Blue Anthurium – Best Care Hacks

With about 1000 other varieties of Anthurium, Blue Anthurium specifically is a blend of science and nature, crafted for its blue color.

You might be wondering how all this happens. Let’s get an insight into growing this sapphire beauty.

Overview of Blue Anthurium

The blue in Anthurium doesn’t exist naturally and is injected into the root during the budding phase.

Besides its hue, the plant is similar in almost every aspect to other Anthurium varieties. 

Blue Anthurium: Best Care Hack

Blue Anthurium might disguise itself by looking like a high-maintenance plant, but it is actually very easy to care for.

These plants will reward you with fascinating palleted leaves, even with mere attention.

1. Sunlight and Temperature

Naturally, Anthurium grows under a giant tree’s canopy, shaded from harsh sunlight but still warm.

Your Anthurium can flourish in zone 11-12 and is hardy enough to adapt to a wide range of temperatures but sensitive to colds.

Placing them near the east or west-facing window should suffice the need for warmth and light.

However, a hot climate causes the whole plant, including the flowers, to wilt.

While low light just ceases the growth, cold drafts below 50°F can take a toll on the plant. 

Make sure to bring your plants indoors in the chilly evening. Also, you can use a frost blanket to protect the blue beauties from withering.

2. Water & Humidity

Blue anthurium bears a grudge against dryness in air and soil as its leaves curl, wilt and drop.  

Adding more water to your plants during the winter is an open invitation to pest and fungal growth.

Besides, overwatering and low humidity cause yellowing of foliage and discoloration with a dull leggy appearance.

The easy way to detect watering needs would be a chopstick test. If more than an inch of a chopstick comes out dry, rush with a watering can toward your plant or bottom water them.

Moreover, maintaining high humidity indoors may not be possible. You should lightly mist the plants for moist leaves.

It will help if you group anthurium with other house plants. Or, simply use a humidifier for the same. 

3. Soil and Fertilizer

Blue Anthurium grows fine if you provide it with nutrient-rich, aroid soil.

A regular balanced fertilizer, preferably liquid, diluted to 1/4 of its strength, does the job well.

But cutting off fertilization during the winter is still essential. You may end up choking the plants by overfeeding during the dormant winter. 

Further, excess fertilizer causes salt buildup in the soil, drying the stem and eventually stunting the growth. 

Also, the blue foliage can be fussy around compacted soil. Try losing them up by mixing in some orchid bark.

You can create your potting mix by adding equal parts of peat bark, perlite, and orchid mix. Or, you can go for any enriched anthurium mix.

4. Potting and Repotting

Anthurium is a slow grower and does not frequently demand repotting until the root has outgrown the pot.

In addition, quick drying of potting mix, slower growth, and leaves fading away could be an alarm for repotting urgency.

While selecting a bigger pot, use terracotta that drains the excess quickly if you tend to overwater the plants. And if you are anything like me about forgetting things, go for a plastic pot for a prolonged hold of moisture.

Before repotting, soak the plant for easy removal from the old pot. Let your plant settle down for a few days before adding fertilizers after repotting.

5. Occasional Pruning 

Anthurium plant doesn’t need heavy pruning unless you have to remove damaged or dead foliage.

But, any deformed part’s presence could signal a fungal and pests attack.

Meanwhile, aphids, spider mites, thrips, and mealybugs are the adversaries to your plant’s lush leaves. 

In such cases, immediate use of neem oil or rubbing alcohol could help. You can also opt to spray fungicides on the leaves.

However, to break the persisting spread, use a garden scissor to prune the infected part at any time of the year. 

Moreover, pruning allows new room for bushier growth and keeps your plant in elegant shape.

Blue Anthurium: All About Growth Rate

Blue Anthuriums have a slow and steady growth rate and can take a year to mature. The height of the plant ranges from 15 to 20 inches. 

As they grow up, the plant flaunts its symmetrical dark green, oblong, glossy heart-shaped leaves about  6-8 inches long. 

However, the ‘Blue’ in the anthurium is only for once. The flower returns to its original color the next time it blooms.

Therefore, you have to dye the plant again to get blue blooms which not many people have tried due to its patent owned by A Dutch Company.

Also, many of us might mistake the vibrant colored portion of the anthurium for its flower, despite them being the modified leaves called the spathe.

The actual flowers appear as tiny bumps in the long spadix, filling the spadix with berry-like fruits after pollination.

Toxicity of Blue Anthurium

The beauty of this indigo plant comes with the price of toxicity.

Further, the severity may elevate into drooling, vomiting in pets, and blisters on the tongue with painful sensations in humans.

You might have to reconsider bringing in the Blue anthurium if you have your pets and toddlers running around. However, keeping it out of reach could be a solution.

Immediately reach out to the vet nearby, or here are some hotlines for you to contact in case of any mishaps.

• ASPCA Poison Centre: (800)426-4435
• Poison Control Helpline: (800)222-1222