Featured Plant of the Week (Anthurium)

Anthurium

A number of tropical plants have appeared in this feature over the last year, so it made sense that with Valentine's approaching quickly one of the most attractive specimens should get its day in the sun. With heart shaped leaves and colors such as pink, purple, red and white you could hardly ask for a more appropriate plant than Anthurium this time of year. Read on to learn more about this hugely popular house plant.

The name Anthurium actually refers to an entire genus of something like 800 different species. Almost all of them are from the wet and mountainous tropical forests of Central and South America. Apparently Anthurium is not native to Asia at all, despite the genus' enormous size, though several specials have been successfully introduced to the rain forests there. Of the hundreds of species that make up the Anthurium genus only two are really grown commercially: Anthurium Anthurium scherzerianum and Anthurium andraeanum.

Anthurium scherzerianum is commonly called Pigtail Anthurium, a name it gets from the curly shape of its spadix (the stem in the center of the 'flower'). This species is mostly grown in Costa Rica, and is a popular house plant in Europe. However in the Americas the species of choice is Anthurium andraeanum. It's grown in enormous quantities by Hawaiian growers, so much so that some assume the plant is native to those islands. Anthurium andraeanum is the species carried by BloomRite® Gardens, and is the plant most commonly associated with the names Flamingo Flower, Painted Tongue, and Tail Flower.

Like a lot tropical species grown as house plants, our Anthuriums are epiphytes in the wild, meaning they grow on other, larger trees to get better access to the scarce light in dense rain forests. This has the practical upshot of allowing it to grow in or on very unusual mediums. Readers that have visited BloomRite® Gardens are probably familiar with our Anthuriums planted on volcanic pumice soaked in water, or our Anthurium glass vases in which the plant roots in nothing more than water and a dozen or so smooth stones.

Another aspect of the plant it shares with other tropicals is that what people often identify as the heart shaped 'flower' is actually one large bract called a spathe. The flowers are actually tiny and grow on the stem in the center of the bract, which is called a spadix in botanical parlance. Since this colored bract is really just like any other leaf of the plant, Anthuriums keep their color when most flowering plants have long since bloomed out. This feature combined with its preference for wet places gives Anthurium an excellent vase life and makes it a popular cut flower.

Caring for Anthuriums is a straightforward affair. The most important things to remember is that it prefers bright light but not sunshine, and that it should be watered thoroughly but drain well. Keep it in indoor temperatures around 60°F to 70°F, and in winter when the temperatures drop a bit ease back the amount of watering the plant gets.

You can find Anthurium at BloomRite® Gardens right now in 4 inch and 6 inch grower's pots for $4.95 and $9.85, respectively. Call ahead for information about availability of colors, and we'll try to get you what you need!