Growing & Care of Anthurium Waterburyanum

Last Updated on April 14, 2022 by Admin

The Anthurium Waterburyanum is another large leaved plant making it somewhat similar to the Anthurium rugulosum.

However, the shapes and patterns in their leaves allow you to easily distinguish one from the other.

The Anthurium Waterburyanum is native to the tropical regions of South America including Ecuador.

How do you care for the Anthurium Waterburyanum? Give it bright, indirect light to help support its growth and maintain its leaf color. It enjoys warm, humid conditions.

Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings and don’t overwater it. Feed with a balanced liquid fertilizer during its growing season for optimal development.

Table of Contents

Anthurium Waterburyanum Plant Care

Light Requirements

The Anthurium Waterburyanum thrives in bright, indirect sunlight to develop its large leaves and maintain its color and texture.

That said, the plant won’t have any issues with medium or low light either.

However, you do want to be a bit more cautious with low light since the plant won’t grow as fast or as big here.

More importantly, you don’t want to cross the line where the plant gets insufficient light.

Like all plants, the Anthurium Waterburyanum needs light for photosynthesis. And it is photosynthesis that allows it to produce the energy it uses to support its growth.

So, lack of light means less energy, which in turn means less growth.

This not only affects its rate of growth and how big the plant gets, but also how many leaves it produces and how big the leave get.

As such, an east or west facing window is ideal.

You can likewise keep the plant in a south facing window but you need to temper the light since it is a bit too much for the plant to take on a daily basis.

Thus, distancing the plant about 3 feet or farther from window works. Or you can filter the light by adding sheer curtains.

The reason for this is that the Anthurium Waterburyanum lives in the tropical forests where the much larger trees and plants block some of the sun’s light.

The forest canopy filters the direct rays of the sun thanks to the leaves and branches of the larger trees.

Therefore, the plant is accustomed to bright but indirect light.

And it cannot take intense direct sunlight for more than 2 or so hours daily. That is, unless you acclimate it to such conditions.

Otherwise, excess exposure will turn its leaves yellow or even scorch them.

Temperature

Ideal temperature for the Anthurium Waterburyanum is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. This is due to its native habitat.

This allows the plant to quickly fit into indoor home living since the most homes have temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, there are still some things to consider when indoors.

That’s because of two things.

One is the plant likes consistently moderate to warm weather. Again, this has to do with it living under the shade of larger trees in a tropical environment.

Second is that it cannot tolerate the cold. Avoid leaving it in temperatures below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

As such, you want to be wary of:

Sudden or significant temperature fluctuations which be caused by cold spots, sudden drops in nighttime temperature or appliances.
Keep it away from air conditioners and cold drafts
Avoid heaters, radiators, ovens, fireplaces and similar appliances

Outdoors, winter weather is the biggest thing to avoid.

It won’t survive frost, snow or freezing conditions. Therefore, make sure to take the plant indoors if you bring it outside during the summer.

That said, if you live in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11, the plant will happily grow outdoors in a pot or in the ground.

That’s because there are no winters in these areas. Instead, it stays sunny and warm during November through March.

Humidity

The Anthurium Waterburyanum loves humidity. Ideally, it prefers humidity to stay between 50% and 80%. This is where it feels most comfortable.

Once again, this stems from the plant tropical forest origins.

The tropics are best known for being hot and humid. As such, the Anthurium Waterburyanum is used to this living environment.

However, it is important to note that the plant can tolerate humidity down to 40% and slightly lower.

This somewhat makes it easier to accommodate for most homes. The reason is the average humidity in homes runs between 20% and 50%.

So, depending on where you live, you may or may not need to increase humidity around the plant to keep it healthy.

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for the plant’s leaves.

That’s because they’ll give you a clue once humidity is too low for the plant’s liking. When this happens, its leaf tips and margins will turn brown.

They will get dry and crispy as well. And touching them will feel brittle that the brown parts can quickly crumble.

This tells you that you need to increase humidity.

And you can do so by getting a humidifier, setting up a pebble tray or humidity tray. Many growers prefer misting the plant as well.

How Often to Water Anthurium Waterburyanum

Only water the plant when the top 2 inches has dried. Avoid doing so before that since this can increase the chance of overwatering.

The easiest way to do this is to regular feel the surface of the soil.

Once a week or once every 3-4 days works well for me.

If the soil feels moist at the surface, then there’s no need to even think about watering the plant yet.

However, if the soil surface feels dry, it’s time to check further. Stick your finger down about 2 inches from the top of the soil.

This will reach about the second knuckle in your index finger.

Then take your finger out and feel your fingertip.

If there’s moisture, any wetness or soil sticking there, don’t water. It means the soil at that depth is at least still moist.

But if your fingertip feels dry and there are only a few soil dusts there, it is time to water.

This is a very simple way of checking that takes less than 30 seconds every so often.

Once you get used to regularly checking the soil it will be habit and part of your routine without even thinking about it.

Anthurium Waterburyanum Potting Soil

Ideal potting mix for the Anthurium Waterburyanum should be well-draining and loose. It also prefers a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.5.

Soil plays an important role with indoor plants because it determines how much or how little moisture is retained.

This means that if you choose a dense, heavy or compacted soil, it will hold more water. While that’s great for many plants, that can kill your Anthurium Waterburyanum due to waterlogging and overwatering.

So, avoid that.

