The genus of anthurium includes several hundred species. According to various sources, there are from 500 to 900 with them. In the Aroid family, this genus is the most numerous. Translated from ancient Greek, its name means “tail” and “flower”.
Among Russian florists, this plant is very popular. It is popularly called "male happiness" by analogy with the "female" flower - spathiphyllum. This is a beautiful flower that can become a real decoration of any interior. However, improper care, in particular illiterate watering, can nullify all the efforts of gardeners. How to water anthurium at home so that it grows and develops well? How to care for this spectacular, but rather demanding of conditions flower? This will be discussed in the article.
General information
Plants of the genus Anthurium come from the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. This determines their needs for irrigation and other conditions. In Europe, they appeared only at the end of the 19th century. The first copy was planted in England, in the Royal Botanic Garden. Three species of several hundred deserved special love from flower growers. These are Anthurium Andre (Anthurium andraeanum), crystal (Anthurium crystallinum) and Scherzer (Anthurium scherzerianum). In the homes of some flower lovers, you can also find anthurium climbing (scandens). This is a vine, which requires a lot of space, so for the most part it is grown in greenhouses and botanical gardens.
Anthuriums have a high decorative effect. Bracts of plants are usually painted in bright colors. Flowers tolerate cut well and can stand in the water for up to a month without losing their appearance. They are often used in landscaping and decoration of not only residential, but also office premises.
Caring for different types of anthurium has much in common, but may differ in details.
Anthurium Andre
This species comes from the rainforests of Colombia. It has a rather short trunk. The leaves are large, oblong, lanceolate, at the base - heart-shaped, up to 30 cm long, on long petioles. Peduncle can reach 70 cm in length. Inflorescence is an ear of corn. It has a slightly wrinkled cover, which can be red, white, orange, salmon, pink.
On sale, it is most often the hybrid forms of the Andre line of the anthurium that are found. They are less capricious and better amenable to growing at home. In addition, according to scientists, they disinfect the air, as they have a bactericidal effect. In particular, these plants have a detrimental effect on staphylococci.
Anthurium Scherzer
It grows in the mountain forests of Guatemala and Costa Rica. It has large lanceolate leaves 30-45 cm long, petioles about 30 cm long. The peduncle also reaches 30-35 cm long. The inflorescence is twisted into a spiral, the bedspread is glossy, up to 17 cm long, very effective. It can be orange, pink, white, cream or red.
How often to water the anthurium at home, if this is the type of A. Scherzer? This will be discussed below.
Anthurium Crystal
Ornamental leaf plant. The stem is up to 25 cm long. The leaves are spreading, dark green, with white veins. The inflorescence is an ear of about 12 cm long, greenish yellow in color. It has a pleasant aroma reminiscent of the smell of cloves. The cover is light green, up to 12 cm long, half-skinned, oblong.
Anthurium climbing
This species comes from the tropical mountain forests of the Antilles. At home, this evergreen liana can grow up to 1.5 meters in length. It has dense, leathery, oblong-lanceolate leaves, 10-12 cm long, on short petioles. This is a semi-epiphytic plant. Aerial roots are located throughout its stem. The flowers have a rather nondescript appearance; the bedspread is up to 1.5 cm long. Fruits are decorative - berries on the cob are white, and in some varieties they have a lilac color. This anthurium can bloom at any time of the year.
The necessary conditions
Since these plants are tropical inhabitants, they need warmth, moisture, and enough sunlight. Temperature is desirable not lower than +22 degrees Celsius. Not only air, but also the soil should be warm, so in the cold season it is extremely undesirable to keep anthuriums on cool window sills. In a room with anthuriums, the temperature should not fall below + 15 degrees Celsius, this is detrimental to plants. They do not tolerate drafts.
Plants should be protected from direct sunlight, but they should receive a lot of diffused light. The best place for anthuriums is a table or bedside table near a window facing south, west or east. With insufficient lighting, anthuriums will also grow normally, but flowering can not wait. In winter, it is desirable to highlight the plants.
How and how many times to water the anthurium? This issue will be considered below.
Watering mode
The plant needs the most moisture during the period of active growth and flowering (spring-autumn). Morning watering is preferable - it is less likely that the water will stagnate in the pot. It is necessary to water an adult plant after drying of the top soil layer. If it is still wet at a depth of less than two centimeters, you can skip watering. However, this applies only to adult anthuriums. In young plants, the soil should be constantly slightly moist.
How much to water anthurium? It is recommended to do this a little, carefully, until water appears in the pan. After 30 minutes, it must be drained to avoid root decay.
Anthurium, which grows in a plastic pot with a good layer of drainage, will need less moisture than that which was planted in an clay container, because clay can also absorb some amount of water. This should also be taken into account when figuring out how to water an anthurium flower.
