Anthurium regale is one rare and exotic-looking tropical plant of the Araceae family that is quite popular as an indoor plant. Many people have the misconception that growing Anthurium plants at home is quite difficult and time-consuming.
Using this comprehensive guide, we are here to break this stereotype and guide you to take care of this Anthurium genus plant at home like a pro.
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Quick Overview
Here is a handy table of this plant’s requirements.
| Requirements | Anthurium regale |
| Light | Needs bright but indirect light for at least eight hours each day |
| Water | Water thrice a week during summer, and once or twice a week during winter |
| Soil | Needs well-draining and moist soil that is not too wet and runny; pH should be between 6.6 to 7.5 |
| Temperature | Temperatures ranging from 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Humidity | High humidity levels of around 70 to 80 percent |
| Fertilizer | Fertilize only twice a year |
Anthurium Regale Care
In this section, we’ll be discussing how to take proper care of this exotic plant at home and keep it alive for a very long time.
Light Requirements
Anthurium regale is no doubt a great species for keeping as indoor plants. They grow pretty well under conditions of partial light. This means that you need to provide your Anthuriums with bright but indirect light for at least eight hours each day.
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Indoors
Anthuriums grow very well indoors. Find out which windows in your house are best for them.
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East-Side Window
Any spot in your house near an eastern-facing window is quite suitable for the Anthurium regale plant. This window receives direct sunlight only during the early morning hours, during which you can simply cover it using curtains or blinds.
Throughout the rest of the day, only indirect bright light enters through this window, which is exactly what your plants need.
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West-Side Window
The west-side window is also suitable for keeping regale plants nearby. It only receives direct light for a short while in the evening. Otherwise, your plant can bask under partial bright light for the rest of the day without any worries.
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North-Side Window
The north window doesn’t get any direct light all day. If your house isn’t surrounded by very tall trees or neighboring buildings, then this window is a pretty safe spot for fulfilling the light requirements of this plant.
However, sometimes a northern-facing window might not get sunlight that is bright enough. Your plant will start producing leaves of a much smaller size than normal. This is an indication that you should move the plant elsewhere.
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South-Side Window
This is the window in your house that lets in very intense light directly at a distance of at least 2 to 3 feet. If you choose to keep your plant near these windows, make sure that you filter the light out using some sort of curtains or blinds. Otherwise, your Anthurium regale plant might get a bad sunburn.
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Outdoors
When growing Anthurium regale outdoors, always keep them under larger trees and plants. That way, these neighboring plants will filter out the light and save them from being scorched in the sun.
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Artificial Light
Sometimes, your plant might not be getting adequate light indoors from the windows. You will need to resort to using artificial grow lights in such a case.
We suggest you buy LED grow lights meant specifically for plants and place them overhead. In a room with windows, the LED lights will need to be turned on for about seven hours each day, whereas in a completely dark room, at least 12 hours of exposure will be needed.
Water Requirements
The water requirements of Anthurium regale are quite simple. Find out all about it below.
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Frequency of Watering
The Anthurium regale plant should be watered according to the season and time of the year. In summer when the air is dry and hot, your soil will dry quickly and will need more frequent watering. In summer you should water Anthuriums thrice a week.
In winter, the soil tends to remain moist for a much longer time, so you will need to water it only once or twice a week.
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How To Know if It’s Time To Water My Plant
A general rule of thumb is that the soil should be about 80 percent dry before you should water it again. You can check the dryness of your soil by sticking a pencil into it. If it comes out dry at least 50 to 80 percent, then this is the right time to water the Anthuriums.
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What Is the Right Type of Water for Anthurium Regale Plants?
Ideally, you should water your plants with water filtered by reverse osmosis as it is the cleanest and the healthiest type of water.
Common tap water can also be used as long as it is not too toxic and filled with unnecessary chemicals. If the rain in your area is clean enough, then you can collect rainwater and use it to water the Anthurium regale plants as well.
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What Is the Right Way To Water Regale Plants?
