How to Grow Anthurium Plant
Growing an Anthurium in your home can give you a beautiful landscape in the bright colour of red. You can grow it in 5 easy and direct steps:
- Collect the seeds (or ripe anthurium fruit)
It is common to grow anthurium from seeds, but the resulting plant may exhibit unpredictable characteristics if it was produced by a hybrid parent plant. So, you have the option to grow your anthurium from an existing fruit.
If you live in a tropical region, you may be able to collect fruits from wild anthurium plants, which are more dominant.
- Remove the pulp from the seeds
The pulps surrounding the seeds may prevent them from germinating healthily or cause mold, ensure to remove them.
Rub off as much pulp as you can with your finger, then drop them in a small bowl of water. Leaving them in the water for a day or two, the remaining pulp detaches and floats to the top, so you can get rid of them.
- Prepare a potting mix
Anthurium grows best in coarse, well-draining soil. Switch between the combinations of perlite, peat moss, and/or pine back to make your potting mix.
Optionally, you can add a coarse material such as lava rock or orchid back to the mix.
Once prepared, add the potting mix into the pot, filling to about 1/3 of its height.
- Plant the seeds in the potting mix
Plant the seeds deep down, but just a little below the surface of the potting mix.
Alternatively, you can spread the seeds evenly across the surface of the potting mix, then gently dab them down with your fingers.
Then cover the container with plastic, leaving a gap of air for the seeds to ventilate.
- Lightly water the potting mix
Lastly, when the seeds (or fruit) are well-settled in their new home, water them lightly such that the seeds don’t sink beneath the surface.
Also, use soft water, not hard water. So if your water is hard, opt for bottled water.
Caring for Anthurium Plants
- Sunlight
Because anthurium comes from shaded areas, it doesn’t need much sunlight to grow and develop its elegant flowers. Owing to this reason, you should place the plant on a spot that only gets indirect light, but not direct sunlight.
It also makes the plant suitable to grow indoor.
- Repotting
Young anthurium plants need to be repotted regularly, but not frequently. If you notice that the roots are getting too big for the pot or you can easily spot them at the bottom of the pot, repot the plant.
- Fertilizer Application
When anthurium grows, it needs more care. We recommend you fertilize it as well to improve its general condition.
Using a natural bio-humus fertilizer is good enough for anthurium. You can also use products for acidophilic plants.