Detailed Guide to Planting Methods and Care Points for Potted Anthurium
Anthurium is a flowering plant native to South America and is now a very common indoor flowering plant. Generally, anthurium can be cultivated through potting or hydroponics. Today, the editor will introduce the methods and precautions for potted anthurium. Interested friends can learn together.
Anthurium (detailed introduction)
I. Soil Substrate
The soil substrate for planting anthurium must maintain good permeability and not retain water. For home cultivation, you can choose to buy prepared potting soil from a garden store and add some expanded clay pebbles and dry bark mixed in (expanded clay pebbles : dry bark = 2:1) as the substrate. Before planting, the substrate needs to be sterilized to prevent anthurium from being affected by pests and diseases in the later stages of growth.
II. Temperature Requirements
The most suitable growing environment temperature for anthurium should be controlled between 14-35°C. In winter, when the temperature is below 10°C, it is easy to cause cold damage to the anthurium. Attention should be paid to keeping the anthurium warm and increasing the temperature. In summer, when the temperature is above 35°C, the anthurium should be humidified in time and water should be sprayed around it. If this is done, even at high temperatures, if the humidity is high, the anthurium is not easily damaged.
III. Fertilization
Compared with other foliage plants, anthurium has a higher demand for magnesium fertilizer. When fertilizing anthurium at home, it is recommended to buy Magic-Gro fertilizer from a garden store and apply it together with foliar fertilizer. Alternatively, a general-purpose fully water-soluble compound fertilizer such as Huaduoduo can be diluted into an 800-1000 times liquid fertilizer and applied regularly (no less than once per week). The principle of fertilizing anthurium is to apply less thick fertilizer and frequently apply thin fertilizer.
IV. Watering Cycle
Water the anthurium according to the dryness of the substrate in the pot. In summer, when the temperature is relatively high, it is recommended to water once every 2 days, and at noon also use a sprinkler system to spray water on the leaves to increase the relative humidity indoors. In winter, it is recommended to water once every 5-7 days. In cold seasons, watering should be carried out from 9 AM to before 4 PM to avoid freezing the root system. Generally, in spring and autumn, watering once every 3 days is fine. Avoid adding water when the plant is severely short of water, as this will affect the growth and development of the anthurium. During watering, it is essential to alternate between dry and wet; never water when the plant is severely short of water, as this will affect its normal growth and development.
How to Care for Anthurium in Spring, Key Care Points for Anthurium in Spring
With unique flowers, bright and gorgeous colors, and a spathe, the anthurium is one of our common ornamental flowers. Anthurium can be grown in pots, and a single pot can bloom for as long as 4-6 months, with flowers possible year-round, so many households grow it. Anthurium care is relatively simple, but many people do not understand how to care for anthurium in spring. Today, the editor has compiled the key care points for anthurium in spring. Let us learn together.
How to Care for Anthurium in Spring, Key Care Points for Anthurium in Spring
As temperatures rise in spring, anthurium growth also enters a vigorous period. In spring care, anthurium producers should pay attention to the following points:
1. Control temperature. Do not neglect temperature control just because the weather warms up in spring. The suitable daytime temperature for anthurium growth is 21°C to 25°C, the nighttime temperature is 18°C to 20°C, and a day-night temperature difference of 3°C to 6°C is most suitable. Spring temperatures fluctuate greatly, and "late spring cold" is prone to occur. Avoid low temperatures causing damage to anthurium, and at night, heat the greenhouse when necessary.
2. Emphasize ventilation. Humidity is also a key task in spring anthurium management. Because spring temperatures rise while nighttime temperatures remain relatively low, the increased temperature difference leads to higher humidity in the greenhouse, thereby increasing the probability of pests and diseases. Therefore, producers should ventilate regularly to reduce the air humidity in the greenhouse. The greenhouse ventilation system, such as skylights, internal circulation fans, and water curtain fans, can be used to regulate humidity, strengthen air circulation in the greenhouse, and keep air humidity at 70% to 75% as appropriate.
3. Adjust light. When the temperature in early spring does not exceed 25°C, the plants should be placed in an environment with sufficient light for cultivation; in late spring, they should be moved to a semi-shaded place for cultivation. In southern regions, anthurium should be shaded at noon to avoid strong light causing burns to the plants. However, light should not be too dim for a long time either, otherwise it will affect subsequent flowering, and the leaves will easily lose their luster, while new petioles will also easily become leggy, affecting the plant shape. The suitable light for anthurium is 10,000 to 15,000 lux. In spring, if the light is not very strong, an internal shading system with low light transmission can be used, which can both provide shade during the day and insulation at night.
