Q&A for How to Grow Anthurium Plants

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  • Question
    Can I cut the roots and replant the plant?
    Andrew Carberry, MPH
    Food Systems Expert
    Andrew Carberry is a Food Systems Expert and the Senior Program Associate at the Wallace Center at Winrock International in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has worked in food systems since 2008 and has experience working on farm-to-school projects, food safety programs, and working with local and state coalitions in Arkansas. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and holds a Masters degree in public health and nutrition from the University of Tennessee.
    Food Systems Expert
    Expert Answer
    You can divide the plant when you re-pot it. Remove it from its current pot, and untangle the stems/roots to separate individual plants. These can be re-potted using the guidance above.
  • Question
    My leaves are turning brown and black starting at the tip. What is wrong?
    Andrew Carberry, MPH
    Food Systems Expert
    Andrew Carberry is a Food Systems Expert and the Senior Program Associate at the Wallace Center at Winrock International in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has worked in food systems since 2008 and has experience working on farm-to-school projects, food safety programs, and working with local and state coalitions in Arkansas. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and holds a Masters degree in public health and nutrition from the University of Tennessee.
    Food Systems Expert
    Expert Answer
    Leaves turning brown could be a sign of too much light. Try reducing the amount of light by moving the plant farther away from your light source.
  • Question
    What size pot should I be using?
    Community Answer
    Mature anthurium plants need 10'' diameter pots, while slightly mature plant need 8" diameter pots.
  • Question
    What can I do to get more flowers?
    Community Answer
    I soak mine in a large plastic container in a mix of liquid fertilizer and compost tea. They flower like crazy and the flowers are very big.
  • Question
    What is causing a lighter color in my anthurium flowers?
    Community Answer
    I believe the yellowing is a sign of too much water and possibly poor light.
  • Question
    What is causing brown spots on the leaves of my plant?
    Community Answer
    The brown spots may indicate that your plant is getting too much sun. Move your plant to a shadier area.
  • Question
    Can I grow mine in the garden under shade with plenty of light, or do they have to be potted?
    Community Answer
    You can plant them anywhere as long as it's shady and allowing indirect light onto the plant. Sun cannot touch plant or it will burn it! Most of mine are under trees in shady positions with indirect light touching them.
  • Question
    Lost all leaves of my plant to over-watering: roots are healthy. Can it be brought back to life with only few shoots left. What should I do?
    Community Answer
    Yes it can. Take it out of the potting mix and put it in a glass of water under a plant light. It will grow more rapidly. Clean the water once a month
  • Question
    Do I have to use orchid mix?
    Community Answer
    You don't have to, but it works. You can mix your own or experiment with variety. Mine are hydroponic/air plants grown in aquarium water and air dried 1-3 days a week.
  • Question
    When making the mix with sphagnum peat moss, pearlite, and pine bark, is the sphagnum peat moss the stuff that is sold with orchid supplies that looks rectangular and compressed and pulls apart?
    Community Answer
    Yes. You can also purchase potting soils at your garden center that are pre-mixed and organically composted together.
  • Question
    What is plant food?
    Community Answer
    Plant food is vitamins that help your plants flourish to their full potential.
  • Question
    If a flower wilts, should I cut it off?
    Community Answer
    Yes, you should cut it off with a sharp knife as low as you can at the base of the stem.
  • Question
    Why do the leaves on my plant look torn and unhealthy?
    Community Answer
    This happens if you have an animal addicted to plants, or because the plant isn't healthy.
  • Question
    How do I get my plant to bloom?
    Community Answer
    Spray the foliage and soil with a solution of Seasol, according to directions and every two weeks.
  • Question
    Do I need to cut off the blooms when they dry up and die?
    Community Answer
    Yes, you should. Cut them close to the base with a pair of sterile scissors. If you don’t, then diseases can harbor over in the dead bloom and kill the plant
  • Question
    If I have seeds on my anthurium, do I need to plant them right away?
    Community Answer
    Yes. Once the fruit develops, you need to remove the pulp, soak it in water for 1 to 2 days, then plant. If you don’t, the seeds will not grow.
  • Question
    Will anthurium plants thrive under a lamp for light?
    Community Answer
    Anthurium plants can tolerate all levels of indirect light, but anthuriums growing in low light will have fewer flowers and will grow slower. It grows best in bright, indirect light.
  • Question
    What do I do if my anthurium plants are turning brown and dry after putting them indoors?
    Community Answer
    Try a liquid fertilizer for a few weeks until your plant recovers.
  • Question
    If my anthurium I rescued is severely rootbound and I repotted it immediately, should the roots on top stay above the soil or should I bury them?
    Community Answer
    You can put more soil or bark over the root and cover it so that it will get nutrients and grow again.
  • Question
    How do I measure for an anthurium plant pot?
    Community Answer
    It depends on the size of your anthurium plant. Get a small plant pot for a small plant and a bigger one for a bigger plant; eyeball it as best you can.
  • Question
    How do I know if my anthurium plants are ripe enough to harvest the seeds?
    Community Answer
    You will know when the flower is stating to go brown and droopy, and the flower stem is drying up.
  • Question
    How big are anthurium seeds?
    Community Answer
    Depending on the size of the flower itself, the seeds can be the size of a tacking pinhead or a mustard seed.
  • Question
    What do I do if my red flowers on my anthurium plants are turning green? Is that due to too much light or too little?
    Community Answer
    They turn green as the flowers get older, you might be lucky to get seeds if the middle bit has lumps on it.
  • Question
    When a flower dies, do I remove the whole stem?
    Community Answer
    It's probably all dead anyway, so cut it off if it's brown. Or you can leave it and eventually it'll rot away by itself. New shoots will come as the old flowers die.
  • Question
    How do I get different colours of flowers?
    Community Answer
    You can buy different colours. Most flowers are red or white but you can also find pink and even double pink. If you are into experimenting and your Anthurium gets seeds, plant them and the colour will probably be different from the mother plant. Anthuriums are often cross pollinated if you have different coloured plants close to each other.
  • Question
    My anthurium flower withers and turns brown even before it opens. What could be the reason? Even the new leaves are wrinkled and brown.
    Greenhouse Anderson
    Top Answerer
    It's possible that you have issues with the root system. Possibly overwatering and/or root disease. You need new roots to support the developing flowers and leaves. Keep the plant drier to allow new roots to form and function. Alternatively, you may have a bacterial disease that develops on the new leaves and flowers near the growing point. There is no cure for a bacterial disease problem.
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