Growing Anthurium Species
Where do Anthurium live in nature?  Anthurium Care, How to Understand, Cultivate, Grow,
Pot, and Water an Anthurium
Including information on How Anthurium species Grow and reproduce in the rain forest.
Sorry, not one of the over 800 species lives in water!

So, You're looking for Anthurium seeds to buy?  Click this link

Much of the information on this page is based on the scientific journals of aroid botanist Dr. Thomas B. Croat Ph.D., P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, MO.  My thanks to aroid expert Julius Boos, aroid, palm and cycad expert Leland Miyano and expert aroid grower Russ Hammer for their input into this article.  And my sincere thanks to Dr. Croat for his continued personal guidance.

Note:
Click on any photo and you will be directed to the page which gives the scientific name and description of the species.

For a list of the majority of species in the Exotic Rainforest collection, click here or see the list at the bottom of the page.

 

The genus Anthurium is now found in many South Pacific islands, but only as an introduced species.  In Hawaii, many species can be found currently in cultivation since the genus is used to hybridize many hybrid variations. But all were introduced.  Anthurium species are members of a larger group known as Araceae (aroids) and there are in fact members of the larger group Araceae found in SE Asia.  But these do not include Anthurium or Philodendron species.  For further scientific reference, please read this work by aroid botanist Dr. Tom Croat:  http://www.aroid.org/genera/anthurium/abstrap1.htm

Anthurium that is a member of a similar "section".  As a result, there are likely as many hybrid varieties as there are species!  Hawaiian growers love to create new varieties and sometimes go so far as to try to introduce their hybrids as "new species".  Unless you are a trained aroid botanist, it is often quite difficult to see the difference in a hybrid and a true species.

The majority of aroids require a specific insect to do the work of pollination.  If that insect is not present, it is unlikely the plant will be pollinated naturally.  If pollinated by that "assigned" insect, the spadix can produce fruit which can vary in color from red to purple, green, white, or shades of these colors.  Eventually the fruit berry ripens and contains seeds.  Those fruit are how the Anthurium reproduces itself once a bird eats the fruit or a seed falls to the ground.  Anthurium species can also reproduce from divisions, but it is not possible to propagate them by planting leaves!  Simply trying to pot a leaf won't grow anything!  There are a very few aroids which can reproduce by planting leaves, but Anthurium species are not in that group.

 

If you are interested in the detailed daily analysis and explanation of the growth of an Anthurium spathe and spadix with daily photos and narration by noted Anthurium experts Dr. Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Julius Boos, LariAnn Garner and others, go here:  Anthurium regale spathe and spadix.  There are close to 80 days of photographs.  Anthurium regale is a leafed section Cardiolonchium species shown just below.

Botanists divide Anthurium species into "sections".  Those sections often are used to categorize the various leaf structures into specific groups.  As an example, section Cardiolonchium contains the species with leaf surfaces that feel and look like "velvet".  This group is particularly beautiful and contains many of the most sought after species of Anthurium.  Well known members of the section include Anthurium regale, Anthurium crystallinum, A. magnificum and A. warocqueanum.   Frequently collected species are sometimes known as "birds nest" forms.  That group is section Pachyneurium.  The largest specimen of this section in our collection is Anthurium schlechtendalii and is capable of producing leaves 6 feet long or longer (see photo, top of page).  Other interesting members of this section include Anthurium salviniae  and Anthurium plowmanii.  But there are numerous other sections of Anthurium species.

 

An important fact anyone interested in Anthurium species must understand is only a few Anthurium species grow in the ground in the rain forest!  They can, but the majority grow up on the sides of trees or up in the canopy well above the ground.  Even many of gigantic "birds nest" forms (see photo left) grow on the limb of a tree not in the soil!  The ones that grow on trees are scientifically known as either epiphytes or hemiepiphytes.  An epiphyte is a plant that simply grows upon another plant, normally a tree.  The seed berries, once eaten and digested by a bird, are then left on a tree branch in the bird's droppings.  Those seeds find just enough nutrient substances in the droppings to germinate and begin to grow on the limb of the tree.  Some eventually drop roots all the way to the soil and as a result, once they pick up extra water and nutrients, grow quite large.  Others begin life in the soil and then climb the tree.  Those are known as the hemiepiphytes.  But keep in mind, an Anthurium is not a parasite, it is an epiphyte.  It simply uses the host for support.

