Plants from the Anthurium genus are known to be long-lasting and bold. They can still thrive in cold temperatures, though nothing beats their growing momentum than keeping them in warm conditions. This Crystallinum is surprisingly hardy.
Are Anthurium Crystallinum plants easy to care for? With any indoor plant with growth specificities, it may seem difficult to grow this one if you are a beginner. Knowing how to plant, repot, fertilize and select the soil is easy.
Why Have Anthurium Crystallinum in your Home
Anthuriums are the world’s longest-bloomer plants. Preferred for their large leaves over flowers, they are increasingly becoming popular houseplants.
In addition to their long-lasting flowering, these are incredibly beautiful to have indoors. They naturally aid in air purification by the removal of toxins.
The dark green, red-purple leaves of Anthurium Crystallinum make it stand out in those indoor spaces with visual appeal.
It produces less noticeable green-yellow inflorescences. These inflorescences are surrounded by green sheath-like enclosures known as spathes. The spathes change onto white-purple berry fruit.
Growth and Description
Anthurium Crystallinum is a slow grower. At its best performance levels, it can attain a maximum height of 30 – 60 inches (about 1.5 meters). Every 4 to 6 weeks, a new leaf develops.
When fully grown in suitable conditions, this one can reach its full potential as a houseplant. The leaves can expand and become pretty huge (both indoors and outdoors). With up-to-date maintenance, anthurium Crystallinum leaves can grow and expand up to 18 inches wide (0.45 meters).
The fact that this one is a slow-grower does not mean it cannot transform your bedrooms and living rooms. In the summer and springtime, most (if not all Anthuriums) grow pretty quickly. And once it has matured, growth slows down more noticeably.
How Long does it Take for my Plant to Grow?
Anthurium Crystallinum is a slow grower, but its leaves can reach an impressive size when fully mature. Most of the growth happens over spring and summer when you can expect to see a new leaf on your plant every 4 – 6 weeks.
The maximum height Anthurium Crystallinum can attain is between 30 – 60 inches (0.8 – 1.5 meters), depending on several factors. The average leaf size reaches an impressive 18 inches (0.45 meters) even when kept indoors.
How to Care for your Anthurium Crystallinum
As with many other houseplant care, here are crucial care details.
Situating your Anthurium – Light Needs
Being a tropical plant, this beauty needs ample space with bright, filtered natural or grow light.
In terms of location, below are the top ideas for finding a suitable spot for your anthuriums.
If you are located along the tropical regions:
- Place your plant 5 – 8 ft. off the window sill
- Prevent direct heat from the sun from reaching the leaves
- Fit lights filters for the east and west-facing windows
- If night temperatures deep below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, you can elevate humidity and temperature
- Alternatively, do not keep your plants outdoors during the night
- Keep them away from heaters and heating vents
If you live in regions outside the tropics:
- The South-facing windows are an ideal location for anthurium crystallinum
- You should fit both South and North facing windows with a translucent curtain or 20% shade cloth.
If disregarded, the harsh direct light will cause yellow or sun-scorched leaves.
If your home is poorly lit:
- Invest in grow lights
Watering your Anthurium Crystallinum
During the summer and spring, your houseplant will need water to encourage growth while maintaining its health.
Watering your Anthurium Crystallinum can be simple with how-to and when-to detail. From what I know about water and Anthurium plants, here are some good tips for any starter:
- Once root bound, the plant will retain more water
- When watering, soak the potting material with water at room temperature
- Allow excess water to drain out of the holes before situating the plant in its usual spot
- You may need to water your houseplant less in the winter and fall than in the summer.
Temperature and Humidity Combo
Your houseplant will thrive in rooms with 70 – 80% RH.
If your current indoor garden cannot support humidity within these levels, don’t worry. Here are easy ways to increase humidity.
- occasional misting
- placing shallow water with rocks
- using a humidifier
- placing it in the bathroom
- situating the plant above the kitchen cabinets adjacent to the sink
The living conditions for most household rooms are ideal for your Anthurium crystallinum.
While the use of heating devices is not safe for this plant (even if you stay in cooler regions) work with your humidity devices. Or opt to keep your plant in greenhouses.
