to wait. And it is that, if you do, the plant will claim it physically (with smaller leaves and hardly any bracts).
Yes, We do not recommend that you transplant it as soon as you buy it, nor in the following months because first it needs to adapt to its new environment and if you subject it to the stress of transplanting you can end up without a plant.
When performing the transplant, you have to use soil for green plants mixed with some drainage such as perlite, vermiculite or similar. It is a plant that likes to have a soil that drains well to avoid accumulations of water.
Multiplication
Do you know that you can reproduce your Anthurium? Yeah, you just have to take cuttings from the stem or even, from the flowering, take some seeds.
If you do it through cuttings, you will see that, from time to time, they come out visible stems from the base that you can cut. Of course, wait until they have a few nodes and, if possible, also leaves.
Then, you have to place them in water so that they take root (it's faster) or directly plant them in soil (the same as the mother plant).
In the case of seeds, you will have to use a brush to go "from flower to flower" and thus transfer the pollen to be able to have orange berries where the seeds will be. Once the plants can take up to two weeks to sprout and a few months to grow.
Now that you know the care of the Anthurium, do you dare to have one at home?