We grow anthurium at home

Anthuriums, brought to Europe in the 19th century, attracted close attention of indoor florists only at the end of the last century. Today, almost 30 species and 80 hybrid varieties of anthurium are at the disposal of everyone who is not indifferent to the representatives of the tropical flora.

Among the plants grown in indoor conditions, there are not only flowering crops, but also interesting lianas, as well as decorative deciduous species that attract attention not by inflorescences, but by variegated expressive foliage.

Moreover, all these dissimilar species are anthuriums that require the creation of a comfortable atmosphere and regular care. Since the growing conditions of people from the tropics of South America are quite close, indoor care for anthuriums has many common features.

Temperature conditions for growing anthurium

Anthuriums are considered unpretentious plants, and while maintaining comfortable conditions for them, they delight with bright elastic foliage and frequent flowering. Inhabitants of the tropics live well on the windowsills of ordinary apartments, content with temperatures of the order of 22-24 ° C. In cool periods, when the temperature in the house drops, in the air cooled down to 15-17 ° C. A slight decrease in temperature is possible at night, as well as in winter if the plant falls into a period of relative dormancy.

Anthurium does not like sudden changes in temperature, drafts and cold winds.

When caring for anthurium at home, you can reduce the risk of root rot in a plant on a cold windowsill. To do this, you can raise the pot, or make a layer of foam insulation under it.

Lighting as part of the care of indoor anthurium

Anthuriums growing in the shade of larger plants easily tolerate shade, and in bright sun they can seriously suffer. The best place for both brightly blooming and deciduous forms is the east and west windows. If this is not possible, you can create the proper conditions for growing anthurium on the south window by shading the pot or moving it away from the glass deeper into the room.

On warm summer days, anthuriums are useful to take out into the air, providing plants with protection from strong winds, direct rays of the sun and precipitation.

The poor health of the plant due to the excess of the sun is signaled by brown drying burns on the leaf plates and the rapid drying of the soil surface.

But the lack of light is indicated by the yellowing of the foliage, its pallor and excessive elongation of the cuttings. This happens on the north side as well as in winter. The organization of additional lighting not only helps to establish the care of indoor anthurium, but also stimulates its flowering.

Watering anthurium at home

Novice gardeners sometimes have the misconception that tropical plants require abundant and frequent watering. And as a result of such improper care, anthuriums at home suffer from excessive soil moisture. In fact, when watering plants of the Aroid family, it is important to know when to stop.

Both excessive watering and the content of green pets in a dry substrate are harmful.

At the same time, waterlogging of the soil is more dangerous, since it can cause rotting of the root system and the development of late blight. Therefore, especially in the anthurium contained in a cool room, the moisture that has drained into the pallet must be removed. And between waterings, the topsoil should be almost dry.

On hot summer days and in a heated room, if the flower is grown under artificial lighting, caring for indoor anthurium should include more frequent watering and processing the foliage with a damp sponge. Such a measure will not only improve the appearance of the plant, but also make it easier to breathe.

Plants react to excessive hardness of irrigation water, as well as to excessive watering, by the appearance of black or dark brown spots on the leaf plates.

As a result of such an error in care, anthurium develops worse at home, and the affected foliage can no longer fully fulfill its functions. You can soften moisture by adding a little citric acid. For irrigation, use warm settled or melt water.

Air humidity for anthurium

Much more than the moisture content of the soil, high moisture content in the air is important for anthurium.

To create the growing conditions necessary for anthurium, it is necessary to take care of the atmospheric humidity at the level of 75–85%. To do this, you can use:

• irrigation of the green part with warm water;
• household humidifiers;
• tools at hand, including placing the plant pot in a tray filled with wet gravel.

To prevent the leaves from becoming stained or blackened in a cool room, it is important to keep them dry. The same applies to inflorescences, often suffering from improper indoor anthurium care. Do not allow water to enter the decorative foliage of anthuriums, which have not smooth, but matte textured leaves.

During the heating season, varieties and types of anthurium that are sensitive to air dryness can be transferred closer to water sources, for example, to decorative fountains in well-lit bathrooms.

Anthurium soil requirements

In order for, as in the photo, anthurium to bloom well, grow and bear fruit at home, it needs the lightest structured substrate with an acidity level of pH 5.5-6.0 units. Since the roots of many anthurium species are adapted to consume moisture and nutrients and air and small accumulations of humus on the trunks and roots of large trees, they will be uncomfortable in a dense, heavy soil mixture and they can rot.