Anthurium crystallinum enjoys a slightly higher humidity level than that in most home living rooms. Essentially, Anthurium houseplants will be happy in gardens with the capacity to hold 70 to 80 percent of air humidity.
Anthurium crystallinum thrives in a hot and humid environment in its natural habitat. An ideal temperature range for indoor gardens and rooms is the temperature between 55 – 75 degrees F. (13 – 24 degrees C)
Soil (for Growing + Repotting)
How do you make potting soil for anthurium crystallinum?
Besides the plant roots preferring well-draining soil, they should not contain fine particles. The root hairs require a course rooting material.
The easiest way to come up with a suitable soil mix is to find the right ingredients. DIY blends at the best.
If you are reporting for the first time, just have equal parts of peat moss, rice husks, pine bark, and crumbled aquarium charcoal.
If the plant is a few months old, select perlite instead of rice husks.
In subsequent repotting, you can go for coarse river sand or tiny soft pieces of brick.
Pot Material and Size for your Anthurium
Throughout the growing stages, your anthurium should be offered a new pot. And fresh potting mix too. You’ll also need to upgrade to a slightly larger but every time you replant it.
In terms of pot sizes, anthurium roots are best suited to a low pot that drains well. Terracotta pots of widths 5 to 8 inches are very common. Plastic pots of width sizes 4 to 10 inches are great.
In terms of potting material, if you go for rice husks think of laying a single layer of pebbles at the base.
If you opt for more coarse soil ingredients like charcoal, you may leave out the pebbles.
The best pot material from these houseplants is a well-draining plastic.
Fertilizer for your Anthurium
Feeding/fertilizing your anthurium crystallinum depends on the fertility and productivity of the soil.
If you use a nutritious blend of highly nutrient-retaining ingredients, you might think of fertilizing less or just ignore it.
However, if your plant fails to bloom even in the provision of crucial conditions, consider an additional nutrient injection.
For best results, go for slow-release phosphorus fertilizer. Dilute it to 1/4 strength. Then apply once every month.
During the growing season, limit feeding your anthuriums to 6 to 8 weeks during the growing season.
Alternatively, go for a commercial or well-aerated, and finished organic compost.
Repotting
The optimal and best timing for repotting these flowering plants is when the blooms have wilted.
Once your anthurium has outgrown its current port size you can start the replanting procedure.
How-to-when Repotting Tips
Knowing when to graduate your plan to a fresh pot based on the signs is better than most.
Normally it requires two to three years for the plants to outgrow the current pot but this is not always the case.
Obvious signs that your plant is outgrowing include:
- Roots peeping the drainage holes
- Your plant has grown more than 20 inches in height and 5-inch width
- Water draining out with difficulty or the plant retaining moisture for a long time
To replant yours:
- Carefully remove the houseplant from its pot
- Cut off brown and wilted flowers
- Then select a slightly larger pot
- Use your DIY so you blend feel 1/3 of the selected new pot
- Place your plant gently on top of the newly prepared vessel
- Use three times the amount or 1.5 cups of water until new leaves have started to form
Always ensure to drain away excess water.
Pruning or Trimming your Anthurium
When a majority of your anthurium Crystallinum plant parts look old and overgrown you can prune it. Trimming brown and dead plant parts will encourage new leaves and blooms.
Trimming is often viewed as low maintenance to the performance of your plant. Occasionally you can prune this houseplant. Regular or frequent pruning will deprive your plant of the energy to grow new leaves and flowers.
Always use small sterilized pruning shears.
Staking – Do Anthuriums need to be Supported?
Anthurium Crystallinum is a climbing epiphyte that seeks support from nearby plants in the rainforest to reach its maximum height. To promote the growth of your Crystallinum and to ensure that it doesn’t buckle under its weight, use a moss pole that the plant can use to spread higher and broader.
Common Pests and Diseases
Your plant can become a culprit for pests and diseases. While this one is less vulnerable to tiny pests, it is not immune to fungal and bacterial infections.
Common pests include aphids, mealybugs, thrips, and spider mites.
Alternatively, you may opt for using a neem oil spray. This guide shows you how to use neem oil as an insecticide.
