Genus

Anthurium Care Guide: Getting Them to Keep Flowering

Glossy red or pink flowers that last for months, on a plant that needs more light and air around its roots than most people give it.

  • Family: Araceae
  • Native to Tropical Americas
  • Moderate

Anthurium are grown for their waxy, brightly coloured flowers, which are not really flowers. The coloured part is a spathe, a modified leaf, and the real flowers are the small bumps on the spike in the middle.

Individual spathes last for weeks or months, which is why they are sold as a flowering gift plant.

What every Anthurium wants

Bright, indirect light. This is the most common reason they stop flowering. Anthurium survive in medium light but will not produce new spathes there.

They are epiphytes, growing on trees rather than in soil, so they need a very chunky mix with plenty of bark. Standard potting compost suffocates the roots.

Humidity above 50% keeps the leaves in good condition.

Anthurium are toxic to cats and dogs.