How to grow Anthurium? A detailed explanation of its environmental benefits and care methods

Anthurium is also known as Anthurium andraeanum, flamingo flower, and tailflower. Common varieties include 'Jin Fen', 'Pink Champion', 'Alabama', 'Candy', 'Arizona', 'Antorol', and others. A while ago, the editor talked about the care techniques for peace lilies (Spathiphyllum), and quite a few flower enthusiasts asked whether Anthurium is cared for the same way. Below, the editor from Huinong Website talks with you about the Anthurium care guide.

1. Growth characteristics

Anthurium plants are 50-80 cm tall, with fleshy rhizomes; long-stalked heart-shaped leaves emerge from the rhizomes, the leaf surface is bright green, and the veins are sunken. The spathe color is mostly bright red, though there are also white or pink varieties.

2. Environmental benefits

Anthurium has a strong ability to absorb harmful gases such as formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, and trichloroethylene, and has a certain ability to absorb helium. It can purify the air and improve environmental quality.

3. Care guide

(1) Choosing soil

Anthurium prefers sandy loam soil with good drainage, looseness, good aeration, strong fertilizer retention, and rich in humus.

(2) Light

Anthurium prefers warmth and partial shade, and dislikes direct sunlight. In spring, summer, and autumn, provide appropriate shading.

(3) Temperature

The suitable temperature for Anthurium is 20-30°C, and the minimum must not be lower than 13°C.

(4) Watering

Anthurium prefers moisture. During the growing season, water once every 3 days and mist the leaves regularly. In winter, follow the principle of "do not water until dry" when watering.

(5) Fertilizing

Anthurium does not like heavy fertilizer. During the growing season, fertilize once a week with fertilizer specially formulated for Anthurium or alum fertilizer water.

(6) Propagation

Anthurium can be propagated by division. First place a layer of crushed stone 4-5 cm in diameter at the bottom of the pot, then add 2-3 cm of growing medium. Place a side shoot with 3-4 true leaves and aerial roots in the center of the pot. After spreading out the rhizomes, continue adding growing medium until it is 2-3 cm from the pot rim.

(7) Pruning

Anthurium should not have too many leaves; keeping only 4 leaves per plant is sufficient. In addition, old leaves that have turned yellow or withered should be cut off promptly.

(8) Placement and arrangement

Medium to large potted Anthuriums can be placed on windowsills or side tables in the living room or bedroom, while small potted plants can be placed on shelves at a distance from the bed, desks, computer tables, and similar locations.

How to care for Anthurium in summer? A summer care guide for Anthurium

How to care for Anthurium in summer? Anthurium can also be called red goose foot, flamingo flower, Anthurium andraeanum, and tailflower. It is native to tropical rainforest regions such as Costa Rica and Colombia. The plant has a long flowering period and unusual, beautiful flowers, and is often used for garden landscaping or ornamental display. However, recently some flower enthusiasts have encountered problems while growing Anthurium, so today the editor will talk about a summer care guide for Anthurium, hoping it can be helpful to everyone.

I. Summer cultivation and care guide for Anthurium

1. Diffused-light environment

Anthurium needs a certain amount of light during growth, so when grown indoors it should be placed in a spot with diffused light to meet its light requirements.

2. High-humidity environment

Anthurium has relatively high requirements for the air humidity of its growing environment. Generally, the relative humidity in the air must reach above 50%. Therefore, to meet the humidity requirements of Anthurium, you can place a basin of clean water next to the potted Anthurium, or spray more water on the leaves to increase humidity.

3. Ventilated environment

Anthurium likes a high-humidity growing environment, but because it has fleshy roots, when the soil is waterlogged for too long and humidity is high, the roots rot easily. Therefore, while ensuring humidity, ventilation must also be strengthened. Place the potted Anthurium by a window without direct sunlight.

II. Precautions for growing Anthurium in summer

1. Yellow leaves

a. Overwatering

Although summer is hot and water evaporates quickly, if you water Anthurium in the morning and evening, it may develop yellow leaves due to overwatering. Therefore, reduce the amount of watering in a short period and place the potted Anthurium in a well-ventilated place to speed up water evaporation.

b. Too much light

If Anthurium is placed in a location with strong light, its leaves will become scorched and withered. Therefore, it must immediately be moved to a diffused-light environment and left there for about seven days.

2. Cracked leaves

a. Humidity too low

The main cause of cracked or blackened Anthurium leaves is low humidity in the growing environment. Therefore, place the Anthurium in a relatively spacious area, and at the same time place a basin of clean water next to it to increase humidity.

b. Direct sunlight after misting

If Anthurium is exposed to direct light or strong light after misting, the leaves will crack. Flower enthusiasts should pay more attention to this point.

