Question
My Sad Plant
Hi, Darlene! I have never been good at keeping houseplants alive, but I recently bought a red anthurium living in a lava rock about two weeks ago. The plant arrived at my door in southern Oklahoma looking a little worse for wear with tears in the leaves that were browned on the edges of the tears, and a white dusty film on the leaves, also. I assumed it might be normal for this type of plant, because I know next to NOTHING about houseplants. I have kept it in a bowl with 1/2" of water and only refilled when the water was completely gone, but now, all the flower blooms have shriveled, and the leaves at the bottom have started to turn brown and curl under at the tips. I have hard water and I had it sitting next to a window that let a very tiny amount of sunlight in for a few hours a day thru the blinds, so maybe it wasn't getting enough sun? And it's probably about 64-70 degrees in my house since it's freezing outside. Have I lost this expensive, beautiful plant? Can I call it back from the brink? Please HELP if at all possible, or at least tell me what I could have done to prevent it. Thank you so very much for your time, Stephanie B.
AnswerStephanie,
Your plant is not dead but it is threatened. The film on the leaves is not a big problem nor are the tears. The brown is. Get it out of the bowl of water IMMEDIATELY! Set it on a plate. It hates wet feet and that is at least part of what is causing the browning. it may have been damaged in shipping by some low temperatures also.
It doesn't like hard water. You should pick up a gallon of distilled water for watering it at Wal-Mart, that's the cheapest place to buy it here in Indiana. Water it and and then pour any excess water out of the plate, it hates having wet feet. Do not water it again until the soil feels dry to the touch.
It does not need the sun actually shining on it but it needs to sit near a window that does not have drapes or mini-blinds closed at all. It needs as bright light as possible from dawn to dusk. If that is not possible it needs a flourescent light 6-12 inches above it turned on for 14 hours a day. With a low light intensity you will not get many flowers. Too much sun will bleach the centers of the leaves and may produce brown leaf tips. Keep your Anthurium pot plant away from heat ducts, ventilator grills and drafts.
Feed with a slow release fertilizer as per instructions, or use a liquid plant food every second time you water your plant. Keep the leaves clean of dust by gently wiping with a damp cloth.
If you have more questions write again. Good luck.
Darlene
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