How to Grow and Care for Anthurium Houseplants

Anthurium spp.

My favorite houseplant is the flamingo lily. It’s a type of Anthurium, a genus that includes about 825 species.

This particular species, A. andraeanum, has heart-shaped spathes that add vibrant color to my indoor decor without demanding a huge amount of effort on my part.

I admire colorful houseplants, particularly in the dark days of winter, and these have the added advantage of retaining their color over the course of weeks, not days.

Plus, when they’re not showing out in shades of red, magenta, orange, or yellow, the glossy leaves are attractive on their own.

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There are several other species of Anthurium you may come across, also being grown as tropical foliage houseplants, and they are striking as well.

Some of these herbaceous perennials can be grown outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 and up.

But if you don’t live where it’s warm, you can still enjoy these splashy specimens indoors year round, and that’s what I’ll focus on here.

Follow along to learn about the non-flower “flowers” on many varieties and discover how to keep your anthurium healthy throughout the year when you grow it indoors as a houseplant.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

Tropical plants that originated in tropical regions of North and South America, primarily Colombia and Ecuador, anthuriums are epiphytes.

This means they’re air plants that grow in the wild on the surface of other plants via aerial roots.

They are known by various other common names such as boy flower, flamingo flower, flamingo lily, laceleaf, and oilcloth flower.

The most unique trait of certain anthurium species is the part that gives the plant its color. They resemble flowers, and many folks refer to them as such, but they aren’t really flowers at all!

Instead, those vibrantly colored, heart-shaped portions of an anthurium plant are actually modified leaf bracts known as spathes, similar to what you would see on peace lilies.

Spathes serve a protective function while the flowers are developing, and they also help to attract pollinators when the time is right.

A spadix, a short inflorescence with a fleshy stalk, protrudes from the center of the spathe.

This is where the tiny flowers grow, arranged in spirals around the outside, and these are so small that you can barely see them.

One of the most colorful species grown indoors is my favorite, A. andraeanum, which grows about two feet tall and produces numerous shades of colored spathes.

Another is A. scherzerianum, which grows to about 18 inches tall and produces deep red spathes that have red-orange spadices at their centers.

This color combo probably inspired this variety’s common name, flamingo flower, which is sometimes applied to A. andraeanum as well.

A few other noteworthy anthurium species also produce spathes, but they are minimal, and these varieties are grown more for their striking foliage.

A. clarinervium, also known as the velvet cardboard anthurium, features deep green leaves with yellow-white contrasting veins.

A. crystallinum has a similar appearance, with less deeply lobed leaves.

Another variety that has fans among indoor gardeners is A. luxurians, though it’s rare and hard to find. It boasts puckered, leathery, dark green leaves.

Despite their differences in appearance, you can expect all the anthurium species you’re likely to see available for growing as houseplants to have aerial roots.

These are necessary for climbing surfaces in the tropics, but serve as a way to form new plants for propagation when you grow them indoors.

While A. andraeanum is commonly associated with the Hawaiian Islands today, it didn’t actually arrive there until 1889.

Samuel Mills Damon, the son of American missionaries, was a politician and banker in the Kingdom of Hawaii during the 19th century, serving on the board of sugar plantations.

He inherited a large piece of land called Moanalua from a Hawaiian princess and developed part of it into a botanical garden filled with many different species from around the world.

Damon visited London for Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee and brought back an anthurium plant for his collection.

Today, the average indoor gardener who’s willing to provide humidity and a few other growing requirements can also have beautiful, colorful anthuriums in the house.

A Note of Caution: While anthurium houseplants aren’t lethally toxic, they are poisonous, and can harm humans, pets, or horses who consume them.

How to Grow

Preparation is key when you want these colorful houseplants to thrive.

You can use just about any type of container for growing anthurium, as long as it has drainage holes at the bottom and a saucer to catch the excess when you water.

Select a vessel that is about an inch or two wider than the root ball.

Soil

Like other air plants, anthuriums thrive in a coarse and porous growing medium that drains well.