If you plan on growing an Anthurium it is wise to first learn just how the species you possess grows in nature (assuming it is a species) and then try to duplicate that condition as best possible if you wish to experience the natural beauty and full growth potential of the specimen.  One major problem with figuring out what species of Anthurium you are growing is caused by a phenomenon known to a botanist as "variability".  Most people assume that just because many trees have the same type of leaves, that all species of Anthurium should also have identical leaves.  In aroids, that is simply not the case.  Think of it as human beings all having different "faces".  There is only one species of humans, but numerous "faces".  An Anthurium species can also have many "faces".

 

Not only do the leaves vary from species to species, they can vary (morph) in the same plant as the Anthurium ages.  And in the same way all human bodies don't look alike (tall, fat, short, skinny), neither do all Anthurium, even from the same Anthurium species!  An Anthurium species is easily capable of assuming many leaf shapes and sizes, and they often "morph" as they grow just as a child changes as it changes from a child to an  adult.  They increase in size and change shape from a juvenile stage leaf to that of an adult stage leaf.. .To a botanist, it is simply "variation".  But as you can easily see from the few photos on this page, an Anthurium has no set shape!  Some are oval, some are spear shaped, some are shaped like a heart, some feel like leather (known as coriacious), and many have leaves that feel like velvet.  This concept is often difficult for plant collectors to accept.  Aroid botanists and those of us who are serious collectors receive mail all the time insisting any leaf with a different shape simply MUST be a different species.  That is simply not the case.  Think of your father, your grandfather, and your uncles.  They are the same species and from the same family.  But they don't look exactly alike!  Within any Anthurium species exists the same principal.

 

So how do you get your Anthurium to morph?  The trick to seeing many Anthurium species morph is to allow them to climb something like a piece of wood or a totem which can be purchased at many plant supply businesses.  The higher the better!  Many epiphytic Anthurium species won't morph into adults until they reach well up a tree or totem.  They simply retain their juvenile form.  Some growers use what is known as a "wet" wall.  The wall is actually covered with wire and filled with sphagnum moss while a small pump spreads water across the top of the wall's face. Many epiphytic Anthurium species love to climb this type of wall and often reach their adult size more rapidly.  Once you've provided the specimen something to climb, such as a totem, wood or a wet wall, and give it the light level it is trying to seek, you'll be amazed at how it grows and changes shape. 

Many Anthurium plants commonly sold at nurseries are likely hybridized plants and not species.  A hybrid Anthurium is one where each of the parents was a different species.  But in the case of hybrids, each parent may have also been a hybrid itself.  Thus, you may have the genes of numerous plants involved in creating that hybrid.  You'll just have to believe what some retailer/grower tells you, and that may often be wrong, since scientifically correct information on hybrids is rarely available.  Hybrid Anthurium are created when the pollen from one species is applied to the spadix of another species at the time the plant is ready to reproduce.  The resulting seeds are neither species, but a hybrid form of the two.  Some hybridizers enjoy seeing just what they can create and after a period of time you have no idea what the parents actually may have been.  As a result, there is no way of knowing if the new hybrid prefers really wet conditions, drier conditions, cooler condition, grows in the ground, or high in the trees.  Although hybrids can be beautiful, my preference is to grow only species which can be traced back to their natural habitat and thus better understood.  But there are also natural hybrids that occur in nature which can add to the confusion. 