To make potting mix, you can use:

• high-moor peat, cleaned of foreign inclusions;
• leafy ground;
• sand;
• the bark of coniferous trees, pre-boiled and crushed.

Two parts of land and peat will require one part of sand and bark. Crushed charcoal can be added to the soil, which will not only have a positive effect on the structure of the mixture, but will also serve to disinfect the soil. A good supplement for epiphytic anthuriums is sphagnum moss and perlite, which loosen up any ready-made potting mix from the store.

The details of planting, watering and creating other conditions for the plant will be told by a video on how to care for anthurium at home. Having a basic understanding of the life of a tropical culture, and striving to regularly pay attention to the pet, you can admire the indoor anthurium for a long time with a minimum of diligence.

The best containers for anthuriums that form powerful aerial roots are small plastic pots with a mandatory drainage hole. In a pot for planting a houseplant, it is very important to arrange a powerful drainage layer so that moisture does not remain in the lower part of the earthy coma, but is removed.

If for growing at home, anthurium is planted in a mixture for orchids, the plant will need more frequent feeding, or a little disinfected garden soil should be added to the soil.

Caring for indoor anthurium during intensive growth and flowering, it needs to be fed. The procedure is carried out twice a month, using ready-made products or alternating organic and mineral supplements. Plants that are sent to rest for the winter period are not fed at this time, and their watering is reduced. But with lengthening daylight hours to 12-14 hours, you can get a constant flowering of anthurium. In this case, the fertilizing and watering schedule is not changed in the winter months.

Anthurium does not need frequent transplants. But when the roots completely occupy the entire volume of the pot, at home, as in the photo, the anthurium is transplanted into a large container. To do this, the anthurium is transferred into a new pot, and the gaps on the sides are filled with fresh substrate. The topsoil is also renewed.

Most often, a healthy plant, excluding young specimens, needs a transplant in 2-3 years.

It is a different matter if the anthurium shows signs of ill health. It is important here not only to move the earthy lump, but to clean up the remains of the soil:

• check the status of the root system;
• cut off damaged roots;
• process the sections with crushed coal.

When choosing pots, you should not give preference to too large containers. Otherwise, the anthurium, caught in a large earthen lump, will not bloom until the roots have mastered the "spaces" allotted to them.

In addition, moisture that is not absorbed by the roots remains in the soil and more often causes the appearance of mold, the development of fungi and soil pests.

An excessively deep planting of the plant can also lead to rotting of the stem. In order for the pet to keep better in the ground, it can be arranged with supports, which are especially useful when creating growing conditions for an anthurium in the form of a liana. The place where the stem emerges from the ground, if the plant rises slightly above the ground, can be sprinkled or compacted with sphagnum. In this case, the moist moss provokes the development of additional roots.

When caring for indoor anthurium, it is also important to remember that plant sap can cause irritation, so all manipulations with roots and leaves are best done with gloves.

Anthurium care - video

Do you want to create an exotic corner in your apartment? Planting anthurium at home and further caring for this flower will require a lot of work, but beauty will pay off all the trouble. What other houseplant blooms for 3 months and pleases you with an absolutely fantastic flower shape? A long ear, wrapped in a fancy blanket, emerges from the receptacle. Thanks to the work of breeders, anthurium amazes with a variety of varieties and colors. They even managed to shape the cob into a loop, and a heart-shaped blanket is placed around the twisted rod. It is best to grow tropical flowers in greenhouses where a suitable microclimate can be created for them, or in closed arboretums.

Flower propagation

If you want to purchase a finished plant, carefully consider the selected specimen. Leaves should be free from damage and spots, with a smooth shiny surface. Healthy plants should not have brown spots on the leaf covering the cobs.After purchasing, keep the flower on a windowsill where it will live permanently for 2 days, and provide it with a humid atmosphere and good care. On the third day, it is imperative to plant anthurium in fresh soil: a pot of store soil is not intended for long-term cultivation at home.

You can propagate a flower by dividing the bush. When transplanting, remove the plant from the vessel, shake its roots from the ground. Very carefully, with your hands, separate the stem with part of the root system from the main plant. Do not use knives or other sharp tools for work: after cuts, the anthurium is sick for a long time and may die. Before planting a new flower, dip its underground part in a growth stimulator.

