The Anthurium Veitchii also known as the King Anthurium is a tropical plant that is native to Columbia and is normally grown as an Epiphyte.
This means that the King Anthurium normally grows on other plants and trees and not in soil directly in it’s native environment.
With that said, it’s still entirely possible to grow this plant in soil and a container as a houseplant so that these nice green leaves can help your home have a more tropical experience.
So now that you already have one of these Anthuriums, it’s time to get to know how to properly care for your King Anthurium for the foreseeable future.
Let’s get started.
King Anthurium Light requirements
Since Anthurium Veitchii is native to a tropical location and grown under a canopy, this plant is used to receiving bright indirect light opposed to direct light or full sun.
Indirect light can also be referred to as partial shade or filtered light in case you were wondering if there was a difference.
The reasons why you don’t want to provide too much direct light is because this can and will damage the leaves by scorching them.
Really low light conditions can cause less growth or a stretched out appearance as well.
So bright indirect light will always be the way to go for your King Anthurium.
To provide this you can either grow outdoors somewhere that has lots of shade such as under a porch or under some trees, or you can grow indoors near most windows.
Pro tip: When growing your King Anthurium by a window, keep this plant a few feet away from the window to reduce the chances of direct light from hitting the foliage.
Anthurium Veitchii Soil
As mentioned before, the King Anthurium can grow without being in soil as an Epiphyte.
But since most of us are used to growing in pots or containers, we need to select the right kind of soil.
The key for this is that the soil needs to not only drain really well but it needs to also be able to keep a slight amount of moisture at all times.
So a good soil mix will be Peat moss as the main soil and then you can add in some perlite as well along with some organic matter to further increase drainage.
A good ratio will be 2/3 1/3 Perlite along with some rich organic material if you want.
Sand is not advisable as that can clump up and defeat the purpose of all this.
Also don’t pack the soil in too tight as this plant needs to be able to breathe well.
How to water Anthurium Veitchii
Watering your King Anthurium is usually the most difficult part of the whole process as this plant likes a lot of water but if you do too much or too little then problems can occur.
Typically during the warmer months this plant needs watering weekly or every two weeks but during the colder months this will be scaled back.
There are a variety of factors that can influence watering frequency such as temperature, humidity, container size, type of soil and more so you shouldn’t rely on an exact schedule.
The best way to know when to water will be to physically check your soil each time you are planning to water.
This simple trick will significantly help reduce mistakes when watering.
So each time you water, be sure you water fully each time until the water flows through the drainage holes of your container.
After at least a week has passed it will be time to check the soil.
If the top inch or two of the soil is fully dry, then it’s time to water again.
However, if the top inch or two of the soil has not fully dried out yet then don’t water again just yet.
Wait until it becomes dry.
This will help prevent having a waterlogged Anthurium or root rot in the future.
King Anthurium Temperature Needs
Since Anthurium Veitchii is used to a tropical environment with warm temperatures, you need to provide this as well.
This can be done outdoors in most places or indoors year round since a good temperature range will be between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Since virtually all homes will be in this temperature range, you can grow your Anthurium Veitchii indoors year round without a worry in the world.
Now if you’re planning on growing outdoors, you should bring this plant indoors if the weather get’s colder than the lower end of that range.
Humidity needs
Now as for humidity, your King Anthurium will do quite well as long as the humidity is at or above 50%.
Most homes will be able to provide this as well as outdoors in a lot of areas.
If your King Anthurium starts to curl up or just look a bit dried up then this could be a humidity issue.
There are a few simple ways to increase local humidity for this plant such as using a water pebble tray, grouping plants together, or by using a humidifier.
For the water pebble tray, you just fill a tray with water and pebbles and keep it either under the plants container or very close by so that the water can evaporate and increase local humidity.
Grouping plants together will allow them to give off each others heat and thus increase local humidity for each plant.
And of course using a humidifier will also work quite well if you already have one on hand.
How to propagate Anthurium Veitchii
Propagating Anthurium Veitchii can be done by either division or by using stem cuttings.
For the King Anthurium we will discuss how to do it by stem cuttings as I’ve always found this to be the easiest method of propagation.
So to get started you will first want to make sure you’re wearing some gloves as the plant is a bit toxic.
Next prepare some clean, sterile gardening shears to work with.
Now select a healthy stem to use which should have a few leaves on it already and make a cutting at least 4 inches long with no leaves towards the bottom of the stem cutting.
After this is done, or before you need to have a new container with some fresh soil at the ready.
Now place the stem cutting a few inches deep into the soil while making sure the leaves are not touching or under the soil.
Lastly give the soil a good watering and keep this container in a warm location with indirect light for several weeks until some solid roots have a chance to form.
Keep the soil moist during this time.
That’s all there is to it.
Pruning
For this plant, pruning is usually only necessary if you want to keep the plant a bit more compact or if you need to remove some leaves that have been damaged.
It’s really up to you if you want to keep it compact but dying or badly damaged leaves need to be removed so the plant can focus it’s energy on healthy leaves and eventually grow more new ones.
Remember to wear gloves when doing this.
Toxicity
Anthurium Veitchii is toxic and should be kept away from pets and children as much as possible as the plant can irritate skin, and should never be ingested.
Pests
It’s possible that over time you may run into a pest problem, especially if conditions allow for it.
These pests can include mealy bugs, spider mites, aphids, scales or others.
If you notice white spots, black spots, holes in the leaves or the plants foliage curling then you may have a pest problem.
If you suspect you do then the first thing you need to do is isolate the plant from other plants to prevent the spread of pests.
Now once this is done depending on the pests and the severity, they can be gotten rid of by just using water and a towel or they may need to be treated with rubbing alcohol or neem oil.
If you’re looking for some affordable and good quality neem oil then I recommend this neem oil.
Fertilizing
When fertilizing King Anthurium, this should really only be done during the spring and summer when it’s actively growing.
You can use either liquid fertilizer or slow release fertilizer as long as you’re only using 1/4 to 1/2 of the recommended strength.
This can be done weekly, monthly or ideally somewhere between.
I like to stay on the safe side of things and try to do it less often than most as too much over time can cause damage to the roots known as fertilizer burn.
This is caused by an excess buildup of salts from the fertilizer over time.
So I would strive to fertilize more like once or twice a month.
Conclusion
That’s really all there is to it.
By following these tips, you will be able to properly care for and propagate your Anthurium Veitchii with ease.
So have fun and enjoy the process.