Anthurium is an evergreen exotic plant of the Aroid family, with more than 800 species. The name of the plant is made up of the Greek words "flower" and "tail", which determine the shape of its unusual "tailed" inflorescences. In some countries it is called the flamingo or love flower. Anthurium - "male happiness" - another name for the plant. Perhaps you will hear about one more of them soon.
What kind of anthurium is it?
The flower of love comes 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 semi-epiphytes), and species of terrestrial 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 shape - whole and dissected, in length - froma couple of centimeters up to 1 meter and a variety of surfaces - velvety, glossy, green and painted.
Flowering and growing in the apartment
Anthurium has magnificent flowers, blooming from spring to mid-October. Original inflorescences in the form of an ear-tail with a veil - an inflorescence petal of different sizes and colors, from greenish to brightly colored, with a matte or shiny waxy surface. In different species, flowers have different smells, depending on the insects attracted to pollination. After pollination, fruits ripen on the cob - juicy berries of different colors.
In room conditions, anthurium, the flower of love, is grown in pots. Plastic ones are better suited, they maintain the soil temperature equal to the environment. For the superficial root system of anthurium, a small wide pot is suitable. A drainage layer with a volume of 1/3 of the pot is laid at the bottom of the container. You can buy a ready-made substrate, but it is possible to prepare the mixture yourself. Mix leafy 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 sod land (2 parts), sand (1 part) and chopped moss (1 part). There are many cooking methods, but the main thing is that the soil should be loose, well ventilated, retain nutrients and moisture, and be 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 root division, cuttings, lateral offspring). The flower of love at home is propagated by dividing the bush or stem cuttings. Anthurium has fragile roots, and it is sensitive to their division. After the procedure, the separated parts need warmth and frequent spraying. When propagated by stem cuttings, they are rooted in perlite or sand at high humidity, creating greenhouse conditions using a glass cap or film. It is also possible to reproduce by lateral offspring, which are separated from the stem and planted in pots with light porous soil. The collected seeds, extracting from the fruits, are 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.
Water, temperature, spraying, transplanting
Anthurium is a tropical plant, so it likes damp rooms. Leaves are sprayed at least 3 times in summer, less often in winter. Watering should be regular, but moderate, as a lack or excess of moisture causes a number of diseases. The lack of air humidity leads to damage by spider mites and scale insects. And waterlogging of the soil leads to rotting of the roots and stems, therefore, before watering, they check the level of soil moisture with a wooden stick: the substrate should dry from one third to half of the pot. Starting in autumn, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1-3 times a week. To maintain the required air humidity, the stems of the plant are wrappedregularly moistened sphagnum moss, which nourishes aerial roots with moisture, stimulating their growth. In summer, it is necessary to spray the leaves with soft water, avoiding contact with flowers.
Top dressing is carried out in spring and summer with fertilizers for aroids 1 time in 2 - 3 weeks, and if necessary - every week. Foliar top dressing of leaves also has a positive effect. Anthurium, the flower of love, does not like excess lime and s alts, so they feed it with fertilizers of dilute concentration. The plant loves well-lit places, but without direct sunlight. Ampel 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 is 20-28 ° C, in autumn-winter time - 15-16 ° C (minimum - 12 ° C). For early flowering from January, gradually increase the temperature to 20-25 ° C.
Young plants are transplanted every year during the active growth phase. An adult anthurium is transplanted into a more nutritious soil 1 time in a period of 3 to 4 years. It is better to transfer large specimens to another pot - this is less stress for them. Plants are transplanted a little deeper than before transplanting, placing young stem roots in the ground. It should be remembered that anthurium juice contains poison. The plant must be handled with care when transplanting and pruning, kept out of the reach of children and pets. For all its exactingness, Anthurium will gratefully respond to worries, delighting with its exotic beauty.