You can cut off the top of the shoot with air roots and grow a new flower from it. This technique is often used at home, when the plant is many years old and its leaves and flowers, despite good care, become small. If the roots are sufficiently developed, you can immediately plant the flower in a pot of soil, and if they are just about to hatch, put the shoot in warm water for germination. The temperature of the liquid should not be higher than 20⁰, otherwise the lower part will start to rot. You do not need to use a jar of water, but wrap the lower part of the stem with wet moss in advance. When you see the shoots of roots breaking through, cut the cutting off, sprinkle the wound with crushed coal and plant it in the ground.

If you wish, you can try to get and germinate seeds. The flower will have to be pollinated artificially, with a brush, then wait for the fruit to appear and collect the grains. The seed is kept for 2 hours in a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate, and then sown in the ground. Seedlings will have to wait about 2 months, and flowers - 4 years.

Advice

Anthurium has a poisonous sap that irritates the skin and mucous membranes. Wear gloves when handling the flower and do not touch your eyes and lips until you wash your hands.

Take a short, wide pot and fill it 1/3 full with drainage material. Place the roots of the anthurium on top and start filling the vessel with soil. The roots of the plant are very fragile, you need to compact the earth carefully. Add a small layer, moisten and shake gently to avoid voids. The soil should be loose, well permeable to air and moisture, with an acidity (Рн) from 5.5 to 6.5.

It is better to purchase a special mixture for anthuriums or orchids in flower shops, but you can mix:

• humus - 4 parts;
• peat - 2 parts;
• leaf land - 2 parts;
• sand - 1 part.

Add crushed charcoal, fragments of cones, moss to the mixture - up to 15% of the volume. After planting, the flower must be watered abundantly and after 15 minutes, drain the excess liquid from the pan. Spray the leaves with warm water and keep the plant in the shade for several days. Until the flower takes root, provide it with proper home care and spray more often.

Advice

Better to grow anthurium in plastic flower pots. This material keeps heat well, the soil in it remains warm for a long time at night, and does not heat up much during the day.

Conditions for keeping anthurium

The southern guest is very picky about the conditions of his stay, but he will thank him for his caring care with extraordinary flowering. The plant needs good lighting, but hot sun is contraindicated. If in the middle of the day the rays hit the window, shade the flower from burns. In the winter months at home, it is advisable to illuminate the plants with lamps with a predominance of the blue and red spectrum. In summer, the bushes develop well at temperatures from 20⁰ to 25⁰; in winter, cooler air is needed: 16-18⁰.

Anthurium needs high humidity. If your apartment is very dry, make life easier for both people and plants - install a humidifier. You can place the pot next to a bowl filled with sea pebbles and keep the pebbles damp at all times, or cover the surface of the soil with moss, which must be sprayed with a spray bottle as it dries.

In the summer, make sure that the soil in the pot does not dry out, water with settled soft water. In winter, before watering, the topsoil should dry out to a depth of about 1 cm. The plant loves to be sprayed. Hard tap water is not suitable for this procedure, add a drop of vinegar to the liquid, wait a few minutes for the reaction to take place, and pour only the upper part without sediment into the spray bottle. The spray should only fall on the leaves, but not on the buds and flowers, on which stains appear from drops of liquid. In early spring, force the plant to invigorate: water it once with water at a temperature of about 45⁰. Such a procedure at home activates development after winter dormancy, and the anthurium will bloom more magnificently.

Proper care includes feeding. Don't let your pet overeat; excess nutrients are bad for them. It is especially dangerous to overdo it with mineral fertilizers. Use a special anthurium feed and strictly follow the dosage indicated in the instructions. You need to feed at home every 15 days, and once a month spray the leaves with liquid fertilizer.

Anthurium should be transplanted at least once every 2 years. If you are not going to separate part of the flower, take a pot 3-5 cm wider and 3 cm deeper than the previous one. From time to time, look at the drainage holes: if roots appear from there, replant, even if the time has not come. Remove the plant, gently shake off the old soil from the roots, divide the bush if necessary. Then proceed in the same way as when landing. Be attentive to your pet for several days, proper home care will help him quickly settle down in a new place.

What is the exotic guest dissatisfied with?

