Anthurium Plowmanii Care, Propagation and Varieties

Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by Admin

The Anthurium Plowmanii is an epiphyte that is growing in popularity. It features beautiful, free ruffles leaves that grow out to the sides. And while it only grow to about 2 feet high it looks amazing when you let it become very bushy.

The plant is a native to South America and often found in Brazil, Paraguay and Peru.

How to care for Anthurium Plowmanii? The Anthurium Plowmanii thrives in bright, indirect light although it does well in medium light and partial shade.

It enjoys warm (65 to 75 degrees) and humid (>70%) environments. Allow the soil to dry between waterings and make sure to use well-draining soil along with a pot with holes.

As with other Anthuriums, you may come across different varieties of the plant including:

Anthurium plowmanii Rancho Ruffles (Anthurium Rancho Ruffles)
Anthurium plowmanii Croat

Table of Contents

Anthurium Plowmanii Plant Care

Light Requirements

The Anthurium Plowmanii enjoys a well-lit location. And it grows fastest in bright, indirect light.

That said, it can tolerate medium to a bit of low light as well. However, the plant won’t grow as quickly.

Just as importantly, the less light it gets, the more likely it will not flower.

As such, a good spot for the plant is somewhere near an east facing window. You can keep in the northeast or southeast as well.

Another option is a western exposure. However, it is importantly to be aware that the plant cannot tolerate more than 2 or 3 hours of direct sunlight or strong light on a regular basis.

If you leave it there, you’ll see its green leaves turn pale in color. And in hotter conditions, the sun will scorch its foliage.

As such, with a western or southern exposure, it is important to distance the plant from the window at least 3 feet. You can also filter the light with a shade cloth or use curtains and blinds.

The goal is to keep the plant away from the sun’s direct rays especially between 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. when it is the most intense.

Temperature

Since the plant is native to the tropical regions of South America, it enjoys moderate to warm weather. Its ideal temperature range is between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

This makes it easy to care for indoors in most homes as the average temperature inside is usually identical to what the plant likes. That’s because humans are most comfortable in this range.

That said, the plant can tolerate warmer conditions even up to 100 degrees. However, the farther away you go from its ideal temperature range (up or down), the slower the plant will grow.

So once you get above 90 degrees, it will grow slower than optimal.

The other risk of high temperatures is dehydration. That’s because water evaporates much more quickly. So, if you don’t water the plant enough, it can droop and wilt.

On the other hand, it has more issues with colder environments.

Again, this is because of its tropical nature.

In the tropics, there’s sunshine 365 days a year and no snow or freezing temperature. As such, the Anthurium Plowmanii is not equipped to tolerate temperatures below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, you want to keep it away from air conditioners and cold drafts indoors.

Outdoors, make sure to bring it back inside once the weather drops close to 55 degrees around late fall. The plant will not survive the winter outdoors.

Humidity

Another aspect of tropical regions is high humidity.

This is why the Anthurium Plowmanii thrives in humidity between 70% and 80%. Although it can tolerate as low as 50%.

This means that you want to maintain enough moisture in the air around the plant.

Unfortunately, this can be a problem if you don’t live in the tropics or near a body of water like a lake. That’s because most homes maintain humidity between 20% and 50% depending on the time of year and where you live.

A good solution to this would be to keep it in a terrarium or a greenhouse.

But if you don’t want to do that. It is a good idea to have a hygrometer around. This simple tool will tell you what the humidity is at any give point in time.

Therefore, once you see the level drop under 50%, it means you need to help your Anthurium Plowmanii out. Additionally, the hygrometer will give you an idea of how much you need to bring up humdiity.

A few options include:

Getting a humidifier
Moving the plant to the bathroom
Placing it in a pebble tray
Giving it a shower every so often

Although it does cost some money, the humidifier allows you to set the target humidity. Many devices also have timers.

As for the others, you’ll need to do some trial and error to see how high the humidity goes up.

Related

How Often to Water Anthurium Plowmanii

The Anthurium Plowmanii prefers slightly drier conditions compared to other anthurium varieties. As such, you want to be careful with watering too often.

If you’re the type who likes to water your plant’s regularly, make sure to use well-draining potting soil and a pot with drainage. I’ll discuss both in detail in the next section.