The majority of Anthurium plants you buy are juvenile forms and look nothing like the adult form of the species.  Remember, they "morph" as they grow!  For many years botanists were confused by the drastic differences in adult forms and juvenile forms and often tried to give them each a different scientific names.  That is one reason some plants have numerous scientific names which can be worked back using a source such as TROPICOS (a service of the Missouri Botanical Garden) to a single basionym (primary species name).  You need to learn all you can about your Anthurium species, and that is one thing, with the help of Dr. Croat and numerous aroid experts, I attempt to help you do on this website.

If you live in a tropical or semi-tropical climate you can simply put your Anthurium  in the ground.  If it is an epiphyte it may try to climb a tree.  If it is a terrestrial form, give it plenty of room.  Many of the "birds nest" species love to spread and can eventually grow leaves 6 feet long or longer creating a very large specimen!  But remember, those may also grow up on the limb of a tree in the rain forest!  Otherwise, proper potting of your specimen is very important if you want it to both survive and grow to reach the full natural beauty. 

 

I can't explain how many people I've seen go into a garden store and buy a very rich potting soil that stays soggy all the time and then kill their Anthurium.  They literally drown it!  For some reason people believe the rich soil makes an Anthurium grow better!  Typical off-the-shelf "potting soils" just don't work for Anthurium species!  Remember, these species often grow in trees, not in wet soggy soil.  Their roots are designed to collect rain water almost daily during the wet season and then suffer through the dry season.  But even in the dry season they can collect enough water from the humidity around their exposed roots in order to survive.  Again, you can make your plants grow much more beautifully, and stay healthier, if you try to learn all that is possible about their natural habitat.

If you are growing a truly epiphytic species, you may not wish to grow it in soil at all!  Some sellers provide them attached to volcanic rock.  There are species known to be epipetric which simply means they grow on stone.  Anthurium bonplandii shown near the top of this article is one of those species.  Volcanic rock can work, provided you keep those rocks constantly damp and filled with water.  The plant will extract the necessary water from the interior of the porous rock.  That does not mean to sit the plant in water!  Just keep the rocks wet.  No Anthurium species is known to grow in water despite what some websites and seller try to make you believe.  This technique can be difficult since most growers rarely remember to wet those volcanic stones every single day.

 

One very popular method among serious collectors is to put the Anthurium in a large orchid basket packed with good quality sphagnum moss.  Since the plant normally lives in the top or on the side of a tree it will adapt to those conditions easily.  BUT, you must keep the moss constantly damp.  In our atrium we water the plants displayed in this manner almost daily!  We often leave any soil attached to their roots and do not remove it, we simply pack the moss around the roots.  In just a few months you will often begin to see the roots extending down through the moss and hanging out the bottom of the orchid basket.  That is quite natural. They will also firmly attach themselves to the wood of the basket.  Our specimen of Anthurium spectabile (see photo right) has grown leaves over four feet long in just two years and is grown in this manner.  The large leaves hanging gracefully from the basket can be stunning.

 

If you feel you must plant the Anthurium in soil, especially if it is known to be a terrestrial form or "bird's nest" species, rather than using a rich, soggy soil and watering only once a week (or less), use a soil that holds moisture well but drains very quickly.  That is what the plant actually needs and prefers in most cases.  Over time, we've developed a soil mixture for most of our terrestrial Anthurium species (and some epiphytic forms) that works quite well.  People who visit our artificial rain forest are often amazed at the size of many of our specimens which grow much faster and larger than they often do in many homes. 

We use 50% Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting Mix combined with 20% Peat Moss, 20% orchid potting media (we prefer Schultz™ due to the hard wood, charcoal and mineral containing gravel) and 10% Perlite™, all thoroughly mixed together.  We grow close to 50 different species in this mixture and numerous specimens have reached, or are beginning to reach, their adult or near adult size and have produced inflorescences. 

The purpose of our mixture is to cause the water to flow through the soil quickly, yet stay damp, not soggy.  Many growers call this type of mixture a "jungle mix" due to its similarity to the soil in a rain forest.  The peat, orchid media and Perlite™ hold moisture and release it back to the roots as needed.  And the added gravel along with the charcoal in the orchid media purifies the soil and keeps the mixture very loose.  The roots of the plant will also attach to the bark just as they do in nature on the side of a tree.  Depending on the species, we sometimes also add small pieces of crushed volcanic rock frequently sold in orchid supply stores.  We use volcanic media since the roots will often attach to the rock and extract stored water.  Volcanic rock is known to absorb water and hold it for a moderately long period of time.