The flower is very capricious, but he himself will tell you what he does not like. Improper care is often the cause of problems. Look closely at all the changes in the appearance of the plant, and you will understand where you made mistakes. Anthurium loves moist air, but not swampy soil. If you notice black dots on the leaves, reduce watering and make sure there is no water in the pan. If blackening grows, the roots are struck by gray rot. Remove the plant from the soil, inspect the root system and remove rotting growth. Plant the flower in new soil and spill with a light pink potassium permanganate solution.

What else can a plant living at home complain about?

• The leaves curl, but the color does not change - there is not enough air humidity, spray the flower more often.
• The leaves curl up, and light spots appear on them - a sunburn. Apply anthurium or move it to another place.
• The leaves sag, the tips turn yellow or turn brown - the pot is standing in a draft, it is cold in the room or there are sudden temperature changes. Create a comfortable environment for the plant.
• The leaves become small, turn yellow, the bush does not bloom well - there is not enough nutrition, you need to transplant the flower into fresh soil.
• Lush greenery, but the plant does not bloom - too nutritious soil, transplant into a pot with less fertile soil and stop feeding for a month.

Pests can attack anthuriums:

• shield;
• aphid;
• spider mite;
• mealybug.

You can fight insects with the help of special insecticides. Do not place the pot too close to other plants to prevent the parasites from spreading to other flowers. Proper care will help strengthen the flower's immunity, biostimulants will come in handy.

Conclusion

Caring for anthurium at home takes time and effort. If you often leave for several days, forget to water and feed your green pets, it is better to plant more hardy and unpretentious plants on the windowsill. The main beauty of a tropical guest is during flowering, create suitable conditions for him so as not to be disappointed at the sight of a stunted rod with a stained bedspread.

It is best to grow anthurium in greenhouses.If this is not possible, purchase an indoor arboretum. You can keep a flower at home on the windowsill, but then you need to constantly monitor the temperature, humidity and illumination of the room. The overseas guest wants to show you all his splendor, help him get used to the new conditions.

Anthuriums are a numerous genus of plants of tropical origin, cultivated indoors since the second half of the last century. It is extremely popular among flower lovers due to its beautiful foliage, spectacular flowering and ease of maintenance.

Types and varieties

Of the 900 species of plants of the genus Anthurium, 3 are cultivated under artificial conditions: Anthurium Andre, Anthurium Scherzer and Anthurium Khrustalny.

Anthurium Andre

It is characterized by a shortened trunk, to which large (25-30 cm with a width of 8 to 13 cm) oval-lanceolate leaves are attached with the help of long (up to 35 cm) and curved cuttings. When flowering, it forms an inflorescence - an ear up to 10 cm long of yellow shades, surrounded by a bracts of red, pink, salmon or white tones.

The species is the ancestor of dozens of varieties that differ in the color of the bracts. On the basis of this feature, it is customary to combine them into groups. Indoor conditions, white and red varieties are most often grown.

• White Champion, White Champion, Sumi and the white-pink variety Princess Amalia Elegance are popular among the white varieties.
• From the group of reds - Dakota, Sierra Magic and Turenza.

Scherzer's Anthurium

It stands out among its relatives with a spirally twisted ear, surrounded by a large red-orange bracts and leaves on long (6-25 cm) cylindrical petioles.

The leaf blades are elongated (linear or lanceolate), pointed, with a blunt or wedge-shaped base, colored in dark shades of green and pubescent. The top side is glossy, the bottom is matte.

Popular varieties:

• Lacetti with salmon shades bedspread;
• Graphitti with light, red speckled bract;
• Hawaii with a 2 or 3 color bedspread;
• Alexia Blue with a bracts of gentle, sky-blue tones.

Anthurium Crystal

It is appreciated for the beauty of long-petiolate oval leaves of dark green color with light veins. The ear is greenish yellow.

In indoor conditions, varieties are grown:

• Hooker, with large green leaves with small black spots and purple or dirty purple flowers.
• Majestic, with beautiful dark green velvety and textured foliage laced with olive veins.
• Climbing, with creeping or clinging shoots bearing oval-elongated leathery leaves. The decorativeness of this variety is provided by attractive-looking fruits - berries in shades of orange, red, purple and white.

Anthurium flower - cultivation features

The birthplace of anthurium is the rainforests of the American continent, where there is a lot of light, warm and humid. Therefore, the flower needs conditions that are as close to natural as possible. This is the key to its comfortable existence in the room.

Most of the farmed species slow down their vegetation in the fall and rest in the winter, needing coolness and short daylight hours.