Root rot (Pythium Fungal Infection)
While ample humidity and moisture are beneficial to the plant, too many of these have consequential outcomes. Flooding the pots may lead to the growth of fungal diseases. High moisture and humidity can also encourage certain pests to start moving in.
Bacterial blight
Bacterial blight may greatly impact the growth of anthuriums. It becomes a hectic disease to treat and control as it loves high humidity as much as Crystallinum does.
Treating this one is best done through an integrated approach:
- Go for tissue-cultured or pathogen-free cuttings
- Avoid overhead irrigation
- Immediately remove infected houseplants
- Then follow this with disinfection of clothing and garden implements (back this up with vigilant surveillance
- Ensure balanced nutrition (including avoidance of excess nitrogen)
- Ensure the potting medium has good drainage, aeration
- Placing your anthurium in cool areas (25–28°C) could reduce disease development
Anthurium leaf tips Turning Brown and Crispy
Normally brown and crispy (dry) leaf tips in your anthuriums are indications of either one or all of the following issues:
- too much sunlight
- humidity levels have dipped
- you’re overfertilizing
Besides solving the above with care tweaks, you also need to shield your plant against intense light and cold.
Your plant should recover in successive growth of leaves (foliage).
Leaves Turning Yellow
Subjecting your Anthurium to stressful threats and conditions will often lead to distress. One of the common signs of this discomfort in plants is leaves turning yellow. Here are the reasons why:
- Underwatering
- Overwatering (persistent yellowing and drooping leaves)
- Pest infestation
Toxicity
This plant material and all parts are considered toxic if swallowed or eaten. The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals that can irritate the mouth and the gastrointestinal tract.
If accidentally eaten, the symptoms are usually presented in terms of pain. These symptoms include (but are not limited to):
- painful sensation in the mouth
- vomiting
- drooling
- fussy eating
- diarrhea
How to Propagate Anthurium Crystallinum
You can reproduce these plants by either seeds or manipulations of stem cutting.
Propagation by seed
Since these tropical plants produce flowers, it is safe to say you can propagate them by seed. However, it is quite tricky because Anthuriums don’t produce fruits. As such you need to collect seeds.
This plant will bear both male and female flowers. While females come first, having a good number of flowering plants (at different stages of development) for it to work out very successfully.
Here are how-to tips and tricks to have seeds that will germinate.
- Induce your Anthurium to produce pollen grains
- Store the collected pollen in a cold and sterile place such as a refrigerator
- Wait for the onset of the first flowers on different anthuriums
- Occasionally, touch the spike of the flowers to feel their firmness
- When the spadix appears bumpy, apply the pollen grains to them
- For increased success rate, do this with several other Anthurium crystallinum
Propagating these houseplants through seeds is quite challenging to execute.
It normally takes longer for seeds to be developed and then extracted. It’s also quite difficult to germinate seeds on the plant’s spadix.
Ultimately, even after successful seed development and germination, the resultant plant will naturally take a long time to mature. It’s it requires patience and courage to grow these plants.
Propagation through Root Division
The nature of growth makes this plant a candidate for root division. The procedure is also straightforward.
- Gently remove the plant from its pot
- Examine the stem and roots
- Identify parts of the stem that has independently formed roots/system
- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut along the stem to divide it up into two or more viable plantlets
- Replant each plantlet in its suitable pot size
Water immediately after transplanting to help reduce transplant shock effects.
Stem Cutting Propagation
Can you propagate stem cutting from anthurium crystallinum? Yes. Here is how to take stem cuttings from an Anthurium.
Can you Grow Anthurium Outdoors?
Yes. You can grow these pants in outdoor rooms and spaces. The most critical aspect of growth that you need to look after is warmth and its fluctuations.
Ensure that temperatures in those outdoor spaces you wish to have your plant living in don’t drop below 60F.
One thing that anthuriums can’t withstand for a moment is intense heat and high wind.
Outdoors, these plants are great additions for landscape enhancement. They are great for the patio and porch.
References and Sources
- Anthurium. ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/anthurium. Accessed online 5th January 2023.
- An ‘It’ Flower for a Feminist Moment. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/style/anthurium-flowers.html. Accessed online 5th January 2023
- Anthurium crystallinum. RHS. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/25099/anthurium-crystallinum/details. Accessed online 5th January 2023