I've had several "nursery experts" write to tell me my soil mixture won't work due to the orchid potting media.  They claim the bark will eventually rot and create air pockets in the soil and then kill the plant.  Well, we've been using it for over five years now, some plants even longer, and our Anthurium along with Philodendron species just keep growing!  If the wood is decomposing, and it probably is, it appears to simply become part of the soil the same way it does in any rain forest.  The principal reason this mixture works is the soil stays aerated and loose.  It holds the water, but will not stay soggy.  And that is precisely what many Anthurium species desire.

The next important consideration in Anthurium care is light.  In almost any rain forest, light is a very precious commodity!  Plants fight for position and large ones often deprive small specimens of almost any light at all!  That is the exact reason Anthurium, and other species, are climbing a tree.  They are trying to reach the light!  As they grow high on the side of the tree botanists see that almost all morph into what often appears to be a totally different species!  But in reality this new morphed "form" is just the adult leaf shape of the juvenile plant.  Almost all Anthurium species prefer bright indirect light.  Some will live in deep shade, but many will not flourish.  As a result, don't try to grow them in a darkened corner of your living room.  Keep them near a window with bright, but indirect light.  Some can be trained to live in very bright light, but very few will survive in direct sunlight.  As a result, if you are growing your Anthurium species outdoors, keep them close to a tree that will allow for filtered sunlight.

 

Typically, fluorescent light or incandescent light bulbs just don't provide enough light, or the right spectrum of light, to keep an Anthurium specimen both happy and healthy.  "Grow lights" will make them "grow", but won't make them flourish.  Filtered, relatively strong light is best.  Just ask any professional photographer.  The light coming through a window is much stronger than the light from a fluorescent tube.  And the plant will often reward you with a dramatic change in leaf shape if you give it what it has been craving all along!

 

Watering is very important to the proper care of your Anthurium species.  In our rain forest we water four or more days a week (normally five days) during the heat of the year and two or three days a week in winter.  During August we water daily!  There are species that prefer a longer dry period and we attempt to segregate those during the winter season.  Remember, these species normally grow in a rain forest, not a living room!  It often rains daily in the "rain forest".  They like to have their roots damp all the time, just not in soggy soil.  In your home, water often enough to keep the soil damp, but not soggy.  Make sure the pot can easily drain.   If you use a pot with no drain holes in the bottom, then add a minimum of three inches of gravel (non-limestone) beneath the soil mix so the water can drain from the soil.

What about fertilizer?  In nature an Anthurium receives only natural forms!  The epiphytic species can collect minerals in the rain which comes from the winds blowing across the Atlantic from Africa.  They often bring dust from major dust storms in the African plains to the rain forests of tropical America.  Once it settles in the rain the long dangling roots of the plants do gather a small amount of dissolved minerals and nutrients.  But nothing like home growers are prone to offer!  Even the species up in the canopy often collect falling debris in the form of dead leaves and convert that to a natural form of fertilizer. 
 

Regarding fertilizers, aroid expert Julius Boos wrote, "It is also the epiphytic plants that benefit just as much from falling debris and rain! Many 'birds-nest" type plants actually grow on trunks and branches of trees.  In French Guyana we saw a species of Philodendron that grows like a vine up tree trunks, and when it reaches a suitable spot, changes form from a climbing vine and becomes a 'birds-nest', catching leaves.  It then creates an area where ants actually build their nest in the roots and amongst the leaves/debris mix. These ants also provide lots of fertilizer with their by-products, left-over insect and fruit parts, etc.. The rain also washes debris and the nitrogen it picks up and contains on to the long, pendent roots of other species."   Species, such as the terrestrial "birds nest" forms are designed to collect falling vegetation:  leaves and other debris.  In nature, those species will often be found with piles of dead leaves and other plant material inside their conical base.  That material then decays and the result is a natural form of fertilizer for the plant, especially when insects are invited to set up home.  But most collector/growers carefully collect and clean out all dead and decaying material found around their plant!  We are then depriving the plant of the natural form of fertilizer for the sake of "beauty".

