Anthurium Wendlingeri: Ultimate Grow & Care Guide

Anthurium wendlingeri is an unusually striking plant crafted with immense art, offering tropical vibes with its long, dangling shiny green leaves with minimal care from your side.

Only after 20 years of discovery did the Anthurium wendlingeri come into cultivation, and it has now taken over millions of homes. 

To know more about its basic nature and care tips, continue reading the article.

Overview of Anthurium Wendlingeri

Anthurium wendlingeri is a perennial epiphyte species native to Turrialba, Costa Rica, found in 1965.

A Complete Guide to Anthurium Wendlingeri Care

To grow Anthurium wendlingeri properly, you need to know its care requirements.

1. Light and Temperature

Being a tropical plant, Anthurium wendlingeri can withstand a wide range of light spectrum under warm temperatures.

Do not expose them to harsh sunlight as it invites scorching and pale yellowing in leaves with brown tips. Also, temperatures > 90ºF cause curling and burning of foliage.

Meanwhile, wendlingeri under insufficient and cold drafts (< 50ºF) show stunted growth with leggy and limpness.

So better to look for an eastern-facing window, a patio with enough shade, or keep them a foot away from the southern-facing window.

Install LED lights in case of dark rooms. Try to provide your plant with consistent temperature by covering them with frost blankets and keeping heating mats under the pot.

As for the USDA zone below 11, introduce the Anthurium wendlingeri to the terrarium and mini greenhouse during cold.

Pro Tip: Rotate the plant once in 1-2 weeks to obtain balanced growth.

2. Watering and Humidity

The most hectic part about growing a tropical plant is meeting its water requirement by keeping humidity side by side.

While watering the wendlingeri, remember to check 2 inches deep from the topsoil to prevent a wet condition.

Prolonged exposure to soggy soil causes rotting in the roots of wendlingeri, giving a mushy look and fishy smell.

However, underwatering and low-humid conditions have graver consequences. Thus, avoid them at any cost.

Underwatered wendlingeri shows dried and crispy foliage with curling, discoloration, drooping and wilting when collided with low humidity.

So better to install an electric humidifier to maintain the bare minimum of 70% humidity or use the pebble-tray method.

Do not let the stagnant water sit on the plate, and use salt-free tepid water (not too cold or hot) for the optimum maintenance of Anthurium Wendlingeri.

3. Soil and Fertilizer

The best soil type for Anthurium wendlingeri is porous, well-draining, moisture-retaining soil with a pH of 5.5-6.5, requiring balanced fertilizer once every month in the active growing season.

Thus, it causes choking of the roots in lack of oxygen flow leading to the yellowing of the leaves.

So, use readily available mixes like Miracle-Gro potting mix, Better-Gro Phalaenopsis Mix, Espoma Organic Potting Mix, and Dr. Earth All-Purpose Soil for wendlingeri.

Alternatively, you can prepare a DIY using an orchid potting mix, peat moss, perlite, organic compost, and coarse sand in a ratio of 4:4:4:2:1.

The DIY might need enrichment from a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) once every month during spring but less during winter.

The Anthuriums undergo dormancy in winter so ceasing the fertilizer or limiting it to once in two months prevents overfertilization.

As overfertilization is common in winter, leading to excessive salt accumulation, which burns and hinders root development.

Pro Tip: You can also use rice husk, pine barks, charcoal, vermiculite, dried grass, etc to make the soil light and porous.

4. Potting and Repotting

Generally, any potting material fits Anthurium wendlingeri, but better to choose a terracotta pot to save the time of faster repotting.

These pots support proper drainage, help maintain the temperature and give you a time of at least a year before repotting.

Wendlingeri does not require frequent repotting, but they also do not like to be root bound.

So repot the Anthurium in about two to three years if it shows signs of the root poking out of the drainage holes, discoloration of foliage, or stunted growth.

Start by watering the plant a day before repotting, and gently remove the wendlingeri from the old pot using gardening gloves.

Tuck off the soil from the roots, fill a 2-inch wider pot than the recent one with a new potting mix and place the plant at the center.

Gently press the soil down, leaving an inch gap from the rim for fertilization.

Your Anthurium wendlingeri may appear weak and limp in the first few weeks as they may be undergoing repotting stress.

So keep them under bright indirect light and give thorough watering for faster recovery.

5. Occasional Pruning

Unlike other Anthuriums, Wendlingeri does not require excessive pruning.

You can prune them to maintain a convenient size or remove dead and damaged parts introduced by pests and diseases.

Pest infestation is common in Anthurium wendlingeri, given their high humidity requirement.

To remove the pest, prune off the affected area with sterilized pruners and to prevent, spray the Anthurium with neem oil or insecticidal soap.

Meanwhile, the unfavorable growing environment yields various fungal and bacterial infections.

It includes diseases like Root Rot, Black Nose, Leaf Spot, and Bacterial Blight showing signs like a foul and rotten smell, mold growth on the soil layer, and brown patches along the leaf’s edges.

When you notice the signs, separate them from other members, trim off the damaged part, and dump it in the dustbin.

Moreover, you can use copper-rich fungicides or mancozeb once every three months for healthy growth of Anthurium wendlingeri.

