Proper Care For An Anthurium Flamingo FLower
Ask the Expert: Flamingo Lily care
I recently acquired a plant at a yard sale. The lady who had it didn’t know what it was but said that she kept it in direct sunlight and when she moved it it didn’t bloom. She also said it was quite huge and she had given it a “hair cut” and it’s come back beautiful.
I did some research and found out it’s a Flamingo Lily? It has beautiful Salmon pink blooms. It looks very healthy , and is starting to get root bound in its 6″ pot. My question is this.. I’ve tried to research proper care for this plant and have come up with variations from full sun to shade, and from keep it wet to dry it out. The only common factor is to keep the humidity up by misting it. HELP!! Also, how root bound do they like to be? Should I be transplanting it to an 8″ pot? What kind of fertilizer should I use, how often?
I’ve attached pics of my Flamingo Lily?
Thank you for taking the time to read, and answer my question. Shannon
May 27th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Shannon,
You do have an Anthurium andraeanum ‘Flamingo’. It is easy to find conflicting information about plant care. So, it is best to understand the natural environment in order to understand which plant care is best for your particular plant. Anthurium is a rather large genus of evergreen perennials from the wet mountain forest in tropical and subtropical North and South America.
From this information we can gather the needs of the plant. Humidity is definitely important so mist your plant every few days or keep in an area with natural humidity like a kitchen or bathroom. When you mist use lukewarm water and spray the plant evenly. It likes to be kept moist, but here is the kicker, it can’t be soggy. So it needs to be in a soil that is loose, humus rich and drains well. When you water moisten the soil evenly. Provide a constant temperature and a little towards the warm side at that. Keep away from air vents. With light you want to create the same situation as the tropical forest. Bright filtered light; in other words don’t let the sun shine directly on the plant. Don’t place Anthurium in a window, instead place on a table where it will receive light from the window but in a diffused manner. Use a balanced fertilizer every three to four weeks.
Anthurium usually need to be re-pot every couple of years. When the roots of the plant have basically taken over the soil content, it is time to re-pot. Here in the south the rule of thumb is to use a container that is “half again as big” This means if you are in a 6″ pot you will need a 9″ or 10″ pot. I hope this information is beneficial.
For those of you interested in Anthurium and want one of your own contact your local florists, they may have Anthurium plants available or for special occasions may be able to order the flower and create a tropical arrangement.
May 27th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Jamie,
Thank you for the quick response to my questions. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to help me out. Now that I know how to properly care for my beautiful new plan, I can give it a good and healthy environment.
Again, thank you!
Shannon
June 13th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Hi
I also have an Anthirium which when I bought had several flowers. Since then all the flowers have fallen off. I was feeding it with liquid potash once a week but then most of the leaves browned and dried out to about half of the leaf. I have it near a window and water about once a week. When I bought it seemed to have a lot more leaves and it appears quite leggy.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards
Suzy
September 24th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Hi,
I got my Anthurium sometime around May and it had beautiful leaves and 4 pretty pink flowers. A couple of days after I got it I noticed that it had centipede or milipede type worms in it. so I got some miracle grow 3 month fertilizer soil and not knowing that it didn’t like large pots, I put it in a larger pot. Bad idea, because I noticed that one of the flowers had started to turn brown and died. I kept reading that it liked to be in warm temperatures so I put it close to the window but not in it because it said that it didn’t like direct sunlight. My flowers still died. Another think I noticed was that it didn’t like to be in cold climates and the temporary office i was in was freezing to me so I know my plant was cold, but when I came back to MY office and brought my plant with me, the temperature was much warmer. My flowers continued to die. so, I took it home and put it into a smaller pot with a drainage hole in the bottom and put a saucer underneath it. I put it in my window, with the blinds closed (that room gets very bright in the mornings), and now I’m down to 2-3 healthy leaves and no flowers. The rest of the leaves turned brown as if they were being burned from the center and out. So I cut those off and I noticed that where I cut them the plant stems have dried out and turned hard like wood. Please tell me what I can do to bring my beautiful plant back to life. Did I torture it and it’s just given up or is there still hope for it?
September 24th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Myisha,
First cut off all of the dead. Then make sure the soil is moist but not soggy. Now LEAVE IT ALONE!!! You plant is going through shock and moving it and constant change will keep it in shock. So your best course of action is to leave it alone for a week or two. Then you should see the plant perk up. Flowers will be the first thing compromised by stress. It may take a time before you see flowers again. Be patient. Keep me posted.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Thanx. I will and I have left it alone and won’t touch it except to water and mist it. Nothing else. Thanx for getting back with me so fast with your advice. Is the mixture I’m using good for it…It’s 2 tablespoons of epsom salt and 1 gallon of water.
September 26th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Myisha,
“And the plot thickens”. I think I know what is causing the downfall of the plant. You need to stop adding the epsom salt. One you have change the salinity of the water and too add something that the plant doesn’t need extra of Magnesium sulfate. Change the water and use plain distilled water. I always recommend distilled water because it doesn’t introduce other trace elements to the plant. Good Luck.