Hi! Thank you for the advice! ill definitely be careful about touching baby leaves! my clarinervium x brownii x ?? seedling arrived recently and my zara x michelle will be arriving today! im nervous about their care and excited to learn about and watch my anthuriums grow! ill definitely do my best!
I do have some additional/more specific care questions that I thought up though and hope that you, Jon, or anyone else can help answer:
Repotting/Transfering to a Different Medium
- The seedling came potted in moss (its been grown in moss from seed), do you think that i should wait until its grown more/mature/has roots comimg out the bottom of the pot to transfer it into a different medium (likely going to be a chunky mix)?
- when i do transfer it, will leaving some moss on the roots be alright? im worried about transplant shock from both trying to get moss off the roots and transfering from moss into a chunky mix. Im also worried about if leaving moss on the roots will eventually lead to root rot.
- Do anthuriums tend to like to be a little rootbound/snug in their pots like hoyas? When should I size up the pot?
Watering
- Ive read that anthuriums dont like to dry out very much. For my plants in soil mixes, i typically top water whenever the top ~1" is dry and until it flows out the drainage holes, will that be sufficient for my anthuriums or should i water sooner?
- For the seedling thats in moss, ive just been keeping the moss damp but not sopping. im worried about watering the moss too much since i usually use the water coming out of the drainage holes as a hint of when ive watered enough. do you have any tips for watering my seedling (or any other plant) in moss?
- ive considered bottom watering my plants in moss but whenever i try, the water doesnt wick up to the top of the soil so the top layer stays dry and i end up top watering anyways. i dont think i leave it sitting in water for long enough but im worried about leaving the pot/roots sitting in water for too long. do you have any tips for bottom watering?
Humidity
In my plant room set up, I have 3 humidifiers - 1 small, 1 medium, 1 large/taller medium. The medium and large humidifiers are set to 75% humidity but I am not sure how accurate their humidity sensors are on them both. The medium one often hits 75% humidity and stops running to maintaim that humidity but the large one only hits to about 50-60% humidity and is constantly running. The larger one is only about 1-2 ft away from the medium one though. I am not sure if it is because it is taller or if its because it is by the door. I do eventually want to get a greenhouse cabinet but do not currently have one. The only things I have that is an enclosed space to keep in humidity is a clear storage bin I use for quarantining new plants and a mini tabletop greenhouse that I keep my propagations in.
- As you've just said, I've also read that anthuriums thrive in higher humidity. I am worried that my room humidity isnt high enough for the anthuriums. While the seedling would fit in the mini greenhouse, i dont think the zara x michelle would, plus there isnt that much room in it with all of my props. do you think that the anthuriums will be alright in an open room with my humidifiers set to 75%? Should I set the humidity to be higher?
- How close should i place my anthuriums to my humidifiers?
Lighting
I do use grow lights (and have more to set up soon) to supplement light coming from a SE facing window as well as provide light in a shelf that does not get any natural light. I am currently using the Monios t-8 2 ft grow lights that supplement light (and will also soon be setting up the SolTech Highland Track Narrow to provide light to new shelves).
- ive read that anthuriums tend to like higher light, how close should i place both the seedling and the zara x michelle to my grow lights?
Fertilizer
I currently fertilize all of my plants (that have I've had for at least a month and have properly acclimated to my environment) at every watering. I alternate fertilizing with Dynagro Foliage Pro (NPK 9-3-6) + SuperThrive and Neptunes Harvest Fish/Seaweed Fertilizer (NPK 2-3-1) + Fox Farm Big Bloom Earthworm Castings/Bat Guano Fertilizer (NPK 0.01-0.3-0.7). I have been watering using 1/4 strength for all the fertilizers listed. I will work my way up to 1/2 strength. Most of my plants in chunky mix also have earthworm castings as well as Great White Mycorrhizae in the mix and some plants I've gotten have osmocote/nutricote mixed into their substrate. For new plants that havent fully acclimated yet, I use superthrive water. (All my plants are still actively growing, which is why I continue to fertilize in the winter). I am also thinking about trying out BIOS natural fertilizer and/or Fish Sh!t soil conditioner as well as maybe adding CalMag to my routine soon.
- Will my current fertilizing routine be alright for my anthuriums once theyve acclimated?
- The next few questions are general fertilizer questions. Curremtly, ive been alternating my two fertilizer mixes between waterings. Do you think it'd be alright to use all 4 fertilizers mixed into one instead of alternating between the 2 mixes? (So itd be Dynagro foliage pro + neptunes harvest fish/seaweed + fox farm big bloom worm castings/bat guano + superthrive at once instead of alternating). the NPK for Neptunes Harvest and fox farm big bloom are low but i am worried about burning my plants if i mix them all together.
- Ive been wanting to try out and maybe add CalMag, Bios Nutrients Fertilizer, and Fish Sh!t soil conditioner to my routine. To my understanding, Dynagro Foliage pro already has CalMag in it, is it a sufficient amount of CalMag that I wouldn't need to add any additional CalMag?
- Bios Nutrients Fertilizer and Fish Sh!t soil conditioner both do not have an NPK value and both claim to be safe to supplement your current fertilizing routine. Bios is a powder that you should sprinkle onto your soil (but can be made into a tea) and Fish Sh!t is a liquid. Do you think theyd both be safe to add to my current routine? Should I try replacing the Neptunes Harvest with the Fish Sh!t?
- Are there any other types of nutrients you would recommend I should add to my routine for either chunky mix/soil mix, semi hydro (pon), and moss? (I have one plant in a semi hydro set up with pon and will be trying out other plants in pon as well) (Nutrients as in pH up/down, slow/time release like osmocote/nutricote, general hydroponics flora series, etc) If you have any recommendations, can you explain why/what they'd do?
- Should I add nutrients to my propagations (Ive been experimenting with what substrate I like best for props but currently have props in perlite, moss, perlite/moss mix, and fluval stratum. i will also be experimenting with pon as a rooting medium)
Pests/Disease
For new plants, I currently quarantine and spray with either neem oil or an insecticidal soap for 1-2 weeks upon arrival as a preventative. I am thinking about getting some mosquito bits/dunks and adding that to my nutrient water to help with fungus gnats (I see stray fungus gnats every so often). I am also considering getting beneficial insects/predators as a preventative measure in the spring.
- Are there any pests that anthuriums are more prone for and that I should look out for?
- Are there any likely issues/diseases that anthuriums are more prone to, like root rot, that I should look out for/be careful of? (Issues that may come from an environmental factor or a need for adjustment in care routine)
- A general pest question but has anyone used beneficial insects/predators as a general preventative? If so, what predators did you pick and why? Do they work well as a preventative?
Sorry for having so many questions!! And thank you in advance for the care advice!
