Anthurium Warocqueanum (Queen Anthurium) Plant Care

Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by Admin

The Anthurium warocqueanum, also known as the Queen Anthurium, is a very unique looking plant with large, dark green, variegated, drooping leaves.

It is these long and narrow leaves, which can reach up to 3-4 feet long and a few feet wide, that makes this houseplant interesting to greenhouse and indoor plant owners.

As the Anthurium warocqueanum gets older, you’ll see the white veins on its leaves become more prominent.

Like many other houseplants, these are tropical in nature. They are native to the rainforests of Colombia. Thus, they are used to warm, humid climates and to getting drenched with water every so often.

Being epiphytes, these lovely houseplants can be grown in pots or hanging baskets. Although the latter will be something that’s closer to what they’re used to.

Unfortunately, for as lovely as they are, these plants are not the easiest to care for. They are quite picky with their requirements and have some odd behaviors as well.

But, once you understand and give it what it wants, caring for it becomes simple routine.

Table of Contents

Anthurium Warocqueanum Plant Care

Anthurium Warocqueanum Light

The Anthurium warocqueanum’s ideal lighting conditions is bright shade. It likes a lot of light. But, needs to get indirect or filtered light. Similarly, it does well under a shade where it is hidden from the direct path of the sun while still receiving light.

Thus, indoors, the best areas for your queen anthurium is an east facing window. This allows it to soak up a lot of light without experiencing direct sunlight.
In contrast, a north facing window or somewhere that’s dark or with low illumination isn’t a good idea. Keeping your Anthurium warocqueanum in either of these conditions will slow down its growth and cause its leaves to lose their beautiful colors and veins.
Both south and west facing windows feature more intense sunlight, with the former offering longer hours of it. As such, if you wish to display your plant in there places, it’s a good idea to take extra precautions. One way to do so is to keep it about 6-8 feet away from the window’s opening. If you want to keep it closer to the window, make sure that there is something blocking the sunlight. A translucent curtain, shades or if there’s a tree with lots of leaves right outside the window. These scenarios allow filtered or dappled light.

On the other hand, if you wish to keep the plant outdoors, make sure to keep it under shade. A good place would be a patio that has some kind of cover where your plant can stay under.

The reason for taking all these precautions is that direct sunlight will scorch the leaves of the queen anthurium. Thus, after a while, you’ll see its beautiful foliage turn brown.

If you happen to notice the leaves start turning paler or towards a more yellow color, then the opposite is happening, it’s not getting enough light.

In either cases, you should quickly act to move it to a more suitable location.

Anthurium Warocqueanum Temperature & Humidity

The Anthurium warocqueanum works great as an indoor plant because it likes temperature between 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, is enjoys moderate to hotter conditions.

Because of where it comes from, it will tolerate warmer (even hot) environments better than cooler ones. So, make sure to monitor your home’s thermostat to keep your plant happy.

Once the temperature starts dropping into the 50s, you’ll start seeing it start to stress and struggle. For this reason, the queen anthurium is only well suited for growing outdoors in USDA zones 10 and 11.

If you live elsewhere, you can still bring it outside. But, make sure to bring it indoors or move it somewhere toastier once fall and winter come around.

In addition to warm conditions, the Anthurium warocqueanum likes high humidity. Since it comes from the rainforests of Colombia, it is used to moist air. Ideally, you want to keep relative humidity at 70% or higher for the best results.

That said, high humidity does come at a cost. The high water content in the air can cause moisture on its leaves. Thus, allowing it to stay there for long periods of time puts your plant’s foliage at risk of bacterial or fungal disease.

Thus, in addition to warm temperature and high humidity, you want to place your queen anthurium somewhere there’s good air circulation. This can be a room where wind flows in and out through the window or door. Otherwise, you’ll need to set up a ceiling fan or stand fan to keep the air moving.

An added benefit of doing this is that the Anthurium warocqueanum needs fresh, moving air to thrive. If you allow air to get stagnant, you’ll notice its leaves will start deteriorating.

source: wikimedia commons

Watering Anthurium Warocqueanum

Water is another tricky thing with this plant. It likes a lot of water. But, doesn’t like sitting in water. While ironic, the balance is what will help it stay healthy.

And, a good way to easily knowing whether your queen anthurium is happy or not with the care you’re giving it is to check its leaves. If it only has 1 or fewer leaves, it’s not in good shape. Ideally, you want it to have at least 2 leaves. This tells you you’re doing the right things.

In any case, the Anthurium warocqueanum needs regular watering. Its thirsty habit comes from the fact in the rainforest plants get drenched by rain just about every day. Thus, the best way to keep your queen anthurium happy is to give it something it is familiar with.

However, be careful not to overwater it. Otherwise, you’re likely to see yellowing of the leaves. Once this appears, your plant is telling you to scale back on moisture.

Just as importantly, you don’t want to let it go dry. The key to keeping it healthy is always letting it stay lightly moist. If you don’t you’ll see it quickly decline.

As such, once a week watering is a good frequency for this plant provided that you use a potting mix that’s good in holding water like peat moss and/or sphagnum moss. Once the soil starts to dry, it’s time to water again.

In addition to giving it enough water, it’s also key to water the pot and not over the plant. This keeps moisture from staying on the leaves for too long which will cause bacterial or fungal disease. While its leaves are big and thick, they’re very delicate and sensitive to this. So, they can easily get damaged.