 

As a result, most experienced growers do not fertilize heavily.  Instead, they fertilize sparingly.  Most adhere to the term "fertilize weakly, weekly".  Simply, that means adding a small amount of fertilizer to your water and give it to your plant often, best once each week.  A good recommendation is 20% of the manufacturer's recommended amount.  Large doses of artificial fertilizer do little to encourage the plant to grow as large as it will in nature.  But minimal doses of liquid fertilizers can cause your Anthurium to reach an unusually large size and beauty.

Temperature?  Virtually all Anthurium species are tropical.  That means they just can't tolerate really cold temperatures.  Some do live high in the Andes Mountains well above the cloud line.  As a result, these are "cool" loving species.  But not cold!  The cloud forest species don't like heat and won't do well in an outdoor setting where the temperature may stay above 26.6C (80 degrees F) for long periods of time.  They can tolerate short spells of high temperatures, but some, such as Anthurium rugulosum, (photo left) may not survive.  Many growers of these cool loving species use a high humidity "wet wall" combined with a small air conditioning system to keep the ambient temperature low and the humidity high.  Many of these species will do well down to 4.45C (40 degrees Fahrenheit), but not much cooler.

 

As a general rule, never allow the temperature around most of your Anthurium specimens to drop below 12.75C (55 degrees F).   It is best to keep them well below 32C (90 degrees F) which is not particularly difficult if you grow them in some form of shade or filtered light.  Some species will tolerate short periods of cold, such as Central Florida.  But most won't survive anywhere outdoors north of Zone 9.  Zone 10 is best!  Many will simply die if exposed to a freeze.  And since most show much faster growth when the temperature is in the 21 to 29.5C (70 to 85 degree F) range you may find your specimen will appreciate being allowed to live outdoors during the spring and portions of the fall.

Humidity is extremely important!  Do everything you possibly can to keep the humidity high around your Anthurium.  These species live in a jungle which can have a humidity level near 100%!   If you live in a climate that has a low humidity, like southern California, then you'll need to provide a method of giving the aroid more humidity.  In our rain forest the humidity is always high (85% or higher) due to the pond in the center of the room and frequent water!  Some growers keep their Anthurium species near a swimming pool to allow for a constantly high humidity.   Air circulation is equally important since the air is almost always moving in the rain forest.  Avoid stagnant air since that may encourage insect predators.

If you can't give the species rain forest humidity conditions then there is a simple alternative.  Buy an attractive shallow dish that can sit beneath the plant's pot.  Fill that pan with gravel, preferably one that does not have too much limestone.  Fill the pan and gravel with water and then sit your plant and pot on top of this gravel bath in order to create a micro-climate around the Anthurium.  Promise, it works!  Water will evaporate around the leaves all the time and fool the plant into believing it is living in a humid rain forest environment.  And when you water, the excess will simply drain into the gravel pot. 

Why do you want to avoid limestone gravel?  If you use the soil mixture we suggest, you've just created a soil mixture with a pH below 7, likely around 6.5.  The Anthurium will appreciate that pH level!  If you add limestone to the mix, the pH can be raised to above 7 and the Anthurium is not as likely to appreciate that level with the exception of a few species which do live in higher soil pH areas of the tropics.

Growing and the care of Anthurium species is not difficult.  Only a few are hard to grow, and most will grow fairly well under a wide variety of conditions.  Remember, they often begin on or near the rain forest floor in relatively low light and spend years climbing up to the light level they have been seeking.  The keys are allowing the epiphytic forms to climb, giving the spreading types room to spread, fast draining soil that stays damp, rarely dry, a stable temperature, good air circulation, and good light that is relatively bright.  It's just that easy!

