If you want to raise a vibrant anthurium plant, choosing the correct planting medium is vital. Pick the incorrect soil mix and your plant may develop slowly, stop making flowers, or worse, it might even die. To choose the best potting soil, first you’ll need to learn more about where anthuriums grow in their native environment.
Anthuriums come from South America, where they live in lush, warm jungles, mainly on the trunks of trees or in the canopy of the forest.
Why do anthuriums grow on trees? They grow on trees because it enables them to receive a great deal of water from fog and rain, while still being exposed to drying breezes. They’re paradoxical plants because they need a lot of water, but extended contact with moisture can harm them. By residing in trees, their roots are kept out of standing water and they are able to dry off a bit before the next rainfall.
When choosing a planting medium, you’ll find that the majority of off the shelf planting mixes retain too much water. So if you use these kinds of mixes your anthurium may have a short life as it slowly and gradually drowns from excessive water. What happens is that excess water blocks oxygen from the root system and it enables anaerobic germs and fungus to grow. These microorganisms then start assaulting your plant and cause root rot.
To avoid this, you need to make your own potting soil. Your soil mix needs to drain quickly and it must be light and loose to keep your anthurium healthy. To make the best possible potting mixture blend: five parts miracle grow moisture control potting soil, 2 parts peat moss, 2 parts orchid planting media and 1 part perlite. Mix this together well and then plant your anthurium in it. This mixture works well, because it drains quickly and it comes closest to approximating the natural growing media of anthurium plants.
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