Anthurium care at home

The flower is easy to grow.

Caring for him consists in watering, feeding and infrequent transplants.

Lighting, temperature control

Anthuriums love bright, diffused light. In direct sunlight, its flowers and leaves fade. Lack of light leads to excessive stretching and exposure of the shoots.

In addition to good lighting, the plant needs warm air. The flower is comfortable at room temperatures from 22 to 25 ° C. A slight (17–20 ° C) coolness at night is allowed.

The flower does not tolerate stagnant air and drafts.

Soil requirements

For growing anthurium, a nutritious, light, loose and moisture-absorbing substrate with a neutral medium (5.5-6.0) is suitable.As its basis, you can take purchased soil for azaleas with the addition of broken brick or perlite. You can also prepare the potting soil yourself.

There are several options for its composition:

• refined high-moor peat, leaf soil, sand, crushed and pre-steamed bark of coniferous trees, crushed charcoal (2: 2: 1: 0.5: 0.5);
• rotted horse manure, fibrous peat, pine bark, fine pumice (1: 1: 1: 1);
• expanded clay, fibrous peat, pine bark (1: 1: 1);
• peat, finely chopped sphagnum, sod land (2: 2: 1);
• peat, coconut fiber, pine bark, charcoal, chopped sphagnum moss (1: 1: 1: 0.5: 1).

Before use, in order to avoid root infections and damage, the substrate is disinfected.

Watering and humidity

Anthurium equally badly tolerates a lack and excess of moisture, therefore, a correctly selected irrigation regime is important for it.

• In the summer heat and in winter in a heated room, the flower is often watered. The frequency of moistening is determined by the drying of the topsoil.
• In winter, with artificial lengthening of daylight hours and keeping the flower warm, the moisture regime is not changed.
• In preparation for rest (autumn), watering is gradually reduced, reducing it to a minimum for winter (once a month).

Humidification is carried out with warm (2-3 degrees above the ambient temperature), settled or pre-boiled water, under the roots.

Top dressing and fertilization

During active growth and flowering (spring and autumn), anthurium is fed 2 times a month, alternating the use of organic and mineral fertilizers. Special products for orchids are used as mineral additives.

Anthurium responds well to weekly foliar dressing with any complex fertilizer.

Anthurium transplant

Anthurium needs transplants, the frequency of which is determined by its age:

• Young (up to 4 years old) forms grow rapidly and therefore need an annual transplant, including replacing the container with a slightly larger one.
• Adult specimens are transplanted once every 2-3 years.

The reasons for transplanting an adult flower are:

• complete filling of the pot space with roots;
• acidification of the soil;
• diseases of the root system.

In most cases, anthurium transplantation is carried out by the transshipment method. The exception is plants with diseased roots.

Before the procedure, the flower is watered abundantly. The earth ball must be completely saturated with moisture.

After that:

• a drainage layer is placed on the bottom of the container;
• about a third of the volume of the pot is covered with soil;
• an earthen lump with a plant is installed in the center of the container, the voids are filled with the remaining substrate.

The transplanted anthurium is placed in the shade for 3-4 days.

Transplantation of diseased plants is carried out after the preliminary release of the roots from the ground, their examination and removal of unhealthy areas.

Pot selection guidelines

For the cultivation of anthurium, plastic or glass wide shallow containers are used.

It is better not to use ceramic pots: the roots of anthurium grow into their surface.

Dormant period

From the end of autumn and throughout the winter, the anthurium has a rest.

At this time, active work is going on at the cellular level. The plant forms flower buds. The decorativeness of the future flowering depends on their quantity and quality. This is why it is so important to ensure such a period for this flower.

To lay flower buds, you need coolness and short daylight hours.

When kept indoors, these conditions are created artificially:

• in the fall, the flower is transferred to a cooler place;
• gradually reduce the intensity of watering;
• stop feeding.

Reproduction of anthurium

The discussed plant is also known among flower growers under the name "male happiness". And you always want more happiness! Anthurium reproduces by seeds and vegetatively.

Growing from seeds is difficult, since planting material is very rarely on sale.Self-production is long and does not guarantee germination. Therefore, anthurium is propagated by seeds extremely rarely - only to obtain new hybrids.

Vegetative propagation is easier and faster. It allows you to get new plants with the preservation of all the characteristics of the maternal form.

It is carried out using:

• cuttings;
• root growth;
• layering;
• dividing the bush.