Thus to keep this from happening, making sure that your plant stays somewhere that has good air circulation.

Soil

Most anthuriums are epiphytes, the Anthurium warocqueanum included. Thus, in their native environment, they don’t grow in the soil. Instead, you’ll see them clinging on or growing on trees and other plants.

This means that their roots are exposed. Thus, they easily dry even when they get wet often from the rain. Additionally, they exposed nature of their roots allows them to get nutrients from the water, wind and other debris coming from the larger plant.

So what does this mean for you?

It means that your queen anthurium will do best with loose soil. Or, you an likewise grow it as an epiphyte from a branch of another plant.

Loose soil allows for lots of water and air to pass. Thus, it will prevent any waterlogging and potential root rot. Additionally, it makes it easy for the plant to absorb nutrients. Besides being well-draining, your Anthurium warocqueanum enjoys rich soil with high organic matter.

One good option is to use an aroid mix which is made for plants like anthuriums (being an aroid). You can likewise use sphagnum moss, peat moss or coarse bark.

Fertilizing

Feed your Anthurium Warocqueanum weekly. Use a good balanced liquid or slow release fertilizer at a quarter of the recommended strength helps them stay healthy.

In addition, watch out for brown leaves. In addition to too much direct sun and underwatering, brown leaves can be a sign of nutrient deficiency. This makes caring for your queen anthurium a bit of an elimination process especially when you’re trying to diagnose a problem, since there multiple possible reasons for one symptom.

Besides turning brown, don’t be surprised if your queen anthurium “kills” one of its own leaves when a new one is growing. This happens when it isn’t getting enough nutrients. So, what it does is give priority to the newer leaf where the new leaf sucks the nutrients out of the old leaves causing it to deteriorate. And, if it takes enough nutrients, can cause the older leaf to die.

As such, giving it enough fertilizer is essential.

Anthurium Warocqueanum Pruning

Most plants need to be pruned for one of two reasons.

They get too long, big or unruly
Pruning keeps them healthy

In the case of the Anthurium warocqueanum, it’s the latter. They won’t grow a ton of leaves. And, the leaves they do grow, you want to keep for their beauty.

However, as big and as thick as the leaves look, they are also easily damaged. Whether it is from moving, shipping or people getting caught onto them.

Additionally, they are susceptible to disease. The large surface area of the leaves means there’s a lot of space for moisture to sit for a long time. This makes them susceptible to bacterial problems.

Of the two the latter is more of a problem. Physical damage without any disease is easier to fix.

All you need to do is trim off the damaged leaves. Doing so, gets rid of the less visual appealing parts to make way for fresh, new growth.

Anthurium Warocqueanum Propagation

The best way to propagate the queen anthurium is by division. But, unlike other houseplants where you apply root division, it’s actually much easier with this plant because it produces offsets (buds).

Every so often, your Anthurium Warocqueanum will produce some small buds. All you need to do is look around the main stem. These are what you’re going to divide.

Here’s how:

Locate the buds or offshoots that are growing in your plant
I like to wait until they start growing 1-2 leaves. After which, you’ll see it start growing its own aerial root from the main stem. Having the aerial roots allows the new plant to absorb nutrients on its own. And, you don’t have to cut the main stem as well.
Once you’ve identified the section you want to cut, get a pair of shears or a sharp knife. Make sure to wipe it down with rubbing alcohol to sterilize. This ensures that you’re not introducing any bacteria to the plant (which you’re wounding).
Cut the offshoot at the roots
Place the new offshoot into your pot or orchid basket and fill with sphagnum moss or another medium you might prefer to use.
Put the plant in a warm, humid place and water it.

Anthurium Warocqueanum Transplanting & Repotting

When it comes to potting or repotting your queen anthurium, you have the option of using an orchid basket or regular pot. The former, because of its holes, allows the plant to live in its natural state as an epiphyte. You can likewise use a wooden basket. Then attach it to a piece of wood.

This will mimic how it lives in its natural habitat.

However, most Anthurium warocqueanum I know use regular clay or terra cotta pots, probably because it is makes it easier to care for them just like you do the rest of your plants. The uniformity simplifies things.

If you go this route, make sure that the pot you choose has at least one hole at the bottom to allow water to drain out. The hole also lets air in from below.

Clay and terra cotta pots work well because they’re porous. As such, they allow very little amounts of air and water through the pot. This improves drainage as well as air circulation.

Technically, you can repot your queen anthurium any time of the year except the cold months. But, it is best to do so right before or early in the spring. This way it quickly starts to grow after moving to a new pot.

Toxicity

Unfortunately, every part of the queen anthurium is toxic. This is because it contains calcium oxalate crystals. When ingested, this will cause irritation in your mouth, throat and digestive system. It can also cause skin irritation. Thus, wearing gloves is a good idea if you experience this

What this means is that it is very important to keep the plant away from the reach of pets and children. Although, this can be a bit tough because of how the leaves hang down vertically.

Pests and Diseases

When it comes to pests, the Anthurium warocqueanum’s most common problems are mealybugs, thrps, aphids, spider mites and scale.

Thus, it’s key to inspect the plant on a regular basis, especially its leaves for any irregularities. The good news is, these pests are fairly easy to get rid of. You can either spray them with water, use cotton with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

However, the bad news is, once one plant has pests, it’s very likely the other plants around it will also be infested. If you spot it early enough, you may limit the spread. Otherwise, it becomes a lot of work to disinfect all of the plants.