 

Want to join some aroid discussion groups?  Here are two great ones:

 

 

http://www.aroid.org/aroid_l/index.html

 

 

Species, or hybrid?  There is absolutely nothing wrong with an Anthurium hybrid.  But you will find little information on this website regarding hybridized specimens.  The ExoticRainforest collection consists largely of species rather than hybrids.  If you are seeking information on Anthurium hybrids there is an excellent source on the internet known as Aroidia Research.  You can find that website here: http://aroidiaresearch.org/  

 

Need more information?  Looking for information on a specific species?  Check our collection list of specimens for more information about the species we grow: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/plantscollection.html 

And for additional information from competent researchers and growers, join the International Aroid Society:  http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Join%20IAS.html

 

 

Concerned about calcium oxalate crystals?  Have you been convinced they are a "deadly poison"?

 

 

 

Anthurium Species In Our Collection we often add new species, check the list on our Collection page for the lates additions   Anthurium argyrostachyum Sodiro Synonym:  Anthurium pandurifolium     Anthurium balaoanum Engl. Often confused with Anthurium guildingii and Anthurium dolichostachyum Sometimes known as Anthurium latifolium   Anthurium bonplandii G.S. Bunting Subspecies: Anthurium bonplandii subspecies cuatrecasii,  Anthurium bonplandii subspecies guayanum, Anthurium bonplandii subspecies bonplandii Anthurium clarinervium Matuda     Anthurium Code 15     Anthurium colonicum K. Krause Anthurium cordatum (L.) Schott  Caribbean Heart Shaped Anthurium Also known as Anthurium isertianum, Anthurium fallax,  Anthurium concinnum, Anthurium commutatum  and Pothos cordata Anthurium crystallinum Linden and André       Anthurium cubense Engl. Synonym: Anthurium recusatum       Anthurium cupulispathum Croat & J. Rodr.     Anthurium "Equitoriana" 106   Anthurium faustomirandae Pérez-Farrera & Croat   Incorrectly spelled Anthurium faustmirandae Anthurium faustino-mirandae, Anthurium faustinamarino and sometimes Anthurium faustinomiranda on numerous websites Faustino's Giant Anthurium   Anthurium hookeri Kunth Not the common Birds Nest Anthurium! Anthurium jenmanii Engl.     Anthurium luxurians  T.B. Croat & R. Cirino Formerly known as Anthurium splendidum   Anthurium 'Marie' Hybrid Anthurium     Anthurium marmoratum Sodiro 1903 Possibly an undescribed species Or, a synonym of Anthurium angamarcanum Sodiro 1901     Anthurium moonenii Croat & Gonçalves Anthurium Obake  a hybrid form of Anthurium andreanum     Anthurium pendulifolium N.E. Br.   Anthurium plowmanii Croat Common names:  Anthurium Ruffles, Anthurium 'Fruffles'        Anthurium podophyllum (Schltdl. & Cham.) Kunth   Anthurium polyschistum R.E. Schult. & Idrobo    An anthurium that grows like a vine!   Anthurium pseudospectabile Croat Can be mistaken for Anthurium spectabile Anthurium radicans K. Koch & A. Haage Sometimes known as Anthurium malyi Anthurium radicans x dresserii    Anthurium regale Linden The Regal Anthurium    Anthurium rugulosum Sodiro ENDANGERED Anthurium schlechtendalii Kunth   A member of Section Pachyneurium   Previously thought to be Anthurium salviniae Hemsley    Anthurium spectabile Schott Formerly Anthurium longispatheum   Anthurium truncicola England Sometimes known to collectors as Anthurium Code 21     Anthurium veitchii Mast. The Queen Anthurium      Anthurium vittariifolium Engl. The Strap Leaf Anthurium         Anthurium warocqueanum J. Moore Florist & Pomol The King Anthurium      Anthurium watermaliense   Hort. ex L.H. Bailey & Nash     The Black Anthurium