Anthurium forgetii of the Araceae family is a tropical epiphyte that can improve the look of your home and office. You can easily care for your Anthurium forgetii as long as you feed it with the right fertilizer and grow this Anthurium genus plant in a suitable substrate.
Read this comprehensive guide to help you learn all you need to know about Anthurium forgetii and how long it can live.
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Anthurium Forgetii Care
Note that the exact requirements of your plant can vary according to the region and Anthurium variety. While you use the recommended tips in this article, you should also ask surrounding nursery or garden shops for the specific needs of your plant. Here are some essential ways to grow and care for Anthurium forgetii:
– Getting Your Anthurium Forgetii
You can start your Anthurium forgetii as a cutting or seedling. You can also grow them from seeds. As a first-time grower, you can buy Anthurium forgetii seedlings from any garden shop near you or an online store.
If a gardener or plant enthusiast near you has some Anthurium forgetii plants, you can collect some cuttings from them when they are repotting or propagating their plants. If you are buying your seedlings from a nursery, go for plants with shinier leaves and firmer petioles, but always check and avoid plants with brown spots on their leaves.
– Suitable Pot and Potting Mix
Your Anthurium forgetii pot should have two or three drainage holes for proper water drainage as epiphytes are very sensitive to the moisture of their substrate, the latter, should be airy. You can buy a suitable potting mix for orchids as Anthurium forgetii has similar substrate requirements with orchids.
If you’d love to make the substrate by yourself, you should mix one-part orchid bark, half-part perlite, and half-part compost with some amounts of peat moss. Make sure that the Alocasia plant soil is airy and breathable. If you like, you can add sphagnum moss, gravel, and some charcoal to the substrate.
– How to Plant
When you bring your Anthurium forgetii home, you can leave it in the pot that it came with if you don’t mind, as you can even transfer it into a more beautiful pot. When your pot and potting mix are ready, pour some potting mix into the pot so that the bottom two to three inches is covered in the substrate.
Gently keep your Anthurium forgetii on the potting mix so that the roots are above the potting mix. Use a garden trowel to pour more potting mix into the pot so that you can cover the roots, it is essential to remember not to cover the crown of the roots. Gently water your Anthurium forgetii afterward and keep it in a lit place until it anchors fully, furthermore, once it has anchored, you can take it to its permanent position.
– Water
Here comes what you should focus on while growing Anthurium forgetii. Remember that this plant is an epiphytic plant, and as an epiphyte, their roots do not collect water directly from the soil, instead, they collect moisture from their substrate or the atmosphere. Giving your Anthurium forgetii too much water can halt their growth or even kill them.
Unlike other epiphytes, Anthurium forgetii plants do not like a completely dry substrate. This means that you will need to strike a balance when watering your plants. As a rule, make sure that the substrate and pot are well-drained so that every excess water can drip off.
You should water your Anthurium forgetii when the substrate is 25 percent dry. If the top three to four inches of the substrate is dry, you can water the plant. You can also mist water on the leaves, but do so only in the morning so that the excess droplets can evaporate from each leaf before night comes.
– Light
You want to mimic the lighting conditions in Anthurium forgetii natural habitat as much as possible. Even though the light is bright, they usually have indirect light as tree canopies filter the amount of light that reaches their leaves.
The optimum lighting condition for your Anthurium forgetii is medium to bright but indirect light. One common reason plant enthusiasts grow the Alocasia plant indoors is that it can grow in medium light and you do not need to place it on a windowsill. If your plant is looking weak and the leaves turn pale, you should give it more light as it may be suffering from a light deficiency.
– Humidity
Humidity is important for Anthurium forgetii as it helps to regulate the movement of water in the plant. As mentioned, the Anthurium forgetii is an epiphyte however it originates from humid regions, that is why you should grow your plant in a room where you are willing to increase the humidity.
Your Anthurium forgetii prefers 60-70 percent humidity which is above average. A simple and cheap way to increase the room humidity for your plant is to mist water droplets around the plant. If you can, however, you should install a humidifier close to the plant. Make sure that you control the humidifier so that the humidity in the room does not go beyond 70 percent.
– Temperature
Anthurium forgetii plants love a slightly warm to warm environment, hence the temperature can affect the growth rate of your plant and can also cause stress if it is too high or low. You should only grow Anthurium forgetii when you are ready to provide its temperature needs.
This epiphyte loves a temperature of 64-77 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything less than that can lead to stunted growth and stress, hence exposing your plants to higher temperatures can cause the wilting and falling of their leaves.
Anthurium forgetii plants hate drastic temperature changes, so you should not grow them close to an appliance that quickly alters the temperature such as an air conditioner or heater.
– Nutrient
Every plant needs nutrients whether it is an epiphyte or not. As epiphytes, Anthurium forgetii usually collect nutrients from raindrops as they drip from leaves and branches. They also collect some nutrients in the dust. Anthurium forgetii are not heavy feeders like other plants.
Proper nutrient for Anthurium forgetii is diluted and has more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium. If the store does not have Anthurium forgetti-specific fertilizer, you can buy an orchid mix for the plant. Feed your plants once per month in spring and summer, because you do not need to give them nutrients in winter or autumn as their growth usually slows down in those seasons.