Cuttings

The most common method is to grow anthurium and their apical and stem cuttings. They are harvested in spring and summer, cutting off the side shoots.

• Shoot tips up to 10 cm long with 1-2 pairs of leaves are used as apical cuttings. The rest of the branch is freed from foliage and divided into parts of 5-8 cm. These are stem cuttings.
• The apical cuttings are rooted in settled water at room temperature or a substrate consisting of perlite and clean sand, covering the containers with a transparent airtight material.
• Stem - in wet sand, perlite or moss, covering containers with glass or film.
• For the growth of roots, cuttings need warmth (from 20 ° C) and light. I air the plantings daily. The soil is moistened as it dries.

If these conditions are met, the roots are formed in 3 weeks. After the leaves appear, young plants are transplanted into separate containers and looked after as adults.

Aerial roots are formed in the upper part of the shoots of some anthurium species. Their presence greatly simplifies the procedure. Such a cutting is planted immediately with the soil mixture.

Reproduction by root shoots

An adult plant actively grows lateral shoots, often extending immediately from the rhizome. This is the root growth. In spring or summer, it can be carefully detached and planted in separate containers filled with substrate.

Layers or side shoots

In comparison with the previous options, it is a less laborious, but more time-consuming method of obtaining new plants.

To carry it out, part of the anthurium shoot is freed from the leaves and covered with wet sphagnum, covered with plastic wrap on top.

Roots are formed under the moss layer within 3-4 months. The shoot site is separated and planted in an individual pot.

Dividing the bush

Adult and overgrown bushes are subject to division. It is carried out from the second half of February to May, often combined with a transplant. The method is also good as a rejuvenating procedure.

If at this time the anthurium blooms, then the peduncles are cut out, which will significantly reduce the loss of strength and accelerate the adaptation of the plant.

To carry out the manipulation, several sequential actions are performed:

1. The abundantly watered flower is removed from the container;
2. The roots are freed from the ground, straightened, unweaved and examined. All sick and doubtful areas are cut out. Sections are disinfected with crushed coal.
3. With a sharp tool, the rhizome is divided into several (from 2 to 5) parts with roots. Each is planted in a separate container.

Pests

Anthurium, like other indoor plants, is susceptible to pest attacks. The greatest danger is posed by rapidly multiplying sucking insects: aphids, scale insects, spider mites and mealybugs.

Pests settle on the surface of leaves and shoots, feed on plant juices, causing it to turn yellow and dry.

Insects are washed off with soapy water. The processing is carried out several times. In case of low efficiency, insecticides are used.

Possible diseases

With gross and prolonged violations of conditions of detention and improper care, anthurium weakens and often gets sick. There are quite a few diseases to which it is susceptible, but this is not a reason for refusing to grow it or treat it.

• Anthracnose (fungal infection): accompanied by the appearance of red or brown spots on the leaves and blackening of their tops. Leaves with signs of the disease are removed. The plant is washed under running water and treated with any fungicide.In the absence of positive results within a week, the flower is destroyed. The pot is disinfected.
• Gray rot affects the shoots, rapidly spreading to the leaves. Sick areas are removed. The flower is treated with chemicals according to the instructions at least 3 times.
• Root rot is manifested by discoloration and subsequent rapid wilting of the leaves. When transplanting on diseased roots, a clear liquid (pus) is visible. At an early stage, this disease is fairly easy to treat. It is enough to reduce watering and place the flower in a warm place.
• Brownish spots on the leaves are a sign of rust damage. Treatment consists in removing damaged leaves and repeated (after 3-4 days) application of fungicides or alcohol solutions for 2 weeks.

Why does the plant not bloom, leaves turn yellow?

It happens that anthurium refuse to bloom. The main reason for this is the lack of a rest period.

You should not think for a long time about what to do if the leaves of the anthurium turn yellow. So the flower expresses its dissatisfaction with the lighting, temperature conditions, violation of the soil moisture regime or its composition.

In most cases, when problems are eliminated, the plant quickly regains its decorative effect.

In different species and varieties of anthurium, the shapes and sizes of the bedspread and the cob are different. The ear can be longer or shorter than the cover, straight or curled in a spiral.

Anthurium cannot be called a very capricious plant, but just like a Tradescantia herb, it will not grow and bloom. It needs a special approach - special soil, moderate watering, good lighting.

