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Lily Anthurium also known as the Flamingo flower, Laceleaf is a tropical plant native to South and Central America. First discovered by explorative European botanists in the late 19th century and commercialized into the horticultural world in the early 20th century. Lily anthurium is well known for its unique heart-shaped spathe and the spadix protruding from the spathe. The perfect combination of spathe and spadix makes this houseplant elegant and highly attractive.
Currently, Lily anthuriums are commercially planted in tropical regions, namely the Netherlands and South American countries. Flamingo flower is ideal for both the cut flower market and as a potted houseplant to elevate the look and character of your home or office space. Anthuriums are not finicky, either grown commercially or just for aesthetic appeal, it is easy to grow and care for anthuriums as elaborated below.
The Origin and Meaning of Lily Anthurium
The origin of name anthurium was derived from the Greek word 'anthos' meaning flower and 'oura' (tail). The naming strategy was based on the unique structures of the plant, with its spathe and spadix formation, creating a flower and tail at the same time. Another common name like the Flamingo Flower inspired by its unique appearance and distinctive colors, from pink, red, or orange flowers that resemble the colors of a flamingo beak.
Anthuriums are an exotic beauty, which can easily thrive anywhere from the office to your home, with little care needed. Due to this, anthurium is a symbol of hospitality because of the warmth and character it adds to any space, making it desirable and welcoming. The Flamingo flower is an ideal choice for every plant enthusiast and decorator looking for a balance of beauty and luxurious plants to create a striking appearance within their spaces.
Due to continuous excellence in breeding power, there are a wide array of anthurium varieties to choose from. Breeding companies of the anthuriums like Floricultura and Anthura, just to name a few, are continuously developing and bringing into the market unique and intriguing anthurium varieties.
Growing and Caring for Flamingo Flower
Though there are some growing and caring variations depending on varieties of anthuriums, generally they are not complicated houseplants to grow and care for. The basic requirements revolve around optimal light provision, temperature, humidity, watering, constant pruning, and application of fertilizer to stimulate growth.
Despite caring variations here are must-have conditions for your anthuriums to thrive.
Light
Anthuriums prefer bright indirect sunlight exposure, exposing it to bright direct, and scorching sun will harm the plant immediately. When growing in the tropics and outside, consider growing it under the shade.
Temperature
Given that it is a tropical plant, by default it prefers to stay on the warmer side, colder temperatures including frost are detrimental to anthuriums. Precisely, temperatures ranging from 18°C to 27°C (65°F to 80°F) should suffice.
Watering
It is crucial to grow your anthurium in a well-draining potting mix to avoid issues of water logging and eventually root rot. Anthuriums are not overly thirsty plants and can be watered once a week depending on how fast the top 2 inches of the soil dries out.
The size of the container used during the planting of your anthurium also determines the amount of water and frequency of watering, the bigger the container, the more water you have to apply, and reduce the interval to three days, but for smaller to medium size containers, one week interval should be fine.
Humidity
High humidity is vital to your anthurium's well-being, aim for humidity of 60% and above, and using humidifiers should be considered if necessary but constantly misting the plant should be sufficient.
Pruning
It is important to constantly monitor your anthurium to check if there is any sign of leaves yellowing. Yellow leaves should be pruned, including flowers that have overstayed. Pruning encourages new growth and the well-being of your Flamingo flower plant.
Repotting
The interesting fact about repotting anthurium is it does not have to happen almost immediately after getting your plant. Only repot when the plant becomes root-bound, this should be at least 2-3 years.
Fertilizer Application
Fertilizing anthuriums stimulates their growth and enhances the growing speed. Application of fertilizer should be done during the growing season only, for 6 weeks with a well-balanced liquid fertilizer.
Avoid fertilizing during the winter since this will be detrimental to your anthurium.
Common Pests and Diseases Associated with Anthuriums
Lily anthurium is not susceptible to extremely harmful pests and diseases. However be on the lookout for the following common houseplant pests; mealybugs, aphids, and spider mites. The use of neem oil or soapy water will aid in getting rid of these pests, but always spot the infestation earlier to mitigate the risks timely.
Bacterial blight, caused by extremely high humidity and temperatures, leads to bacterial infestation, which affects the foliage tissues and leads to scorching. Lowering humidity and temperatures subsequently should help control the issue. Disinfect all the tools used during any cutting of the anthuriums to avoid the bacterial blight spreading further. Bacterial wilt is another common disease associated with the Flamingo flower, it can be identified by the yellowing of the leaves. improvement of hygiene including disinfection of all the tools used should be effective in responding to the spread, The use of fungicides with phosphoric acid can be used to prevent the infection.
How to Propagate Lily Anthurium
Once you are a proud parent and owner of one anthurium plant, you can easily multiply it to create many plants out of it. The best time to execute the propagation process is during the growing season, probably summer and spring.
It is pretty easy to propagate anthuriums but first maintain high levels of hygiene, and disinfect your cutting tools and other necessary tools needed during the propagation process to avoid the spread of any bacteria or encourage its infestation. Propagate anthuriums by cutting the stems and placing them in a rooting mix and transplant once rooted or through the division of a mature plant from the roots into multiple mini-anthurium plants, which can also be transplanted to independent pots.
Being keen on the above caring guide for anthurium will contribute to you being a great anthurium parent; leading to your Flamingo flower rewarding you with sleek and long-lasting blooms. Though blooming may take longer than expected, the wait is always worth it because once the flowers emerge you will enjoy them for 90 days and sometimes even more than 100 days depending on the variety and its respective breeder.
A symbol of love and hospitality, anthurium is such a delight and a great addition for all houseplant parents, whether in tropical zones or colder regions; you will have a worthwhile experience with the magic touch and moving character and presence of Lily anthurium.
Header image by @Just Add Ice Pinterest, Featured Image by @Backyard Eden.