4. Prevent pests and diseases. In spring, as temperature and humidity increase, pests and diseases also slowly "revive." Be alert to common pests and diseases such as aphids, red spider mites, leaf spot disease, and bacterial wilt. Once discovered, spray pesticide immediately for control. In addition, weeds also begin to germinate and grow in spring, and they are excellent hiding places for disease and pest sources. Therefore, regularly check under the planting beds and remove weeds. When pests and diseases occur severely, the use of ammonium nitrogen should be reduced, because ammonium nitrogen easily reduces plant resistance.
How to care for anthurium in spring and the key care points for anthurium in spring are briefly introduced here. Anthurium belongs to plants from tropical rainforest regions. Indoor cultivation should control room temperature well. The optimal temperature for growth is 18°C---28°C, and the maximum temperature should not exceed 35°C. At the same time, keep the room moist and cool, and avoid excessive stuffiness and soil that is too dry.
Management Points and Essential Cultivation Methods for Newly Bought Potted Plants
If you are a beginner and have started to like those cute flowers and plants, impulsively bought some small potted plants, and started your flower-growing journey. But flower-loving enthusiasts, do you know that newly bought potted plants from the market have a transition period? Do you know how to let them pass through this period safely? It does not matter if you do not know. Let us share together below!If you are not sure, try to choose the original pot and original soil, try to choose local plants (northern flowers grown in the south or southern flowers grown in the north requires certain technical skills, and for beginners, it may be somewhat unsuitable), and try to choose varieties that bloom in season, as this makes it easier to recover from transplant shock (plants blooming out of season, because the growth pattern has been broken, may take a relatively long time to recover after changing to a new environment, and they need to re-adapt to the current environment, which is a process).
Management Points and Cultivation Methods for Newly Bought Potted Plants
I.Handling Steps for Newly Bought Potted Plants
Recovery Period
After buying and bringing them home, no matter what, recovery is an unavoidable step. Care during the recovery period is very suitable for the vast majority of plants. For newly bought plants brought home, recovery must be carried out, and this point cannot be skipped.
The care method is relatively simple: place them in a relatively fixed location with scattered light and good ventilation. There is no need to use fertilizer or let them bask in the sun too early. When it is normally time to water, give them enough water to soak through: note that this means watering thoroughly when the surface soil is dry; this watering method is universal at any time.
Since the plant is still in the recovery period, a small amount of yellow fallen leaves or a small amount of fallen flowers and buds are normal phenomena; as long as it smoothly resumes growth later, this phenomenon will naturally disappear.
As for how long recovery takes, it depends on the condition of the plant itself; because plant species differ greatly, under normal circumstances, small plants recover faster than large ones, and herbaceous plants recover faster than woody ones.
Planting
This is only suitable for plants that were originally bare-root or had a soil ball on the roots when bought. You need to choose a suitable flower pot according to personal preference or actual conditions; after planting, be sure to water thoroughly, then place it in a place with scattered light and ventilation, and let it slowly recover. Note: planting should be carried out as promptly as possible. It is not recommended to leave it for a while before planting, so as not to affect the survival rate.
Repotting
For newly bought flowers, if the flower pot seems suitable and the soil also seems suitable, then this step can be completely skipped.
Only when the flower pot is felt to be unsuitable or the soil is unsuitable can it be considered.
Management Points and Cultivation Methods for Newly Bought Potted Plants
Repotting Method
If it is a soft plastic flower pot, you can cut this type of pot open, then take the plant out with the entire soil ball; if such a pot has other uses later (seedling raising or growing other plants), then there is no need to cut it open. Keep the flower pot as it is, make the pot soil moist, and then carefully take the plant out; note that during this process, be sure to be careful and try to let the plant's root system suffer as little damage as possible, so as to promote recovery afterward.
After repotting, watering is necessary. This watering is also called settling water, and its purpose is to let the root system and soil combine closely.
Repotting Timing
Carry it out on the afternoon or evening of the day after buying it. If it is cloudy or rainy, then it can be done promptly, the earlier the better; and do not wait a few days before repotting it, as doing so may be even more unfavorable to it, because after a few days, the plant may have already recovered its vitality, but at this time repotting it will require it to recover all over again; objectively, this will prolong its recovery period (what should have recovered in 3-4 days may be extended to 1-2 weeks or even longer), which is instead unfavorable to subsequent growth.