Direct the stream of water towards the base of the plant near the soil and pour it with a slow stream. Use a generous amount of water but allow it to drain completely through the soil and out the drainage hole at the bottom.
This excess water will then be collected in the tray at the bottom of the pot. Remove this water or else it will stay there and cause the much-dreaded root rot in the plant.
Soil Requirements
The Anthurium regale plant grows best in soil that is well-draining and moist without being too wet and runny. It doesn’t grow properly in soils that are too sandy or too muddy.
We always have great success growing the regal Anthurium plant in our own potting mixes. You can make your own potting mix using an orchid potting mix with perlite.
Alternatively, you can also mix potting soil with charcoal, perlite, sphagnum moss, and orchid bark to make a multi-substrate soil for your plant. Just keep in mind that the pH of this soil should be between 6.6 to 7.5.
Fertilizer Requirements
The fertilizer needs of the Anthurium regale plant are very minimal. You should fertilize them only twice a year, the best times being spring and early fall. Never use fertilizer on this plant in the winter.
Buy a mild slow-release fertilizer and dilute it to half its strength before applying it to your plant. It would continue to provide your plant with nutrition for a long time afterward.
Temperature Requirements
The Anthurium regale plants are natives of warmer climates. The ideal temperatures under which they like to grow are between 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. These temperatures are easy enough to maintain during the hot spring and summer months.
In winter, you should take care not to let the temperature around them fall below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If you keep them outdoors, then move them inside the house for the winter. Even when indoors, keep them away from vents or places where cold drafts of winds are present. Also, don’t open windows near which plants are kept.
Humidity Requirements
The Anthurium regale plant loves to grow under high humidity conditions. The ideal humidity that they need is about 70 to 80 percent. You will need to have a hygrometer at home in order to find out the accurate levels of humidity that your plant is growing under.
Here are a few tricks to help you increase the humidity around your plant:
- Use humidity trays: Place a tray filled with pebbles and water under the pot of your regale plant. Make sure that the bottom of the pot rests on the pebbles and not on the water. This method works effectively at increasing the humidity around the plant.
- Mist your plant regularly: make a habit of lightly misting your plant in the evenings. Take care to only mist the plant and not spray it with water.
- Buy a humidifier: A humidifier can be pretty costly, but it will only save your time and plant in the long run. You can simply set it to produce the humidity of your choice around the plant.
When to Repot
Repotting is an essential element of being a plant parent and you should be familiar enough with your plant to know when it’s time to repot it.
The best time to repot is when its roots start outgrowing the current pot. This will be evidenced by the appearance of roots at the edge of the pot. In case of your plant gets root rot, you will need to repot it in any case.
Even under the best of circumstances, you should always repot the Anthurium regale plant every two years during springtime. This is because this plant has the tendency to grow to very large sizes. Every time you repot Anthurium regale, the new pot should be about 10 percent larger than the last one.
Propagation
Once you get the art of propagating plants, there is no looking back. Anthurium regale, especially, is a very easy plant to propagate.
There are two main ways to propagate it. Find out what they are below.
– Propagating Via Stem Cuttings
Learn the art of propagation by stem cuttings in a few simple steps.
- Choose a healthy regale plant for propagation. Take a rather larger-sized stem and cut about six inches of it off. Your stem cutting should ideally have two to three leaves attached to it. Use sharp and sterile gardening shears for carrying out this task.
- Now take an appropriate size of pot for a small plant. A pot with a 5-inch diameter should initially be good to go. Make sure that the drainage hole at the bottom is of adequate size and fill the pot with the right type of soil.
- Make a tiny hole that is approximately two to three inches deep in the center of this new hole. Plant your stem cutting as deep as possible in this hole. Pat the soil around the cutting very carefully.
- Place this newly potted Anthurium in a spot where it receives partial bright light for most of the day and water it regularly. It will take anywhere from around five to six weeks for new shoots to emerge.
Anthurium regale growth rate is moderate. The large size of its leaves means that this plant tends to grow a little slower.
– Propagating Via Seeds
Propagating the Anthurium regale plant through seeds is a bit more difficult than using stem cuttings. It also takes a lot more time than the former method.