Otherwise, it is best to allow the soil to dry a bit.

Here, main sure to wait for the top 2 to 3 inches of soil to dry out first before you add more water. You also don’t have to be too precise.

You can wait until the soil is about near halfway dry between waterings. And the plant will be happy.

The goal with watering your Anthurium Plowmanii is to avoid watering too frequently and also allowing the soil to go completely dry.

Thus watch out for the extremes.

When watering, give the plant a good soak then let the soil completely drain afterwards. You can do this by adding water until you see the liquid dripping down the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.

Doing this will saturate the soil giving the roots all the water they want.

But after that, allow the soil to completely drain. This will take between 12 to 30 minutes depending on how big your plant is and how well your soil drains.

I like to leave the plant in a large sink to drain completely before taking it back to its original spot.

This way, the roots get the drink they need but the soil quickly drains.

With this method, you avoid waterlogged soil and potential root rot.

Anthurium PlowmaniiPotting Soil

In the previous section, I spoke a bit about potting soil

Potting soil is very important for the Anthurium Plowmanii because its roots need moisture but the plant prefers a drier environment.

Therefore, the best soil for the plant is moist, well-draining and chunky.

This kind of soil retains enough moisture so the plant gets the hydration is needs quickly drains any excess liquid. Its chunky nature also allows air to easily get through the roots.

This is important because the roots need a good balance of water and oxygen. Therefore, too much of one or the other will cause problems.

Too much water means the plant is waterlogged and the roots are drowning in water. When they suffocate, they will rot.

Too much oxygen means the soil is very dry. This will cause the plant to get dehydrated. Again, this causes a host of issues since 90 to 95% of the plant consists of water.

So, you have a couple of choices here.

You can buy soil off the shelf. In this case an Aroid mix would be perfect.
You can make your own potting soil for Anthurium Plowmanii.

With the latter, you can use the following potting mix which works really well for the plant. Combine:

Orchid mix
Peat moss
Perlite

You can also swap out the peat moss for coco coir if you prefer a more eco-friendly ingredient.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is an important part of Anthurium Plowmanii care. It needs sufficient nutrients to grow optimally.

If you use rich potting soil or have added organic content to your potting mix, you can use less fertilizer.

Additionally, it is also worth mentioning to be careful not to over feed the plant. Just because fertilizer is good for the plant does not mean that giving it more will yield more benefits.

In actuality, too much fertilizer actually harms the plant.

That’s because fertilizer leave mineral salts in the soil. When these salts build up past a certain point, they can damage the roots.

As such, be careful it using too much concentration or feeding too often.

Instead, use a high quality water soluble fertilizer and dilute it to half strength. Apply once every two months during its growing season. You don’t need to fertilize during the fall and winter.

You can likewise go with a slow release fertilizer if you prefer. This will cut down on how often you need to feed the plant.

Alternatively, you can also use a fertilizer with a higher phosphorus content. Phosphorus is the middle number in the NPK ratio. So, you’ll easily see the numbers printed on the label of the product.

This will help your Anthurium Plowmanii produce more flowers.

Pruning

Like many tropical forest plants, the Anthurium Plowmanii will grow bigger in its native habitat.

Similarly, if you plant it in the ground in your yard or garden you’ll notice that it will get bigger than if kept in a pot.

Indoors, in a container, it will reach about 2 feet tall, while its serrated leaves will spread out the to the sides. This makes it easy to accommodate and position in your home or living room.

Although, it will end up in the ground and need some free space around it for the leaves to spread out.

Of course, you can also put it in the patio, deck or balcony if you don’t have a lot of free floor areas indoors.

Its leaves will make up the largest part of the plant and they can get bushy.

For the most part, the plant is either kept a bit sparse with about 10-15 leaves that look separated. Or allowed to get guide bushy where you have leaves going out to different directions.

Both looks are gorgeous. So, it s up to you on which you prefer.

You’ll need to do more regular pruning with the first look, less with the second.

Either way, you do need to so some maintenance work to help keep its shape. Also, remove any dying, discolored and diseased leaves.