You can achieve this with a mix that contains peat moss or coconut coir, pine bark, and perlite.

If you don’t want to mix those components yourself, you can use a combo of half cactus growing mix and half orchid mix.

Light

To maximize the number of colorful spathes with their quirky spadix tails, provide bright, indirect light.

Direct sunlight can scorch the leaves, while light levels that are too low cause the plants to grow slowly and form fewer spathes.

If you can set them up with a west or south-facing window, they’ll like that.

Temperature and Humidity

While you’re lining up the ideal growing conditions, be sure that it’s also a spot where they can enjoy temperatures between 78 and 90°F during the day, and 70 to 75°F at night.

They’ll do just fine in the 60s, but they won’t grow as fast or color up as often.

To avoid leaf damage, make sure to place them away from heating ducts, air conditioners, and drafty windows.

These tropical plants thrive in a humid environment. You can achieve that with a weekly misting with water or by increasing the relative humidity around the plants by using a humidity tray.

Water

Keep them watered whenever the top quarter of the soil is dry to the touch. Be sure to avoid overwatering as this can lead to root rot.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is not particularly important, but you can use a high-phosphorous mix, diluted to quarter-strength every three or four months to encourage more spathes to form.

Where to Buy

If you’d like to grow one of the types that is popular for its foliage, you’ll probably need to seek these out via a specialty vendor.

For the colorful varieties, there are more options. Red being the most popular, you can often find pink, purple, and white flamingo lilies available at nurseries and big box stores.

A. andreanum

You can find a red A. andreanum plant available from Costa Farms via Wayfair.

Maintenance

Prune away spent spathes to encourage more to form. Go ahead and clip any unhealthy stem segments or leaves at the same time.

Dust the leaves regularly to prevent a buildup of particles that can interfere with photosynthesis.

Be on the lookout for overgrown or compacted roots. While you want the roots to fill the container before you repot, this houseplant does not enjoy being rootbound.

When you can see the roots growing through the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot, it is time to size up your container.

Select a pot that has a diameter about two inches wider than the current pot, ensuring it has drainage holes.

Gently remove the plant from its existing pot. With sharp, clean scissors or a knife, trim any roots that look dead or withered.

Fill the new pot about a third of the way with growing medium. Center the plant in the soil, and backfill to cover the root ball by about an inch.

Propagation

Most gardeners who grow anthuriums pick up either small or fully mature plants from a local nursery, or order them online, and I heartily recommend either option.

Commercial growers typically propagate the plants via tissue culture, but it is easy to root cuttings or divide mature plants at home.

Germinating seeds is another possibility, though it is far slower. We cover this method in more detail in a separate guide.

From Cuttings

This is the simplest way to propagate new anthurium plants.

You will need a plant that has stems that are at least six inches long with at least a couple of leaves and two nodes each.

The nodes are the joints where roots will sprout.

Using a clean knife, trim off all the brown, leaf-like husks clinging to the stalk, and any colorful spathes.

Then use the knife to sever pieces from the stem, making sure each has two nodes to poke beneath the soil on one end, and a couple of leaves on the other end.

Jab each piece into a four-inch pot filled with a mix of half sand, and half peat moss or coconut coir.

Place the stalks vertically with the nodes positioned a couple of inches below the soil line, and the leaves above the surface.

Create the ideal environment by placing the pots somewhere that stays right around 70°F and features lots of bright, indirect light. Mist the soil and the cutting regularly.

Simply put the cut segments upright into a glass filled with two or three inches of water – enough to submerge the end with the nodes.

Place the cup of water in the same conditions you would if you were using soil to root a cutting.

Expect roots to form in a matter of weeks. Once they’re a few inches long, you have the option to plant the cuttings into pots or leave them to keep growing in water.

From Divisions

Select a mature plant with compacted roots. If you can spot them growing through the drainage hole in the container, that plant is ready.

Ease the anthurium from the pot and rest it on its side on a workspace protected with newspaper or a towel.