What to plant anthurium in

One of the most important conditions for the successful cultivation of anthuriums is the correct choice of substrate. It should hold the plant well, retain moisture and nutrients, dry easily and allow air to pass through. Moreover, it should not quickly decompose, cake and thicken.

Soil for anthurium:

1. Mix acidic earth like "Azalea" with peat, expanded clay, sphagnum, pine bark. The finished substrate should be loose, breathable, airy, and at the same time moisture-consuming. In such a substrate, anthurium feels great.
If there is none, then the substrate is "begonia" + sphagnum + perlite. You can also add charcoal here.

2. Most guidelines recommend a substrate for growing anthuriums, composed of 1 part of rough turf, 1 part of coarse sand and 2-3 parts of leaf humus with the addition of pieces of charcoal. However, such a substrate is far from optimal and requires annual replacement.

A good substrate is pine bark with a piece size of 2 to 5 cm, but it is mainly applicable in greenhouse culture, subject to regular feeding. The best results are obtained with a substrate made up of 2 parts of pumice (1 to 3 cm pieces), 2 parts of pine bark (2-5 cm pieces), 1 part of coarse fibrous peat and 1 part of rotted horse manure. Such a substrate is well aerated, sufficiently moisture-absorbing and retains nutrients well. For young plants, smaller fractions of its components are used. Good results can also be obtained when using a substrate composed of equal parts of large expanded clay (2-3 cm in diameter), coarse peat and pine bark (fractions 2-3 cm). Some growers use glass wool or slag wool, crushed coconut shells, charcoal and even broken brick for growing anthuriums.

3) Planting in clean moss

4) Transplanted into a substrate for bromeliads and orchids (or 1 part leaf, 1 part coniferous, 1 part peat land and 0.5 part sand

For Anthurium, I make up the earth myself.
I take soil for violets or you can use another soil for indoor or aroid flowers, add a little perlite + vermiculite + pine bark + moss + husk from sunflower seeds.
I transplant as needed.I take the pot not quite wide, but not deep, 2-3 cm larger than the previous one.

Anthurium lighting

Anthurium quickly adapts to the conditions of the room, does not like direct sunlight at noon, but it requires a lot of light, and the morning or evening sun is welcome.
I also met such information in the literature: Anthuriums are shade-tolerant and can be content with rather meager light conditions.

Growing Anthuriums for more than one year, I can say that they can be content with meager light conditions, but then you will get an unattractive appearance and will not see flowers. The cuttings become very long, stick out in all directions like sticks, the leaves are small, and the flowers are even smaller, if at all.
For Anthurium, any direction of windows is suitable except for the southern one, of course, you need to take into account the height of the floor, but if you really want to grow Anthurium on the southern window, then you need to put it next to the window about 30-50 cm or on the window sill, but then the window needs to be darkened.

If you have, on the contrary, northern windows, or there is shading from the street, then in winter the anthurium will be dark, and at high temperatures, this leads to the degeneration of the plant, the loss of its decorative appearance. Therefore, with such windows, from September to March, you need to turn on fluorescent lighting.

Watering

Watering during the period of active growth is moderate, but regular, with soft water, that is, as the top layer dries out. I water and sprinkle with boiled water, sometimes I arrange a shower.
There is an opinion that the soil should be constantly moist.
The most common mistake is waterlogging of the substrate; in the wet substrate of Anthurium, the roots quickly rot, which can lead to the death of plants. Stagnation of water in the sump is unacceptable; it must be drained immediately after watering. The golden rule: it is better to almost top up than overflow. Worst of all, from constant dampness in pots, mushroom mosquitoes (whose larvae gnaw at the roots) start, pathogenic fungi and bacteria develop, various spots bloom on the plant.

Air humidity

Anthurium grows well and blooms in high humidity.
It is recommended to spray regularly (morning and evening) with water, because anthuriums need very humid air. You can increase the humidity of the air by spreading a layer of sphagnum moss around the leaves, but make sure that it does not create increased dampness of the earth and does not accumulate moisture on the stems. When spraying, use only soft boiled water, otherwise white stains will remain on the leaves.

Anthurium fertilizer

From March to August, feed the plant with fertilizers once every two weeks. At the beginning of the growing season, anthurium is fertilized with a weak solution for ornamental deciduous plants, after 2-3 additional dressings, fertilizers can be applied for decorative flowering plants (fertika-lux, agriculture, uniflor-bud, pocon for flowering plants, etc.). Calculate the fertilizer dose 2 times less than the recommended one.

