Brief Introduction Of Anthurium

Less than two hundred years ago, anthurium flowers looked completely different than the way they look today. They produced much plainer looking flowers and they grew untouched by man in the Amazonian rain forests of South America. It was not until the late 1800s that they were introduced to Hawaii by a man named Samuel Damon. Rather, they are fed through two of sources of nourishment. The first is decaying leaf litter. As leaves fall the collect around the roots of these plants and as the leaves decay, they provide a steady source of nutrients. Second, minerals from massive dust storms on the African continent are blown across the Atlantic and are deposited upon these plants when it rains.

When you keep your anthurium plant indoors, the great thing is you are not likely to run into any problems with pests, like scales, thrips and aphids. But if you do encounter these types of infestations you may cope with the majority of them by misting the leaves of your anthurium with water and cleaning them with a soft wash cloth. If this is not sufficient, you may use an insecticidal soap to hold these kinds of infestations at bay. The more difficult, but far more powerful, method to feed your plant is to use a liquid fertilizer. Should you choose to go down this path, you'll want to water down the fertilizer to 10 percent of its regular, recommended strength and use it weekly. This will take a lot more effort, however it may result in a bigger plant and larger flowers.

The 1940s were the decade when Hawaii's anthurium enthusiasts learned how to selectively breed these flowers to produce the dazzling varieties of flowers that we have today. Before this, these plants were propagated solely by cuttings, and when propagated by cuttings, the child plants end up looking exactly like the parent plants. These types of anthuriums usually come in solid colors and are heart shaped, the most famous color being red. While obake anthuriums, on the other hand, are larger than standard anthuriums and they usually come in an elongated heart shape and generally come in two or more colors. And finally, tulip anthuriums are shaped like tulips and come in pleasing colors like white, pink and purple. But if you do encounter these types of infestations you may cope with the majority of them by misting the leaves of your anthurium with water and cleaning them with a soft wash cloth. If this is not sufficient, you may use an insecticidal soap to hold these kinds of infestations at bay.