Learn how to propagate through Anthurium regale seeds below.
- You can take any shallow tray for propagating these plants. Buy a good quality vermiculite solution from the market and fill the tray with it. Also, moisten it with water.
- Place the seeds in the tray at a distance of at least one inch from one another, then gently press them into the vermiculite solution.
- Place the tray someplace warm and bright with temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Many experts suggest covering the tray to accelerate the germination process.
- It will take several weeks for the Anthurium regale seedling to germinate into tiny new plants, after which you can then transfer them to a proper pot.
Common Problems
– Pests and Insects
If you don’t take good care of your regale plants, they will become a prime suspect to insect attacks that can get progressively worse.
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Aphids and Scale Insects
These are two of the most common pests to attack this plant. Your plant leaves will start turning yellow around the edges or brown and yellow spots will appear on the surface of the leaves.
If you move the large leaves around and look underneath, you will also see clusters of these insects moving about.
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Treatment
Given below is a list of different treatment options for getting rid of aphids and scale insects.
All of these are effective and good to use:
- Wash your plants thoroughly using soap and water. This will wash off the pesky bugs.
- You can also manually remove these insects using a jet of water directed at their colonies.
- Another rather laborious approach is to handpick them one by one using a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. You can also use a cotton swab dipped in neem oil.
- An insecticide will kill these insects off too, but always keep this option for emergencies as it’s always good to keep your plants away from harsh chemicals.
– Toxicity
The Anthurium regale plant is toxic for humans and certain pet animals. It produces calcium oxalate crystals that cause indigestion and toxicity when ingested.
That’s not all, as this plant has also been known to produce rashes and allergic reactions after coming in contact with the skin.
Always wear gloves when handling this plant and keep it away from the reach of particularly curious children and pets.
– Diseases
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Root Rot
The root is one of the most common afflictions that might attack your Anthurium regale plant. This fungal infection, if not treated properly and in time, will spread and destroy the whole plant in a matter of weeks.
Root rot is caused by the retention of undue moisture in the soil. This could be due to poor drainage either of your soil or your pot, or it could be due to excessive watering.
Your plant will start exhibiting brown rotten patches on its leaves and stems. The roots are also affected but, of course, cannot be seen until the disease has spread to the upper parts of the plant.
How To Treat Root Rot
You will have to take the entire plant out of the pot including its roots. Shake and wash the dirt off the roots. Inspect your plant very carefully and identify all rotten areas.
Now take sharp gardening scissors and cut all these problematic parts off. Make sure to sterilize these scissors afterward, otherwise you risk spreading the disease further.
Wash the entire plant with soap and a mild antifungal agent before repotting it in fresh soil in a new pot.
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Black Nose Disease
The black nose disease is also a pretty common affliction of the regal Anthurium plant. A plant affected by this disease suffers greatly in its growth and development.
Symptoms
Black spots will emerge on the spadix of your plant. They will grow and merge with each other, engulfing the entire spadix until it eventually falls off.
Black-colored structures containing fungal spores will also appear on the leaves and the stem. These areas will start decaying too.
Treatment
Wash your plant with soap and water, and cut off all the diseased parts. Use a strong fungicide and apply it daily until symptoms start receding. Keep the affected plant away from other plants to prevent the spread of the spores.
What It Looks Like
Want to know what this exotic plant looks like?
Read below to find out!
– Flowers
Anthurium is a species renowned for its unique-looking flowers. The inflorescence of Anthurium regale is made up of two parts: a spathe and a spadix.
The spadix is a leathery textured stem whereas the spathe is a flower bract that is often confused for being a flower. Flower bracts are modified and colored leaves that surround the spadix.
The actual flowers of this plant are very small in size and are located along the spadix. They are bisexual and contain all the reproductive organs of the plant.
– Leaves
This plant is famous for its large-sized leaves that are velvety in texture and shaped like a heart. These leaves can grow to become 48 inches long and 36 inches wide. You can see a beautiful pattern of yellow-white veins running through the anthurium regale leaves.