Anthurium is an evergreen exotic plant of the Aroid family, numbering more than 800 species. The name of the plant consists of the Greek words "flower" and "tail", which determine the shape of its unusual "tailed" inflorescences. In some countries it is called a flamingo or love flower. Anthurium - "male happiness" - another name for the plant. Perhaps soon you will hear about one of them.
What is it - anthurium?
The flower of love hails from the tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America. Many of its species have aerial roots and grow in forests on trees, using them as a support (epiphytes and half-epiphytes), types of land plants are also common. It is grown as a garden or indoor plant, cut flowers and leaves are used in bouquets. The height of indoor plants is on average up to 1 m. The leaves of different specimens differ in their shapes - whole and dissected, in length - from a couple of centimeters to 1 meter and a diverse surface - velvety, glossy, green and painted.
Flowering and growing in the apartment
Anthurium has magnificent flowers blooming from spring until mid-October. Original inflorescences in the form of a cob-tail with a veil - a bract petal of various sizes and colors, from greenish to brightly colored, with a matte or shiny wax surface. Different species of flowers have different smells, depending on the pollination of insects. After pollination, the fruits ripen on the cob - juicy berries of different colors.
Indoor, anthurium, a flower of love, is grown in pots. Plastic ones are better suited; they maintain soil temperature equal to the environment. A shallow wide pot is suitable for the superficial root system of anthurium. At the bottom of the tank lay a drainage layer with a volume of 1/3 of the pot. You can buy a finished substrate, but it is possible to prepare the mixture yourself. Mix sheet soil (2 parts) with peat (2 parts), adding sand and large particles of bark (1 part each), as well as a couple of pieces of charcoal, or prepare a mixture of peat (4 parts) and turf land (2 parts), sand (1 part) and chopped moss (1 part). There are many ways to cook, but the main thing is that the soil should be loose, well ventilated, preserve nutrients and moisture, and it’s easy to dry. Anthuriums grow well on large pieces of pine bark, coconut "chips" and in special containers for hydroponics.
Breeding
Anthurium is propagated by seeds and vegetatively (by dividing the root, cuttings, lateral offspring). The flower of love at home is propagated by dividing the bush or stem-shaped cuttings. Anthurium has fragile roots, and it is sensitive to their division. After the procedure, the separated parts need heat and frequent spraying. When propagated by stem cuttings, they are rooted in perlite or sand at high humidity, creating greenhouse conditions with a glass cap or film. It is also possible propagation by lateral offspring, which are separated from the stem and planted in pots with light porous soil. Harvested seeds, extracting from the fruit, immediately laid out in loose peat or leafy soil with a slight indentation. After germination, they are dived into boxes with loose earth, regularly watered and sprayed.
Watering, temperature, spraying, transplanting
Anthurium is a tropical plant, therefore, loves wet rooms. Leaves are sprayed in summer at least 3 times, less often in winter. Watering should be regular, but moderate, since a lack or excess of moisture causes a number of diseases. A lack of humidity leads to damage by a spider mite and a scab. And waterlogging of the soil leads to rotting of the roots and stems, therefore, before watering, check the soil moisture level with a wooden stick: the substrate should dry from one third to half of the pot. Since the fall, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1-3 times a week. To maintain the necessary humidity, the stems of the plant are wrapped in regularly moistened sphagnum moss, which nourishes air roots with moisture, stimulating their growth. In summer, you need to spray the leaves with soft water, avoiding contact with the flowers.
Top dressing is carried out in spring and summer with fertilizers for aroid 1 time in 2 - 3 weeks, and if necessary - every week. Foliar top dressing of leaves also has a positive effect. He does not like excess lime and salts, anthurium, a flower of love, so they feed it with fertilizers of diluted concentration. The plant loves well-lit places, but without direct sunlight. Ampelic varieties grow well in partial shade. The optimal choice of windows in the apartment is east and northwest. The heat-loving anthurium is afraid of sudden changes in temperature and drafts. In summer, a suitable temperature of 20-28 ° C, in the autumn-winter time - 15-16 ° C (minimum - 12 ° C). For early flowering from January, the temperature is gradually increased to 20-25 ° C.
Young plants are transplanted every year into the active phase of growth. Adult anthurium is transplanted into a more nutritious soil 1 time in a period of 3 to 4 years. Larger specimens are best handled in a different pot - this is less stress for them. Plants are transplanted a little deeper than before transplantation, placing young stem roots in the ground. It should be remembered that the juice of anthurium contains poison. The plant should be handled with care when transplanting and pruning, keep out of the reach of children and pets. For all its exactingness, the anthurium will gratefully respond to its concerns, delighting with its exotic beauty.