After a plant is repotted, recovery must start over (for the calculation of the recovery period, in the case of continuous repotting, it starts from the time of the last repotting). This point must be remembered: no matter how well it was raised before, after repotting it all counts for nothing; this is the greatest risk of repotting. Choosing the right timing for repotting can effectively reduce the risk. If the timing chosen is inappropriate, it will instead bring greater risk.
Management Points and Cultivation Methods for Newly Bought Potted Plants
II.Cultivation Methods for Newly Bought Potted Plants
Understand and Master Its Habits
When buying a potted plant, it is best to know its name, in order to conveniently look up its growth habits, living environment, place of origin and climate of origin, management points, cultivation techniques, pest and disease prevention, and so on. Looking up these things is also to help it better adapt to the new environment. This information can be found online or in bookstores.
Create the Growing Environment of Its Place of Origin
After knowing its growth habits and living environment, we should create such an environment as much as possible, so that it has a transition period to slowly adapt to the new environment and safely pass through this transition period. Why both let it adapt to the new environment and create its place-of-origin environment for it? This is because it must pass through this transition period, and only after passing through the transition period can it grow healthily in the new environment. Because its hometown [place of origin] is exactly such an environment. There is also another point: before it was sold to us, it grew in a greenhouse flower shed, where the conditions, whether temperature/humidity/light/water/etc., were all better than the environment in our home or office. So create this transitional environment.
Take Photos for Comparison
Take a photo of it on the first day after buying it back, reflecting its details as much as possible, such as growth points, leaf color and size, glossiness, and other information, in order to compare it with the future [roughly half a month to one month later], because it is now in a healthy state.
A. If it is even better later than now, then congratulations!! You have mastered its growth habits! On the contrary, then you need to find out where the problem is??? Then, based on the information you grasped in the first step, you can prescribe the right remedy.
B. If there is no change after half a month, it means it is slowly adapting to the new environment. After adapting to the new environment, it will begin to sprout new growth and turn green.
Watering Principles
For newly bought potted plants, enthusiasm and freshness are very strong. You look at it for a while and water it. Watering has a principle: after the pot soil dries, water it thoroughly. This means using your hand to dig a bit into the soil in the flower pot; if after digging the soil is loose, this is after the pot soil has dried; watering thoroughly means slowly pouring water into the flower pot and letting the water slowly seep down until a lot of water flows out from the drainage hole, which counts as thoroughly watered. Do not water a little every day; watering every day may cause root rot.
Management Points and Cultivation Methods for Newly Bought Potted Plants
Changing Soil and Repotting
Everyone likes to change the pot and soil for newly bought potted plants, but this is not recommended. The reason: it has already changed to a new growing environment, and now you also want to change its soil environment. Plants with relatively strong adaptability are fine, but what if their adaptability is not strong? Then they are prone to disease and death. If changing the soil, it depends on the adaptability of this plant.
Loosening the Soil
After watering thoroughly, wait two days, then loosen the pot soil to a depth of about 1 cm. Loosening the soil is first to prevent the pot soil from compacting, and second to preserve soil moisture and retain water.
Transition Period
The adaptation period [transition period] of various potted plants differs in length. The short ones last one to two days, and the long ones last one month or even half a year. It depends on what plant it is and in what environment it is transitioning.
Precautions
If the merchant has tampered with the potted plant and you do not know, this potted plant cannot be kept alive; this situation is excluded.
Management Points and Cultivation Methods for Newly Bought Potted Plants
III.Cultivation Management of Newly Bought Potted Plants
For newly bought plants, after they smoothly pass through the recovery period, you can manage them according to their habits.
For sun-loving ones (such as jasmine, pomegranate, goji berry, ornamental pepper, etc.), be sure to place them in a place with sufficient light and good ventilation; for shade-loving ones (anthurium, peace lily, maranta, etc.), continue to keep them in a place with scattered light and ventilation. When the temperature is suitable, fertilizer can be used as appropriate according to the situation (there will be differences for foliage plants versus flowering and fruiting ornamental plants).
When the growing environment conditions are stable, the placement position should be kept as fixed as possible; only when encountering sudden weather changes and obvious environmental changes (such as a large temperature drop or rise) can it be moved to a more ideal position (such as moving plants outdoors in spring or indoors in autumn).