Anthurium Care: How to Keep It Blooming

The anthurium — also sold as flamingo flower or laceleaf — is one of the few houseplants that can flower all year round. Those glossy red, pink, or white "flowers" have made Anthurium andraeanum a florist staple for decades, and it's far easier to keep than its exotic looks suggest. The catch: most anthuriums that come home from the shop stop blooming within a few months, not because they're difficult, but because two or three needs quietly go unmet. This guide covers what an anthurium actually needs — and how to restart the flower show when it stalls.

First, a secret: the "flower" isn't a flower

The colourful heart-shaped part is a spathe — a modified leaf whose job is to advertise. The true flowers are the tiny bumps packed onto the central spike, the spadix. This matters for care: a spathe is built like a leaf and lasts for weeks or months, which is why anthuriums outlast almost any bouquet. When a spathe finally fades and greens, that's natural aging, not a care mistake.

Light: the single biggest factor for blooms

Anthuriums grow on the forest floor and on tree trunks in the tropics of Central and South America, so they want bright but filtered light. A spot near an east-facing window, or a metre or two back from a south- or west-facing one, is ideal. The rule worth memorising: the more (indirect) light an anthurium receives, the more flowers it produces. In deep shade it survives but stops blooming — the most common complaint. Direct midday sun, on the other hand, bleaches and scorches the leaves.

Watering

Water when the top half of the pot has dried out — in a warm, bright room that's roughly once a week, less in winter. Water thoroughly until it drains, then empty the saucer. Anthuriums have thick, semi-epiphytic roots that need air; constantly soggy soil suffocates them and invites root rot. Yellowing leaves usually mean too much water; brown, crispy tips usually mean too little water or too-dry air.

Tip: Anthuriums are sensitive to cold water on the roots. Use room-temperature water — and skip the "ice cube watering" trick entirely; melting ice chills tropical roots.

Humidity and temperature

Aim for 60% humidity or more; below about 50% you'll see brown tips on leaves and spathes. A humidifier, a pebble tray, or a bright bathroom or kitchen all work. Keep temperatures between 18–27 °C, never below 15 °C for long, and away from radiators, air-con blasts, and cold draughts.

Soil, pot, and feeding

Standard potting compost is too dense. Use a chunky, airy blend — roughly equal parts houseplant compost, orchid bark, and perlite — in any pot with drainage. Repot every two years or when roots circle the pot, going just one size up. Feed monthly in spring and summer with a balanced or bloom-formulated fertiliser diluted to half strength; overfeeding burns the roots and produces leaves at the expense of flowers.

How to make an anthurium rebloom

• Check the light first — a non-blooming anthurium in a dim corner needs a brighter spot before anything else.
• Give it a rest period: about six weeks somewhere cooler (15–16 °C), with less water and no fertiliser, mimics the subtropical "winter" that cues flowering.
• Return it to warmth and bright indirect light, resume normal watering and half-strength monthly feeding, and new spathes typically follow within one to two months.
• Snip spent flower stems at the base so the plant redirects energy to new buds.

Common problems at a glance

Warning: Anthuriums contain calcium oxalate crystals and are toxic to cats, dogs, and humans if chewed — keep them out of reach of pets and toddlers, and wash your hands after pruning.

Not sure whether your plant's leaf browning is watering, air, or something else? Snap a photo in PlantMe and the Plant Doctor will narrow it down and give you a treatment plan in seconds.