– Pruning
Pruning is important to control the growth of your plants, help them stay beautiful, and prevent their stems from intertwining. You may leave your Anthurium forgetii plant for the first year or two as it is a slow grower.
After two years, you can control its size by pruning off excess leaves. While pruning the plant, you should remove every dead leaf that you can find. Also, prune off flowers as they are declining (i.e. after bloom) so that the plant can concentrate on growing, note that it is not a must to prune your plants.
– Repotting Your Plants
One cool feature of Anthurium forgetii is that you do not need to repot it regularly like you repot other plants. Anthurium forgetii is a slow grower, so it can take years before you repot it. You only need to repot the plant when it is root-bound and some roots are emerging.
Another reason why you may want to repot your Anthurium forgetii is the deteriorating substrate. Anthurium forgetii loves a breathable substrate, but the organic matter will break down sooner or later. To help your plants so that their roots do not suffocate, you may need to repot them every two years.
To repot Anthurium Forgetii, wait until spring and check the roots if they need extra space. If the plant needs repotting, you can transfer them into a slightly wider container. Nonetheless, while repotting your plant, it is good practice to inspect the roots so that you can remove dead ones.
– Suitable Mulch
Mulch is not so important for Anthurium forgetii plants as they need a breathable substrate and may suffocate if you mulch them especially if you use organic mulch. You can, however, use just one layer of inorganic mulch such as gravels, lava rocks, and pebbles to beautify your pot.
Instead of applying the stones as mulch (i.e. above the substrate), you can amend the potting mix with the rocks of your choice so that they can still add to the beauty of the substrate without disrupting moisture from evaporating.
– Leaf Care
Remember that the beauty of Anthurium forgetii plants is in their leaves. To maintain their beautiful leaves, you should wipe the leaves with a slightly-damp cloth occasionally. This will help remove dust as well as any insect egg or larvae on the leaves.
Do not wipe Anthurium forgetii leaves so hard so that you do not ruin them. Additionally, do not use wet or dripping cloth so that water does not remain on the leaves of the plant, since the remnant drops of water can host harmful microbes that can damage your plant roots.
– Bloom Care
Anthurium forgetii plants can bloom throughout the year so long as they observe natural climatic changes as in the change of seasons from spring to winter. The flowers have a nice scent, therefore you may want to keep them in bloom for a long time.
You should deadhead a flower immediately when it starts to decline, additionally, this can help your plant to grow more flowers so that you can continue to enjoy the fragrance. However, you can keep some flowers for pollination. How can you propagate your Anthurium forgetii so that you can have more plants? It is easy, just continue reading to find out more.
Propagation
There are multiple ways to propagate your Anthurium forgetii plants. Here are the easiest methods to try:
– Root Division
This is a very easy way to propagate your Anthurium forgetii, you simply have to divide the plant into two or three and it is good to go. Well, it is not as easy, because if you don’t do it properly, you might kill your plant.
To divide the root, remove it from its pot gently and use your hands to dust off substrate from the roots. Use a sterilized knife to divide the plant so that each part or cutting will have roots. Wait for the cuts to become dry and then transfer them into a suitable potting mix.
You can plant them in a suitable potting mix immediately, but you may need to wait for seven to ten days before you notice any sign of growth. Remember to water the plant after transferring it into the potting mix, you may also start the cuttings in water so that you can monitor the growth of roots.
– Seeds
You can also grow your plants from Anthurium forgetii from seeds. When the plant produces seeds after flowering, you should wait until the Anthurium forgetii seeds fall off, and then you can either store or plant them.
Place multiple seeds on a suitable substrate and cover them with a ½ inch layer of sand. Water them by misting them until you see signs of growth, in addition, if the number of seeds that germinate is more than what you want, you can reduce them by thinning.
Now you know how to properly care for and propagate your Anthurium forgetii plants. Before starting yours, however, you must watch out for a few problems that many Anthurium forgetii enthusiasts face. Continue reading to find out more.
Problems
You may likely encounter the following problems when growing Anthurium forgetii:
– Overwatering
Anthurium forgetii is an epiphytic plant and does not like too much watering. If you are ever in doubt to water your Anthurium forgetii or not, you should wait a day or two.
Make sure that the substrate does not retain too much moisture, note to check that the drainage holes in the plant pot are not clogged.
– Insufficient Light
Even though Anthurium forgetii can grow in low light, you should not grow it in a dark room, it is important to make sure that your plant has at least four to six hours of light daily. Your Anthurium forgetii will grow etiolated as well as develop pale leaves if it does not receive enough light, therefore, you should always consider its lighting needs.
– Over-Fertilizing
Giving your Anthurium forgetii too much fertilizer can give it crispy and burnt leaves. Over-fertilizing can kill your plant by burning the roots and leaves, moreover, you should give your Anthurium forgetii diluted water-soluble fertilizer once monthly in the growing season.
If you see burning leaves after fertilizing your epiphyte, you should flood it with clean water. Congratulations! You are ready to grow and care for your Anthurium forgetii plants.