With a sharp knife, sever the root clump into two sections, assuring that each of the divided root clumps is attached to stems above the soil before you make the cut.

Gently pry the two plants apart, and then pot each in its own container of pre-moistened (but not saturated) soil. Voila! Two plants appear where there was once just one.

Pests and Disease

Anthuriums rarely have issues, but you should still make the effort to prevent these possible infestations and diseases:

Pests

While these tropical beauties don’t attract bugs the way some colorful houseplants do, you may still see the occasional pest.

Mealybugs

These lumpy little wingless insects look like grimy bits of gray, damp flour. Pleasant, huh?

They eventually form a white mass, and they’ll make the plants drop leaves or stop growing by sucking their sap, and leaving a sticky residue on the leaf surfaces.

If you don’t spot them outright, you may be able to tell they’ve attacked if your plants have yellow or shriveled leaves.

Learn more about how to deal with mealybugs here.

Scale

Coccus hesperidum are soft, flat bugs that are easily mistaken for growths on the stalks.

If they’ve made the leaves yellow already, you may need to use insecticidal soap or one of the other solutions described in our guide to managing scale.

Spider Mites

These pinhead-sized arachnids, Tetranychidae, thrive in the same conditions as tropical plants like anthurium.

They feed on foliage leaving behind brown and yellow spots, and teeny-tiny webs.

Eventually, the damage they cause will weaken the plant.

Prevention is the best approach. Spider mites like to attack grimy foliage, so make sure to dust the leaves once a month or so.

Learn more about managing spider mites.

Whiteflies

Small, light-colored, winged whiteflies (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) are sap-suckers, and they’ll happily make a meal from the foliage of your plant.

They, too, leave behind the “honeydew” that can attract sooty mold.

We offer top-notch advice for coping with whiteflies in our guide.

Find more tips on identifying and controlling anthurium pests here.

Diseases

It’s rare, but the attractive, healthy leaves that are so characteristic of anthurium may have occasion to turn yellow or brown.

Or, the plant might start wilting, or producing truncated leaves or stunted stems.

Natural aging can account for leaves fading and dropping from the lower regions of the plant.

It’s also possible that exposure to hot, direct sunlight has caused the foliage to dry up or look scorched, and that’s easily remedied with a move to a spot that provides bright, indirect light.

Leaf Blight

If, instead of a falling leaf now and again, the whole plant seems to be turning yellow or brown in a hurry, leaf blight could be the problem.

The water mold (oomycete) Phytophthora nicotianae thrives in moisture and humidity. It is spread via splashing water and causes leaf blight on anthuriums and a host of other plants.

Your plant may be suffering from blight if it starts developing black or brown spots of dead tissue on the margins and centers of its leaves.

One potential solution is to cut off the damaged leaves and repot the remainder of the plant in a newly sterilized pot filled with a fresh growing medium.

To prevent another case of leaf blight, eliminate overly-humid growing conditions, and be sure to only water your plants at the soil line, not overhead.

To learn how to bottom water houseplants, check out our guide.

Root Rot

Oomycetes in the Pythium genus are a common cause of root rot.

It affects the root system, which can lead to failure to take in water through the roots, and the affected plant will eventually turn yellow and die.

Make sure you let the water drain each time you water your plant and throw away any excess that pools in the saucer below.

Sadly, the only solution for root rot is often to simply toss the plant and start over.

We have a detailed guide on treating root rot here.

Indoor Anthurium Enthusiasm

If you’re a self-confessed houseplant murderer, being able to grow this peppy, resilient plant may help you redefine your relationship with indoor greenery.

It really is an easy-care option, and could be the gateway to an expanded collection. Or maybe you’ll stop at one, and that’s fine, too!

Do you grow anthuriums? Let us know in the comments section below!

And to read about more tropical houseplants, check out these guides next:

• How to Grow and Care for Christmas Cactus
• How to Grow and Care for Areca Palm
• How to Grow and Care for Rubber Trees