3. Root rot

Overwatering causes long-term water accumulation during Anthurium growth, resulting in root rot.

III. Solutions for root rot

1. Take the Anthurium with root rot out of the pot, shake off excess soil, and rinse it clean with clean water.

2. If there are many Anthurium plants, divide them. Use sterilized scissors to cut off all rotten roots, then disinfect them in potassium permanganate solution for half an hour. After that, place them in a ventilated place to dry. After about a week, they can be moved to a diffused-light environment for normal care.

January courtyard flower care guide

    Management of flowers planted in the ground in the courtyard

    1. Transplanting. In areas where the weather is not too cold, herbaceous flowers that can be transplanted and established in the courtyard include: Dianthus species, Brassica oleracea, Calendula officinalis, Bellis perennis, etc.; in the colder northern regions, Dianthus, Primula, Calendula officinalis, Antirrhinum majus, Viola tricolor, etc. can first be potted, placed in a greenhouse, and after spring returns and the weather warms, moved outside the greenhouse or planted in the courtyard. This month, because the weather is especially cold, some evergreen trees such as Cinnamomum camphora, Ligustrum japonicum, Ligustrum lucidum, Elaeocarpus sylvestris, Schima superba, Magnolia grandiflora, Osmanthus fragrans, etc. can continue to be transplanted by conventional methods in areas south of the Yangtze River; in areas north of the Yangtze River, measures such as heavy pruning, keeping a good root ball, sealing cut surfaces with wax, and wrapping the trunk with rope or plastic film to retain moisture must be taken to ensure the trees survive normally. This month, most deciduous flowering shrubs and landscaping trees can be transplanted and established in the courtyard, such as Hibiscus syriacus, Punica granatum, Cercis chinensis, Malus species, Ginkgo biloba, Acer species, Chimonanthus praecox, Prunus mume, Magnolia denudata, Magnolia liliiflora, Sapindus mukorossi, Koelreuteria paniculata, Albizia julibrissin, Aesculus chinensis, Prunus cerasifera 'Atropurpurea', Prunus cerasifera 'Atropurpurea' cherry, Prunus serrulata, Chaenomeles sinensis, Lagerstroemia indica, Wisteria sinensis, Campsis grandiflora, Tilia, Liriodendron chinense, Prunus persica 'Duplex', Sapium sebiferum, Spiraea japonica, Edgeworthia chrysantha, Rosa, Exochorda racemosa, Sophora japonica var. pendula, etc. This month, combined with forestry land preparation for afforestation, wild tree stumps can also be collected, such as Ulmus parvifolia, Sageretia thea, Acer buergerianum, Wisteria sinensis, Chimonanthus praecox, Elaeagnus pungens, Ilex cornuta, Xylosma japonicum, Pyracantha 'Yingrihong', Nandina domestica, etc. After heavy pruning, they can be planted by shallow burying and high mounding, and covered with straw curtains for cold protection. After surviving and being cared for, they can be used to make stump bonsai.

    2. Pruning. For hedges, ball-shaped plants, and ground-planted flowering shrubs that were not pruned by December, pruning should continue promptly. Different standards should be adopted according to the different growth characteristics and tree-shape requirements of ground-planted flowering shrubs. Generally, diseased and pest-infested branches, weak branches, and dead branches should be cut off, and leggy branches and misshapen branches should be shortened, so that the flowering plants become more attractive in appearance and light reaches the inner canopy. For hedges, green walls, color blocks, etc., continue pruning according to the requirements of straight lines, flat surfaces, and distinct edges and corners; for ball-shaped and other geometrically shaped plants, pruning requires smooth curved surfaces and flat straight surfaces. The pruned branches and leaves should be gathered and burned, after which they can be used to make farmyard manure.

    3. Watering. For ornamental plants such as flowering shrubs transplanted in late autumn and early winter last year, attention should be paid to watering management. They can be watered once every 7 to 10 days. If a lot of dust adheres to the leaf surfaces, spray water on the canopy around noon on a clear day. It should be noted that the leaf surfaces had best dry by that afternoon to prevent water droplets from remaining on the leaves; otherwise, if particularly low temperatures occur in the early morning of the next day, frost or freezing on the leaf surfaces will cause a certain degree of damage to the leaves. To prevent water evaporation near the plants, after watering, straw can also be spread within a radius of 1 to 1.5 m around the base of the tree, which can both retain moisture and help protect the roots.

