Anthuriums are known for their showy exotic flower bracts that come in vibrant shades of red, pink and white and often bloom year round. So if your anthurium isn’t flowering despite producing healthy looking foliage, it can be very frustrating.
Why is my Anthurium not flowering? Anthuriums are picky about their environment, and issues like soggy soil or insufficient lighting can prevent them from thriving. Encourage your anthurium to flower by providing plenty of indirect sunlight, good watering, high humidity, and weekly feedings with a diluted phosphorus-rich fertilizer.
In this article, we’ll look at the different issues that can prevent your Anthurium from flowering and discuss what you can do to fix the issues and encourage your plant to flower.
If you want all your indoor plants to bloom and bloom year after year, check out my book, “Houseplants Made Easy”.
Basics of Anthurium Houseplant Care
The best way to make your Anthurium houseplant thrive is to make sure you give it the desired growing environment.
Anthuriums are rainforest plants and most types of houseplants are epiphytic in nature, meaning they grow on trees similar to orchids and bromeliads. And just like orchids, they are quite picky about their environment.
That doesn’t mean they’re difficult to grow; it just means finding a good spot in your home for your potted anthurium and making sure you give it everything it needs so it has the energy to produce those showy flowers. This brief summary covers the basics of caring for an Anthurium houseplant.
Anthurium Houseplant Care Summary:
- Potting mix: Well-drained potting soil made from peat moss or pine bark
- Light: Indirect sunlight throughout the day.
- Temperature: 70-85°F (21-29°C)
- Humidity: High
- Water: Allow the soil to dry out slightly between waterings
- Fertilization: Weekly feeding with liquid fertilizer rich in phosphorus diluted at a concentration of 10-20%
- Transplant: Every two years
For more information on caring for Anthurium houseplants, see my full guide here.
In the following sections, we’ll look at each of these Anthurium care items to help you identify issues that could be the reason your Anthurium isn’t blooming.
Is your anthurium in the right soil?
One of the reasons an anthurium houseplant won’t flower may be the type of potting soil it’s growing in. If you don’t use a well-draining potting mix, the soil may not drain quickly enough each time you water it.
Soggy potting soil can smother roots by preventing them from taking in oxygen. This weakens the plant and robs it of the energy it needs to thrive and causes root rot.
Note that in the wild, these anthuriums grow on rainforest trees; so even if it rains a lot, its roots are exposed to the air instead of being buried in the ground. These plant roots are specially adapted to cycles of rain that come and go and do not tolerate soggy soils.
To promote healthy Anthurium growth and maintain consistent blooms, use a potting mix designed for orchids or make your own well-drained potting mix using peat moss or pine bark with growing media such as perlite or lava rock to ensure good drainage. the roots are well maintained. gauze.
And of course, make sure your planter has drainage holes in the bottom.
Well-draining potting soil for Anthurium to flowerLighting is the most common cause of an anthurium not flowering.
One of the most common reasons for Anthurium houseplants not flowering is lack of light.
Anthuriums can survive and even produce vigorous foliage in low-light conditions, but they won’t bloom if they don’t get a lot of direct sunlight. Your plant should be in a location where it receives bright but diffused light throughout the day, rather than a few hours a day.
If you don’t have enough light in your home or office, use a full spectrum grow light to ensure your Anthurium gets excellent light for 9 hours a day so you can enjoy the vibrant blooms that make these special plants. . a wonderful addition to your home.
Pale bracts indicate insufficient lighting. I moved this anthurium to lighter conditions to keep it in bloom and restore its bright red color.This temperature problem can prevent your anthurium from flowering
The temperature range of these tropical plants is 70-85°F (21-29°C), so Anthuriums are generally happy in most indoor environments, that is, as long as the plant is n is not exposed to drafts and other sudden temperatures. changes.
Anthuriums are very sensitive to rapid temperature changes that can occur if they are near an exterior door or window or near heating and cooling ducts. Exposure to drafts also has a negative effect on Anthuriums, such as air suddenly blowing directly at them from a room or an exhaust fan that keeps running.
So getting your Anthurium houseplant to flower can be as simple as moving a fan or finding a spot where your plant is protected from these kinds of local temperature swings.
Anthuriums and humidity
Anthuriums need a humid environment, so make sure there is plenty of humidity around your plant. Lack of moisture will cause foliage to lose its luster, which is an adaptation to the humid rainforest environment, and will reduce your plant’s resilience and ability to thrive.
To keep your anthurium’s local humidity high, you can group your houseplants together or place a humidifier nearby. You can also place the plant in a water tray, it’s just a shallow tray filled with pebbles and water so the pot doesn’t come into contact with water.
read this article I wrote about how to create the perfect humidity for your houseplants.
Keep in mind that with such humidity in the air, you need to balance the high humidity with some air movement to prevent mold and insect infestation.
So place a gentle fan nearby, but don’t let it blow air directly on the plant. In addition to sudden temperature changes, too much airflow will quickly dry out the anthurium and burn the foliage. You just want to make sure there is some air circulation in the area around the plant.
A good watering will make your anthurium bloom
Another problem that can prevent your anthurium houseplant from flowering is improper watering.
Since Anthuriums love moisture, it seems logical to conclude that you should keep plenty of water in your potting mix. But as mentioned earlier, their roots are used to being airy and they don’t do well in soggy soil. On the other hand, too little water will also be detrimental to your plant and its ability to thrive.
So what is the right amount of water for potted anthuriums?
With anthuriums, what you need to do is water the soil well in the pot, let the excess water drain out and then, with your finger or a wooden stick, check the humidity, water at again when the earth has dried out a bit, but without letting it evaporate. . dry completely.
Depending on the local climate, weather conditions, time of year, plant size, and other factors, you may need to water daily, every few days, or about once a week. For example, you may need to water more often in hot summer months than in cooler seasons.
My happy flamingo flower in bloomThe “Weak, Weekly” Fertilizing Method Will Help Your Anthurium Thrive
Although epiphytic Anthuriums growing in the wild do not benefit from natural soil processes that supply nutrients to plants, they constantly extract small amounts of dissolved minerals and nutrients from rainwater, decaying vegetation and other forest debris.
You can mimic nature and give your plant the nutrient boost it needs to thrive by feeding your potted Anthurium small amounts of phosphorus-rich liquid fertilizer once a week. Find a fertilizer formulated for flowering plants, dilute it to a low concentration of 10-20% and add it to the soil after watering it in or spray it on the foliage. This is a method known as “weak, weekly” and may be just what your anthurium needs to make it thrive.
Should you repot your anthurium for it to flourish?
Over time, your Anthurium’s potting soil will begin to break down and compact, depriving the roots of oxygen. Salts leached from manure can also accumulate in the soil. This soil condition can stress your anthurium and prevent it from flowering.
Repot your Anthurium every two years to avoid these problems. Anthurium roots like to be a little attached to the pot, so they grow little or not at all. And conversely, do not transplant simply because the roots have filled the pot.
Other reasons your Anthurium may need repotting are if you have it in the wrong type of potting mix and/or if the roots are damaged by soggy soil or too much water; this will stress the plant and deprive it of the energy it needs. needs before flowering.
Last word
Hopefully these tips will help you get your flamingo flower back on track to bloom again. It is a beautiful flowering houseplant, so your efforts will be well rewarded. If you want to know more about the care of Anthurium houseplants, I wrote another article complete guide take care of these beautiful plants.