ProTip: Consider pruning them after the end of the fall, as they will grow back in the spring. Also, avoid pruning more than 20% of parts at a time.

Growth Characteristics of Anthurium Wendlingeri

Anthuriums are slow to moderate growers. If given proper care, it produces new foliage every 8-10 weeks.

The leaves are pendant-shaped elongated, dark-colored featuring a velvety surface. On exposure to sunlight, its leaves shine glittery.

Besides, when the leaves mature, it turns flat, giving them a long-flat appearance. While young, they are slightly curved at the edges.

Moreover, its pendant foliage bears creases on the surface.

Anthurium wendlingeri leaves can reach a length of 5.5 feet (1.5 m) and a spread of 5 inches (12.7 cm) in the wild.

While growing in an enclosed space, you can expect the leaves of Anthurium wendlingeri to be around 3.9 ft (1.2m) long.

Interestingly, the unusual inflorescence bearing purplish-green color spathe with grayish-white spadix lasts longer compared to other varieties of Anthuriums.

Moreover, its peduncles can reach 15 inches (40 cm). These Anthuriums also bear red-colored fruit once in a blue.

You can harvest seeds from its fruits which you can propagate into a new Anthurium wendlingeri.

Toxicity of Anthurium Wendlingeri

According to ASPCA, every Anthurium variety is toxic to humans and pets, including the wendlingeri.

It contains calcium oxalate crystals which cause harm when ingested. Besides, if you come into contact with its sap, it can cause skin and eye irritation.

Similarly, if ingested, wendlingeri causes breathing difficulty, swollen lips and tongue, nausea, vomiting, and a burning sensation in the stomach.

In pets, it causes drooling, vomiting, irritability, and continuous pawing at the mouth. 

For pets, you can contact a local veteran as soon as the situation worsens or look out for the given helpline number.

• APCC at (888) 426-4435.
• NCPC at (800) 222-1222

Propagation Methods for Anthurium Windlingeri

Propagation of Anthurium wendlingeri involves three methods, including sexual and two asexuals.

Note: Propagating Anthurium wendlingeri via seeds is for pro growers. Generally, harvesting seeds of Anthurium wendlingeri is a difficult and a long process.

1. Propagation Via Rootball Division

Water the plant a day before propagating to strengthen the root system and loosen the soil.

• Now, uproot the plant carefully, remove the soil attached to the rootball and slowly unentangle its root.
• Divide the offsets using a sharp knife and ensure that each part has at least two leaves with roots.
• Transfer these sections to bigger pots and fill them with a rich, well-drained potting mix.
• Lastly, keep it in a bright, humid environment with plenty of moisture in the growing medium.

2. Propagation Via Stem cuttings

Anthurium wendlingeri are aroids. It means that these plants have nodes. Hence, you can propagate them through stem cuttings.

Here are the steps to follow.

• Choose a healthy stem with enough nodes.
• Use a sharp tool like a knife or pruner to make a cut below the nodes.
• Allow the incision part to have callous to prevent the infestation from pests and diseases.
• Alternatively, you can dip the stem into rooting hormone to boost growth.

Choosing the Right Propagation Medium

You can propagate this obtained part both in soil and water.

1. Soil Propagation

• Take a clean pot with 2-3 drainage holes and layer its bottom with a few pebbles.
• Half-fill the pot with the potting mix and insert the cuttings or offset at the center.
• Afterward, fill the pot with potting mix till the rim.
• Water the plant adequately and leave it in a brightly lit space.
• Your cuttings will most likely root within 4-6 weeks.

Note: The root ball division process is far more resilient than stem cutting.

2. Water Propagation

It is generally an easy propagation medium. But sometimes, water propagation might also lead to root rot.

So be careful and more attentive while propagating Anthurium wendlingeri in water.

• Take a transparent clean jar and fill it with tepid water.
• Place the cut stem inside the water.
• Ensure that the roots and the nodes are submerged in the water.
• Keep changing the water every 3-4 days.

Your cuttings will most likely produce roots after four weeks.

Look at the video for reference!

Where to Buy Anthurium Wendlingeri?

After knowing all the care tips, you are ready to bring the rare Anthurium wendlingeri home.

FAQs About Anthurium Wendlingeri

Is Anthurium Wendlingeri Rare?

Anthurium Wendlingeri is a rare variety that stands as a unique Anthurium with twisted corkscrew blooms giving it an unusual look.

What is the lifespan of an Anthurium plant?

Under proper care and maintenance, the Anthurium can live up to 5 years in a single pot. And even later, they do not die. 

Instead, you can repot or propagate them to produce new Anthuriums.

Anthurium Wenddlingeri Vs. Pallidiflorum

The variety mostly compared with wendlingeri is the Anthurium pallidiflorum, for they both have long, slender leaves.

But the difference lies when you move closer to the plant. Look at the table to understand the differences.

Anthurium Wendlingeri Vs Vittarifolium

Another variety of Anthurium being compared and often mistaken for wendlingeri is vittarifolium, for they portray shiny leaves.

But they are totally different, with a minimal difference that needs your attention with keen eyes.