Crystal Anthurium

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Crystal anthurium (lat. Anthurium crystallinum) - tropical flora; perennial evergreen plant of the Anthurium genus of the Aroid family. Like its closest brethren, it prefers tropical humid mountain forests and slopes. It is most commonly found in South America and nearby islands. In Russia, it is used as a room culture. Very attractive and highly decorative.

Characteristics of culture

Crystal anthurium is represented by perennial herbaceous plants with green stems reaching a length of 25 cm. It is characterized by short internodes. The roots, in turn, are shortened, rather thick. The foliage is spreading, narrow, oval, thin, pointed at the tip, lobed at the base, endowed with cylindrical petioles of red-violet color. Foliage is the most attractive in crystal anthurium. It has a beautiful green tint with veins pale, like patterns. Vein located in the middle of the leaf, convex outward. The rest of the veins are smooth, located at an angle of 45 degrees.

The inflorescences of the crystal anthurium are vertical, spreading. They are endowed with long cylindrical pedicels. The coverlet is leathery to the touch, lanceolate, elongated, pointed at the top, green in color, often has a red-purple color at the instep. The ear is yellowish or green, narrowed at the top, no more than 15 cm long. The inflorescences, by the way, have a clove aroma, but not too pronounced. Fruits are narrow, ovoid berries of white color with a purple tint.

Growing features

Anthuriums are natives of the humid tropics, respectively, they should be grown in rooms with high humidity, ideally 80-95%. If the air is dry indoors, the plant will often hurt and bloom poorly. To prevent problems, it is recommended to install a humidifier in the room. Also, crystal anthurium is picky about lighting.

He loves a lot of sun, but he needs to be protected from direct sunlight. Experts advise placing flower pots on the windowsills on the east and west sides. You can install pots on the south side, but in this case it is important to protect the plants by hanging thick curtains on the windows, and place them at a distance of half a meter from the window.

In the cold season, it is important to maintain the air temperature in the room no more than 18C, but not less than 15C. It is advisable to install additional lighting, since the daylight hours in winter are short and the plant will not have enough light. Watering in cold weather should be reduced, but strong drying should not be allowed. Water must be used only filtered, settled, ideally boiled. In summer, watering should be more intense. Spraying is also recommended.

Transplant features

When transplanting, it is extremely important not to harm the root system. You need to work with the roots carefully. It is not worth planting anthuriums in large pots, as this will affect the growth of the aboveground mass, because the plant will use all its strength to grow roots. The first five years, the transplant is carried out annually, changing the substrate. After this period, a transplant can be carried out every three years. If the substrate acquires a whitish coating during this time, it is important to urgently replace it.

The substrate, in turn, must be loose, water and breathable. It is great if it consists of sod land, moss, expanded clay and coarse sand. It is important to arrange good drainage at the bottom of the pot, the layer should be at least 2.5-3 cm. It is important to make holes in the pot itself to drain excess water. It is important to remember that crystal anthurium, and other representatives of the genus, do not like waterlogging. Their root system can rot and the plant can die.