On the other hand, very sandy soils or those that drain too well will get rid of too much moisture too quickly. This causes the roots to dry up, not get enough to drink and become underwatered.

In time, unless you water frequently, your Anthurium Waterburyanum will get dehydrated.

Again, avoid this.

Instead, go with well-draining soil.

Well-draining potting mix holds some moisture. But will quickly drain excess water so the roots don’t end up swimming or drowning in water. This prevents waterlogging and overwatering.

A simple way to achieve this is to use:

2 parts orchid mix
1 part perlite
1 part peat

Another option you can go with is:

1 part peat
1 part perlite
1 part pine bark

Here, the peat helps with moisture retention. The perlite and bark increase drainage. For added measure, bark is also chunky which allows air to easily reach the roots.

Of course, don’t forget to use a pot with drainage holes at the bottom to allow the any excess water to escape.

Fertilizer

The Anthurium Waterburyanum is not a heavy feeder. But it does need nutrients.

Therefore, giving it fertilizer helps it grow healthy and reach its full potential. However, be careful with over fertilizing it since this can damage the plant or even kill it.

All you need to do is follow the instructions on the label of the product.

Because the Anthurium Waterburyanum is not picky, you can use just about any fertilizer provided it is not low quality. Avoid the overly cheap products since they tend to leave a lot of excess salts.

As these salts build up in the soil, they will eventually cause root burn.

You can use all-purpose or balanced fertilizer, diluted to half the recommended strength.

The plant only needs feeding once a month during spring and summer. There’s no need to feed it in the fall or winter.

Pruning

The Anthurium Waterburyanum will produce impressively large, heart-shaped leaves as it grows. Although, it won’t grow as big or produce as large leaves when indoors.

Nevertheless, the plant still looks amazing.

Outdoors, the biggest Anthurium Waterburyanum I’ve seen had leaves that could nearly cover a 5 foot tall person.

Its size reminded me on the large, long shields in the medieval ages that the knights used to protect themselves with from head to toe.

Yes, that’s how big the leaves can grow outdoors.

This is what makes it stunning and gorgeous.

But since the leaves and the stems are all you see above the soil, there’s really no need to prune the Anthurium Waterburyanum.

The only reason for pruning the Anthurium Waterburyanum is to remove dead, old, damaged or discolored leaves.

In many cases, if only a small portion of a bigger leaf is affected, you can just reshape the leaf by trimming off the damaged sections.

How to Propagate Anthurium Waterburyanum

The Anthurium Waterburyanum is commonly propagated from stem cuttings.

As such, the most important thing here is taking the cuttings.

You can take one or many cuttings depending on how many new plants you want to grow. However, don’t remove too many stems from the mother plant at once.

Here’s how to propagate Anthurium Waterburyanum from stem cuttings.

Take healthy stem cuttings form the mother plant. The most important thing is to take a cutting with at least one node. If you can get 2 or more nodes, even better. Also, it should have some leaves on it.
Use a sterile pair of shears and cut just below a node.
Prepare a pot and fill it with soil mix.
If you have rooting hormone, apply it on the end of the stem. You can use powder, liquid or paste form, they all work the same.
Plant the cuttings into the soil with the nodes buried under the surface.
Put the pot in bright, indirect light and water the soil to keep it moist.

It usually takes 4 or so weeks for the cuttings to root and start establishing themselves in the soil.

Note that you can also propagate in water.

In this case, you’ll put the stem cuttings in water first with the nodes submerged. It takes about 3 or so weeks for enough roots to grow.

And once the roots reach 2 inches or longer, you can transfer the cuttings from water to soil mix.

How to Repot or Transplant Anthurium Waterburyanum

Unlike some other houseplants, the Anthurium Waterburyanum does not like being root bound. Therefore, once you see roots coming out from the bottom of the pot, get ready to move it to a larger container.

The best time to repot is during spring.

So, if there’s just a few roots sneaking out from the holes under the pot, you can wait until spring to do so.

However, if the plant is already quite root bound and it feels overcrowded in its pot with lots of rooting poking out from the holes under the pot, repotting as soon as you can is ideal.

Try to avoid very hot or very cold days since this increases the stress the plant already feels from being transplanted to another container.

Choose a pot that is 2 inches larger than the current and replace the soil with fresh, well-draining potting mix as well.

Is It Toxic/Poisonous to Humans, Cats & Dogs

Yes, the Anthurium Waterburyanum is toxic to humans and pets. However, note that it only becomes toxic when its external layer is broken.

This releases the sap. Additionally, when ingested, insoluble calcium oxalates get activated.

The latter is the more dangerous one because it enters your system. On the other hand, sap can irritate skin in some people.

Anthurium Waterburyanum Problems & Troubleshooting

Pests

Pests are not a big problem for the Anthurium Waterburyanum. And with proper care, you may never need to deal with these bugs.

That said, you should always check the plant for any pests.

That’s because these insects will populate very rapidly. As such, it does not take long before they turn into an infestation.

Spider mites, aphids, scale and mealybugs are common pests that will attack the plant.

Fortunately, when detected early, they are easily eradicated with neem oil and insecticidal soap.

Diseases

The Anthurium Waterburyanum can experience root rot, blight and leaf spot diseases. These are all problematic since root rot can kill the plant.

Similarly, depending on the kind of blight the plant gets it can cause very serious damage.

Therefore, prevention is very important.

Overwatering is usually the main cause for most diseases including root rot. So, being mindful of how you water and when you water is very important.