Anthurium - flower of love

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 "caudate" inflorescences. In some countries it is called a flamingo flower or love. Anthurium - "male happiness" - another name for the plant. Perhaps soon you will hear about one of them.

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 common. Grow it as a garden or indoor plant, cut flowers and leaves used in bouquets. The height of houseplants is on average up to 1 m. Leaves of different specimens differ in shape - whole and dissected, length - from a couple of centimeters to 1 meter and a diverse surface - velvety, glossy, green and painted.

Flowering and growing in an apartment

Anthurium has magnificent flowers blooming from spring to mid-October. Original inflorescences in the form of a cob-tail with a coverlet - a color petal of various 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 that are attracted to pollination. After pollination on the ear, fruits are ripened - juicy berries of different colors.

In the room, an anturium, a flower of love, is grown in pots. Better fit plastic, they retain soil temperature equal to the environment. A shallow wide pot is suitable for the surface root system of anthurium. At the bottom of the tank lay a drainage layer with a volume of 1/3 part of the pot. You can buy a ready-made substrate, but it's possible to prepare the mixture yourself. Mix the leafy earth (2 parts) with peat (2 parts), adding sand and large bark particles (1 part each), and also charcoal a couple of pieces, or prepare a mixture of peat (4 parts) and turf ground (2 parts), Sand (1 part) and chopped moss (1 part). There are a lot of cooking methods, but the main thing is that the soil should be loose, well ventilated, preserve nutrients and moisture, while it is easy to dry. Anthuriums grow well on large pieces of pine bark, coconut "chips" and in special containers for hydroponics.

Breeding

Seeds and vegetatively (by dividing the root, cuttings, side offspring) are propagated anthurium. A flower of love at home is multiplied by dividing the bush or stem-like cuttings. Anthurium has fragile roots, and it is sensitive to their division. After the procedure, the separated parts need warmth and frequent spraying. When propagating with stem cuttings, they are rooted in pearl or sand with high humidity, creating a hothouse environment with 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 a light porous soil. Collected seeds, extracting from the fruit, immediately put into a loose peat or leafy ground with a slight indentation. After emergence, they are dived into boxes with loose earth, regularly watered and sprayed.

Watering, temperature, sprinkling, transplantation

Anthurium is a tropical plant, therefore it loves damp rooms. Leaves are sprinkled in the summer at least 3 times, in winter less often. Irrigation should be regular, but moderate, as a lack or excess moisture causes a number of diseases. The lack of air humidity leads to damage by a spider mite and a scabbard. A waterlogging of the soil leads to decay of roots and stems, so before watering, check the moisture level of the soil with a wooden stick: the substrate must dry from one third to half of the pot. Since the autumn, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1-3 times a week. To maintain the necessary humidity of the air, the plant stems are wrapped regularly with moistened sphagnum moss, which feeds the air roots with moisture, stimulating their growth. In summer, it is necessary to spray the leaves with soft water, avoiding falling on the flowers.

Fertilizers are carried out in spring and summer fertilizers for aroids 1 time in 2 - 3 weeks, and if necessary - every week. A foliar top-dressing of leaves is also beneficial. He does not like excess of lime and anthurium salts, a flower of love, therefore they feed him with fertilizers of dilute concentration. The plant loves well-lit places, but without the direct rays of the sun. Ampel varieties grow well in the penumbra. The optimal choice of windows in the apartment - the eastern and north-western. Thermophilic anthurium is afraid of sudden changes in temperature and drafts. In summer, suitable temperature is 20-28 ° C, in autumn-winter time - 15-16 ° C (minimum - 12 ° C). For early flowering since January, gradually increase the temperature to 20-25 ° C.

Transplantation of young plants is carried out every year in the active phase of growth. An adult anthurium is transplanted into a more nutritious soil 1 time in the period from 3 to 4 years. Large specimens are better to be transferred to another pot - this is less stress for them. Transplanted plants are slightly deeper than before transplantation, placing young stem roots in the ground. It should be remembered that the juice of anthurium contains poison. With the plant, you must be careful when transplanting and pruning, keep in places that are inaccessible to children and pets. For all its exactingness Anthurium gratefully responds to cares, delighting with its exotic beauty.