    4. Fertilizing. In southern regions, for ground-planted herbaceous flowers transplanted in late autumn and early winter, such as Dianthus, Verbena, Phlox drummondii, Bellis perennis, Viola tricolor, Calendula officinalis, etc., as long as the temperature is not too low, continue applying low-concentration dilute liquid fertilizer to promote normal vegetative growth; for ground-planted flowering trees and shrubs in the courtyard that have not yet received winter fertilization, such as Osmanthus fragrans, Camellia japonica, Prunus mume, Chimonanthus praecox, Rosa, Lagerstroemia indica, Cercis chinensis, Punica granatum, Malus, Michelia, Magnolia denudata, Magnolia liliiflora, Magnolia 'Erxiangyu', Jasminum nudiflorum, Forsythia viridissima, Hypericum monogynum, Mahonia bealei, Nandina domestica, Pyracantha fortuneana, etc., promptly dig ring-shaped trenches around the outer edge of the root base and bury an appropriate amount of compound fertilizer or cake fertilizer. Generally, apply 1 to 2 jin of compound fertilizer or 1 jin of dry cake fertilizer per plant to meet the needs of continuous growth that year.

    5. Pest and disease control. The pruned dead branches and fallen leaves of flowering plants should be gathered and burned. At the beginning of this month, for species moved from south to north, the trunks should be wrapped with straw rope early for insulation to prevent the bark from freezing; for large flowering plants whose trunks have not yet been whitewashed, this should also be completed promptly at the beginning of the month; clear weeds and fallen leaves in the courtyard and burn or bury them centrally, which can significantly reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases the following year; for overwintering aphids on plants, plant ash can be scattered to remove them; egg masses and pupae found on trunks should also be scraped off promptly.

    6. Digging the soil. At the beginning of this month, for plots in the courtyard intended for this year's cuttings, sowing, and planting, digging should be done promptly, and cake fertilizer, pond mud, barnyard manure, etc. should be applied at the same time. After freezing and weathering, trenches can be drawn and beds made in March, which can reduce damage to sown seedlings from underground pests; idle land under large trees should also be dug over, which can reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases that year.

    7. Preparing fertilizer. Dry the dead branches, fallen leaves, weeds, etc. cleared from the courtyard, then stack them in layers with garden soil and burn them. The resulting burned soil can be used for covering seeds after sowing or for mixing potting soil; put rapeseed cake, soybean cake, chicken manure, pigeon droppings, etc. into a tank or jar, add water, seal, and ferment for later use in watering potted flowers, bonsai, and ground-planted flowering plants that year; mix pig manure, chicken urine, cake fertilizer, etc. with pond mud and garden soil, seal and compost, and it can be used to prepare growing medium or as a topdressing for flowering plants.

    8. Seed collection. There are not many seeds that can be collected this month, only those ornamental plant species whose fruits can remain on the branches for a relatively long time, such as Nandina domestica, Pyracantha fortuneana, Ilex species, Ardisia crenata, Ligustrum quihoui, Ligustrum lucidum, Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum', etc. After the seeds are collected, they should be processed promptly and stratified in sand to promote germination, ready for sowing between March and April. For Asparagus setaceus, Clivia miniata, Solanum pseudocapsicum, etc. that have matured in simple greenhouses, sow them as soon as they are collected.

    9. Inspection. This month, seeds stored in sand should be checked frequently, including Magnolia species, Michelia species, Manglietia species, Photinia species, Ilex species, etc., to see whether any seeds have become moldy. If mold occurs, rinse them promptly and replace them with clean river sand for storage; if the seeds are found to be dry, spray an appropriate amount of water to increase humidity; if some seeds have cracked and shown white, sow them promptly and cover with plastic film to retain heat and moisture. Check dahlia tubers, canna rhizomes, etc. stored indoors to prevent rot and mildew.

    Management of potted flowers in the courtyard

    1. Watering. For some potted plants placed in the courtyard that are not afraid of cold, such as pine and cypress species, Ginkgo biloba, Chimonanthus praecox, Prunus mume, etc., it is appropriate to water once every half month around noon, to the extent of keeping the potting soil moist without causing the pot soil to freeze; for potted flowering plants that have been moved into simple greenhouses, such as Prunus mume, Camellia japonica, Camellia sasanqua, Daphne odora, Rhododendron 'Belgian Indica', etc., because their flower stems are in the swelling or early blooming stage, in addition to watering the potting soil, attention should also be paid to spraying water on the branches and leaves to create a relatively moist microclimate for them; for foliage plants placed in greenhouses, potting soil watering should also be controlled, and the leaves can be sprayed once a week around noon, with the water temperature required to be basically consistent with the greenhouse temperature to prevent damage to leaves and roots.

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