How to Propagate Anthurium Plowmanii

There are many ways to propagate Anthurium Plowmanii. However, each method yields varying success rates.

You can propagate it via leaf cuttings, division or by taking its plantlets.

Of the three, leaf cuttings are the easiest to do. Unfortunately, its results are iffy at best. And the success rate is quite inconsistent. So, while you can propagate the leaf cuttings in soil or water, you may or may not get the desired results.

Another very simple way of propagating the Anthurium Plowmanii is by taking its plantlets and planting them separately in their own pots.

The downside to this is that it is unpredictable.

That ‘s because you don’t know when the plant will produce these offshoots. And it is up to the plant when it wants to.

Therefore, the most reliable way to propagate this plant is through division. While it takes more work (and you need a large enough plant, it has a good success rate and you’re in control of when and how you do it.

Propagating Anthurium Plowmanii by Root Division

The best time to propagate your Anthurium Plowmanii is during spring or early summer. Additionally, since you’re dividing the plant, it is best to do it when you are repotting.

This way you don’t have to keep unpotting the plant.

Another thing to keep in mind is that since division entails splitting up one plant into 2 or more new, smaller plants, you do need a large enough parent plant to start with.

Here’s how to do it.

Carefully unpot the plant from its container
Check the root system. Brush off any excess dirt or soil so you can clearly see it. Also, untangle any roots.
Once you see then entire root system, decide how many divisions you want to make. You can make 2, 3 or 4 depending on how big the mother plant is what how many new plants you want.
Choose the divisions so that each section has stems and leaves coming out from the top and corresponding roots at the bottom. Sections with no roots won’t survive so avoid that. The leaves will help so you have a semi-grown plant. Also,, you need them for photosynthesis.
Sterilize a sharp knife with rubbing alcohol.
Then start cutting the root ball into the desired divisions.
Plant each division into its own pot filled with fresh, well-draining potting mix.
Water the soil until moist.
Then place the plants in a well-lit location that’s warm with good humdiity.

How to Repot or Transplant Anthurium Plowmanii

Repot your Anthurium Plowmanii. Although this is just a guideline.

Instead, check the bottom of the pot’s holes once every 6 or 12 months. You’re looking for roots that are coming out from the bottom of the pot.

Once there are a few of them appearing, it is a sign that the plan is root bound. As such, it wants more room to grow.

Note that you don’t need to hurry since it enjoys being root bound. Therefore, you can wait a bit or take your time.

However, don’t let it linger too long since once the plant gets too tight or the roots are overcrowded in the pot, your Anthurium Plowmanii will experience stress and grow slower.

When repotting choose a container that is at most 2 inches bigger than its current one. Also take this opportunity to refresh the potting soil.

Is It Toxic/Poisonous to Humans, Cats & Dogs

Yes, the Anthurium Plowmanii is toxic. It is poisonous to people, cats and dogs when ingested. As such, avoid letting young children and pest chew or consume parts of the plant.

On your part, be careful when handling the plant especially when pruning or propagating. The sap is where the toxic chemicals are. Therefore, avoid getting it into your eyes, nose or mouth.

It can also cause skin irritation on sone people. So, do take precaution if you have allergies or sensitive skin. I recommend using gloves when handling the plant in this case.

Anthurium Plowmanii Problems & Troubleshooting

Pests

The Anthurium Plowmanii has good resistance to pests. However, there’s no 100% guaranteed way to keep them away.

Therefore, you do need to regularly inspect the plant. This way, if you spot any, you can treat them immediately.

Treating them while they are few is easy. So avoid letting the pests grow into an infestation.

The most common bugs that will attack your Anthurium Plowmanii are sap suckers including spider mites, mealybugs, scale and aphids.

You can use neem oil or horticultural oil to get rid of them.

Diseases

When it comes to diseases, root rot and leaf infections are the things you want to watch out for.

Root rot is caused by overwatering or waterlogged soil. As such, avoid watering too frequently, using heavy soil or a pot with no drainage.

On the other hand, leaf infections including leaf spots and blight come from wet leaves that don’t dry quickly enough. Therefore, avoid watering late in the day when there’s no more sun.

Also, make sure the plant gets sufficient light and air circulation which helps moisture dry faster.