Anthurium Care 101

Anthuriums are silently and steadily growing into my second favorite genus. Monsteras are still my number one but their throne is being threatened . Sorry philodendrons, you are number three now. Anthuriums don't need all the glamour of variegation in order to steal hearts. They are just being themselves and people are falling for them. They got the reputation of being finicky but let me tell you, they are not. They just know what they want and they ask for it. Other house plants are easy because they are tolerating our lack of knowledge to care for them. Other house plants don't speak up when something wrong, but anthuriums are quite vocal, figuratively. If they dehydrate, they will tell you. If they are suffocated, they will let you know. Even though all factors are important to anthuriums but you should focus on the ultimate bellow:⁠⁠
A. Hydration: Notice I say, "hydration," not humidity. Because humidity isn't everything. The plant hydration is. Whether the roots or the leaves, they need to be constantly hydrated. If you water your plants enough (along with well draining soil), you don't really need to have high humidity. ⁠⁠
B. Air: anthuriums need air, both above and beneath the ground. The roots need oxygen, whereas the leaves and stems will breathe in CO2 in the air. Therefore you must provide as much air flow as possible for them. ⁠⁠
- Air in the grounds: The problems usually lied beneath the ground, literally and metaphorically. Anthurium roots love oxygen. They will throw tantrum if your soil mix doesn't give them enough air. My current soil formula for anthuriums is: 50 perlite, 30 orchid bark, 10 worm casting and 10 horticultural charcoal. And yes, I don't use soil any more. I will explain why in another post. ⁠⁠
- Air around the leaves: You must have good air circulation to make sure no water condensations on anthurium leaves. they are extremely sensitive and will have bacterial or fungal infection in a blink of an eye if the leaves stay wet for too long. Having good air flow will also help to increase the CO2 material for the photosynthesis and accelerate your plant growth.⁠⁠
When you fix these two factors, you will fix most of anthurium issues.  Good luck and happy planting!