Reproduction of anthurium

Division of adult specimens or separation of rooted side shoots. To do this, the bush taken out of the pot must be carefully cut with a knife, cut off the necessary part with a piece of rhizome. Try not to disturb the bulk of the roots. Sprinkle all large sections with crushed coal or sulfur (sold in pet supplies) to close the gate for infection. Water the planted parts carefully during the first week. Avoid splitting and replanting on the hottest summer days.

Seed reproduction is also possible. After cross-pollination (for this you must have two plants flowering at the same time), the seeds ripen within 8 weeks, after which they must be planted immediately, as they quickly lose their germination. The soil is light from a mixture of vermiculite and peat in equal parts. Vermiculite can be replaced with coarse sand. The soil can be covered with a thin layer of sphagnum moss, and seeds can be sown into it. Moisten the top evenly from a spray bottle, cover with foil.Ventilate regularly so that mold does not form on the surface of the ground.

Anthurium pests and diseases

Usually, anthuriums get sick a little and are not very susceptible to pests. Most often these are scale insects and mealybugs. Sometimes ticks. Particularly dangerous are scale insects, which multiply very quickly and require serious efforts to destroy them. Ticks are fought with means called acaricides (apollo, vermitic, nissoran, etc.). It is easiest to deal with scale insects, mealybugs and other pests, including soil ones, with systemic insecticides - this is aktara or confidor. Visible pests must be removed with a cotton swab or cotton swab dipped in alcohol.

Plants also suffer greatly from excessive watering and poor drainage, leading to decay of the root system. Root and stem rot caused by waterlogging of the substrate and low temperatures, as well as anthracnose. With anthracnose, the leaf blades begin to dry out from the edges, and with severe damage, the plants are depleted and die off. The fight against this disease requires perseverance, and it should be started when the first signs appear. In large collections, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatments with fungicides, preferably systemic (foundationol).

Frequently asked questions about anthurium

1. What should you pay attention to when growing Anthurium?

Answer: Anthuriums are kept at a temperature of at least 18 degrees in conditions of high air humidity (daily spraying is necessary). Photophilous. The soil temperature cannot be lower than the ambient temperature, so it is better to use plastic, not ceramic pots. Anthurium consumes a lot of water, so the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Anthurium Andre tolerates the sun better than Scherzer's anthurium, but it is better to darken it, in bright light it feels normal, but without the sun too, and better in a humid atmosphere. When spraying, try not to get large drops of water on the flowers - ugly spots will remain.

Such spots appear from systematic overflow, and are very often a sign of infection.

2. How to divide anthurium?

Answer: Very carefully! When dividing, the roots must be carefully untangled or cut with a knife. You can spill a little epin or root.

3. The plant requires a transplant, but it is recommended to transplant only in the spring, what should I do?

Answer: It is best to do now the transfer to the pot a little more than before, and carefully change the topsoil, without exposing the roots, if possible. Good drainage and very loose soil are required. If there are aerial roots, lightly dust them with the same soil or cover with damp moss.

4. Yellow spots on the leaves appeared on Anthurium. Why does this happen, from hard water or from overfeeding with fertilizers?

Answer: If the spots are large - evenly over the entire surface of the leaf, and the leaves themselves are either less than the previous ones, or more - then these are clear signs of unbalanced fertilization. If the specks are small and visible in the light, then perhaps this is a spider mite.

5. Can blooming anthurium be transplanted?

Answer: Blooming flowers can not be transplanted, but only transshipped, i.e. without damaging the earthy coma, especially if the pot is small. And put the flower in a bright place.

6. How deep the roots can be buried during transplantation

Answer: They can and should be buried during transplantation, well, of course, you should not be zealous. The roots must definitely be covered. If you cannot deepen it, cover them with at least sphagnum. In anthuriums, even aerial roots are recommended to be wrapped in moist sphagnum ...

7. Anthurium does not bloom!

Answer: The path to success with anthuriums is this: in order for it to bloom, it must be at a temperature of at least 18 degrees around the clock, it does not like direct sunlight, it needs diffused light. Watering is moderate, he really does not like drafts.His pot must be slightly larger than his root system, otherwise it will not bloom! And, of course, light fertilization once a week.

Anthurium in the Encyclopedia

Posted by Kasandra and Natali