Water requirements
Water must be soft (rain, melt or sediment). Anthuriums do not tolerate water with lime. When using lime water, plant leaves begin to turn yellow. They grow in an acidic substrate, respectively, water can also be acidified using, for example, lemon juice. However, it is worth doing this no more than once a month. At 1.5 liters take a teaspoon of juice. This water can also spray the leaves.
Water temperature for irrigation should not be lower than + 30-35 degrees Celsius in the summer and + 20-25 - in the winter.
Watering through the pan
Some gardeners recommend using mainly this type of irrigation. This method, in their opinion, avoids excessive watering and, as a consequence, decay of the roots of the plant. How often to water the anthurium in this case? From time to time, you need to alternate upper and lower watering so that the soil is evenly moistened. After all, drainage does not always allow moisture to reach the uppermost layers of the soil.
Signs of excessive watering
Excessive watering is no less destructive for this flower. When studying how to properly water anthurium at home, you need to pay special attention to this. The signs of excess moisture are as follows:
- The appearance of softened rotted areas on the plant.
- The earth soups and gives off an unpleasant odor.
- The roots begin to rot.
- The plant stops growing.
- Mold appears on the soil. In this case, it is necessary to remove the topsoil and sprinkle it with crushed coal. The trunk of the anthurium can be wiped with a napkin dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Humidification
Anthuriums need no less moist air than watering. With insufficient air humidity and an excessive amount of light, the leaves of anthurium begin to curl up into tubes. It is advisable to purchase an air humidifier or place plants on trays with expanded clay or sand, which should be periodically moistened.
You can also spray plants from a spray bottle. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the inflorescences. Otherwise, they will become stained and quickly fall off. It is precisely the air around the plants that needs to be sprayed: it must be very fine water dust, a suspension.
From time to time, you need to gently wipe the leaves of the plants with a damp cloth or sponge. You can wash it in the shower, but, again, do it carefully so as not to wet the inflorescences. It is advisable to remove excess water from the leaves with a paper towel.
Transplanting and watering after it
It is advisable to transplant adult plants in spring or summer, every two years, but not in extreme heat. Until he reaches the age of five, you can do this every year. In the process of transplanting, it is convenient to propagate the plant by division (“children”). This is the best time.
A layer of drainage should be poured into the bottom. It will help get rid of excess moisture after watering. The roots of the plant are inspected before transplantation, and if sore spots are found, they should be trimmed and sprinkled with crushed coal. After pruning, you can soak the roots for 20 minutes in a solution of fungicide or potassium permanganate.
The pot is best purchased wide, but shallow. When choosing a container for a transplant, it must be borne in mind that a pot too large will stimulate the formation of “children,” but the anthurium will bloom badly. The plant should not be buried too deep; the leaf rosette should not be covered with soil. After transplanting, it is important not to disturb the plant once a few weeks and not to change the position of the pot.
How should I water anthurium after a transplant? If the transplant was carried out without an earthen coma, and the roots were cleaned and cut, then you can water the plant for the first time no earlier than the earth dries three centimeters in depth. A plant transplanted by transshipment, along with an earthen lump, pre-watered, can be left alone for several days. Such a pause in irrigation will not harm him.
And how to water the anthurium at home, transplanted by transshipment, if the earth has not been moistened before? In this case, the plant must be allowed to stand for several hours.
For the first watering after transplantation, water is used, which has settled for at least three days. Of course, it should be warm. Residues from the pallet must be drained.
Soil requirements
Anthuriums love slightly acidic soils (pH-5.5-6.5). The substrate for these plants should be sufficiently loose, let air through well and not accumulate moisture, not condense so that the roots of the plant do not rot, because in nature they are epiphytes, that is, they grow on trees. At the same time, the soil should provide the necessary support to the anthuriums, that is, be moderately dense. You can buy ready-made primer for aroid in the store, or you can cook it yourself according to one of the following recipes:
- Leaf land, turf land, sphagnum - 2: 1: 1.
- Humus, sheet land, peat, sand - 2: 1: 1: 0.5.
- Sod land, humus, peat, sand.
Drainage is placed at the bottom of the pot - up to about ¼ of the height. In the soil, you can add cones, charcoal, pieces of brick or clay shards (it is important that they do not have sharp edges), chopped pine bark.
On a note
The recommendations given in the article regarding watering and humidification of air relate mainly to hybrids of Anthurium Andre, since they are the most common in our country. As for the anthurium Scherzer, he needs more hydration, including when spraying the leaves. Crystal anthurium, releasing aerial roots, must be watered very carefully, and the roots should be moistened with a spray bottle. They can be rooted using peat.
In the spring-summer period, anthuriums should be fed with a complex fertilizer for decorative flowering plants every two weeks. Experienced flower growers recommend halving its concentration.
Anthuriums can be propagated not only by “children”, but also by stem cuttings. Seed propagation is usually very troublesome and ineffective.
Finally
The article examined in detail how to water anthurium, briefly characterized the most popular species and described the conditions for keeping these plants. They are quite whimsical and need regular care, but he is quite capable of those who want to see these bright flowers in their home.