How I Grow Anthurium from Seed

How I Grow Anthurium from Seed

Growing an Anthurium from seed: the basics

What should I know first about growing Anthurium from seed?

What substrate should I use for Anthurium seeds?

How much water should I give Anthurium seeds and seedlings?

How much light should I give Anthurium seeds and seedlings?

How much humidity should I give Anthurium seeds and seedlings?

At what temperature should I grow my Anthurium seeds and seedlings?

When should I start to fertilise Anthurium seedlings?

When should I pot up my Anthurium seedlings?

Growing Anthurium from seed: the basics

• Sow Anthurium seeds when they’re fresh and sow on the surface of your moss or soil mix
• Give them plenty of indirect light (absolutely no direct light)
• Keep them well-watered
• Keep the humidity high

You don't need a lot of expensive equipment! A clear, covered box or cloche in a warm spot on a windowsill or set back from a grow light will be fine.

There’s nothing quite like growing a plant from seed. Starting out with a little green dot and following its growth until it’s ready to start making its own seeds. We’re watching nature work her magic.

Apart from the usual watercress hair growing out of empty egg shells at school (remember those?) I started growing from seed when I got into outdoor gardening. I was scattering seeds with abandon all over the flower beds and starting off dozens of vegetable plants indoors. I used to sow seeds in trays of vermiculite, stick them in the greenhouse or on a windowsill and ignore them apart from the odd water. They got no special treatment and the ones that sprouted thrived and the ones that didn’t went on the compost heap. But back then I was paying £1 for a pack of 100 seeds. We tend to baby our Anthurium seeds a little bit more. And it’s no wonder when they cost a lot more than a penny a seed.

I’m going to tell you how I grow my Anthurium from seed. I know others have great success using different substrates and keeping them in higher or lower light and different temperatures. I encourage you to play and see what works for you and your plants in your conditions and with your habits. We’re all different. And that’s half the fun. If you’re new to growing from seed maybe start out with a couple of cheaper ones and grow your confidence. Though if you want to YOLO and get a carlablackiae as your first then more power to your elbow!

What should I know first about growing Anthurium from seed?

If you buy seeds from me they will have germinated already and will have their first fuzzy roots. Some may have the start of their first leaves. Other seeds may be sold fresh and there is a chance that your seed won’t germinate (certain factors like who the parents are increase that risk). Make sure you know whether your seed is germinated or not before you buy.

Once you’ve got your seeds (and something which confused me when I first started), sow the seed on the surface. Most advice on growing seeds is to bury them under the substrate but Anthurium will soon anchor themselves with their first root before they shoot their first leaf.

Also, Anthurium seeds don’t store well. Once they’ve been harvested from the plant they should be allowed to germinate immediately (they will stay good in their berries for a couple of weeks - nature’s pause button).

What substrate should I use for Anthurium seeds?

I use milled moss; you can read more about that here but it’s just moss blitzed with water in a blender. I find it much easier to use than long strands of moss. The milled stuff just falls away from the roots when you come to pot up so saves the tedious (and potentially damaging) process of picking strands off the roots. I also find it better at keeping the young seedlings consistently moist which is key. I add perlite to the moss to provide pockets of air for the roots but have had success with straight milled moss.

This substrate has produced great results for me and it is relatively cheap. I know others love tree fern fibre for their seeds and seedlings. I have tried it but didn’t see a noticeable difference in my environment and it’s a lot pricier. But it may well work for you. I haven’t tried Fluval Stratum but others swear by it. Some people also sow seeds straight onto a soil mix. If you want to do that I’d make it a little less chunky than the usual anthurium mix to stop it drying out too fast. Again, I’d encourage you to have a play and see what suits you and your environment (and your bank balance).

How much water should I give Anthurium seeds and seedlings?

Small seedlings don’t have much of a water reserve in their leaves and roots so you want to ensure they stay consistently moist. For very small seedlings I err on the side of too much water rather than too little. How frequently you water will entirely depend on your conditions so keep a close eye.

How much light should I give Anthurium seeds and seedlings?

I tend to give my seeds and young seedlings more light than I’d give my mature Anthurium. My goal is fast growth now - dark leaves later (we hope). Most are under Barrina T5 lights at a distance of 30-40cm. Using a cheap light meter from Amazon (it's enough for my purposes but do keep in mind that it might not be the most accurate) I get a reading of 2330 lux (around 200 foot candles).

How much humidity should I give Anthurium seeds and seedlings?

This is key. As I said earlier, you want to keep your seeds and seedlings evenly moist. A humid environment helps. It stops the substrate drying out too quickly and reduces the amount of water plants lose from their leaves via transpiration. The easiest way to boost humidity is to keep your seed or seedling enclosed in a clear pot, box or cloche. Open it up every day or two for a bit of fresh air.

At what temperature should I grow my anthurium seeds and seedlings?

Anthurium are tropical plants and will appreciate us replicating a little bit of jungle for them. That primarily means humid and warm. I find my seedlings do best with a constant temperature of around 20-23 ºC (around 70-75 ºF). I use a heat mat under an enclosed propagator or a purpose-built electric propagator. Make sure your plant pots are not sitting directly on the heat mat and always use a thermostat to prevent your seedlings overheating. If they’re not enclosed they’ll dry out super fast. So take care!

When should I start to fertilise Anthurium seedlings?

Seeds contain all the nutrition the seedlings need to grow their first 2 or 3 leaves. After that I start to fertilise with the same feed than I use on my larger Anthurium at about quarter strength. I've planned another blog post on how I fertilise but a good all round liquid feed, well-diluted, will be fine. I slowly increase the strength as the seedlings grow.

I start to fertilise my anthurium seedlings once they reach this sort of size.

When should I pot up my Anthurium seedlings?

If you’re buying your germinated seeds from me they’ll arrive in a small pot of moss. I would leave them in that pot for at least a week or two. Let them settle in before you pot them up. Confession: I’ve left seeds in those little pots for weeks and weeks - until the roots are curling round the bottom and they’re such a pain to disentangle. Don’t be like me! In my experience Anthurium seedlings (and Anthurium in general) don’t like to be pot bound. I find that they’ll grow bigger leaves more quickly in a larger pot. Having said that, the danger with a pot that’s too big is that your substrate can become waterlogged and cut off oxygen to your plants’ roots. So just be careful with your watering once you've potted up your seedling. Once it has 4-5 leaves I start to cut back on the water a little, although I never let my Anthurium dry out completely.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: a lot of the fun (for me at least) in growing plants is having a play to see what works for you. I’ve explained what works best for me but you may find that you hate moss with a passion. You might find lower light levels work better for you. You might prefer not to baby your anthurium at all and are happy for them to sit in a warm spot in your living room and do their thing. There is no right or wrong. What’s the worst that could happen?

If you have any questions drop a comment below. If you have a different way of growing Anthurium from seed I’d love to know what you do so please let me know that too!