The substrates I use for Anthurium
Pic 1: the substrates I use
Substrates for Anthurium seeds
Substrates for Anthurium seedlings
Substrates for larger Anthurium
Substrates for Anthurium rehabs
A brief overview of components
I wrote a blog last year about how to mill moss. Milled moss and perlite was my go to mix for Anthurium seeds and seedlings for a long time. Until I started growing hundreds of seedlings and I realised that I might spend every day for the rest of my life milling moss and cleaning up afterwards. The main drawback to the mix I use now is that it is more expensive. But I get my life back so it’s a small price to pay.
So I thought it was time to update you on what I use now for my seeds and seedlings. And since we’re both here I’ll explain what I use for my larger plants too.
I’ll go through what I use for each growth stage with the approximate make up of the mixes. Bear in mind that the percentages are a very rough estimate. I always advise playing with your mixes, partly for the feel of dirt under your fingernails and partly to make the right mix for you, your conditions and your plants. If you’re an under-waterer you might want less LECA and more tree fern for a more retentive mix. If your conditions are very humid you might want the opposite. If the plant you’re potting has very thick roots use less tree fern to give the roots more air.
I’ll include a table at the end with a brief look at properties of each component so you know what difference it will make to your mix.
Substrates for Anthurium seeds
If I plan to sell my hybrids as seeds or small seedlings, I tend to pot them fairly close together (2cm space on all sides) in a community pot. I love these tubs you get strawberries in – no drainage holes and enough depth to give roots room to stretch out. I add a layer of LECA (about 3cm deep) and straight tree fern fibre on top (about 6-8cm deep). I keep a water reservoir in the LECA layer.
I always intend to pot up remaining seedlings as soon as they start to encroach on each other’s space, but it doesn’t always happen due to lack of time, space, energy… Being cramped does tend to keep them a little smaller but I find as soon as I pot them up, they show their gratitude with bigger, beautiful leaves.
If I plan to grow the seeds out first, I usually pot them into a module tray or straight into individual pots in my seedling mix.
Substrates for Anthurium seedlings
My new blend for seedlings is a 60:40 mix of tree fern fibre (pull those chonky bits apart and cut up the really twiggy bits) and fine semi hydro.
This mix is the perfect balance of water retentiveness and airiness, to dissuade those fragile roots from rotting. You can read my blog here on how I grow seedlings – it explains why they need more moisture than more mature plants.
| Seedlings mix | |
|---|---|
| Tree fern fibre | 60% |
| Soil Ninja fine semi hydro | 40% |
Substrates for larger Anthurium
This is where I use a bit of judgement (or laziness dictates that I use whatever is closest).
Previously, I would pot almost all Anthurium into Soil Ninja’s coarse semi hydro once I potted up to a 7cm pot. Now, I’m choosing to keep some of the fussier buggers (the velvets like pap and antolakii and dressleri) in a tree fern mix a bit longer. I was getting too many rotten roots after the transition. Forgetii seem like they should be in the easy group but for me they’re prone to root rot too so I leave them in tree fern mix a little longer.
I’ll either use the seedling mix or, for thicker roots, I’ll use my big boi tree fern mix.
| Tree fern mix | |
|---|---|
| Tree fern | 50% |
| LECA | 20% |
| Pumice | 15% |
| Zeolite | 10% |
| Activated charcoal | 5% |
I am a semi hydro evangelist. I’m a consistent over-waterer and being able to keep a reservoir without suffocating my plants makes life so much easier.
I’ve seen online discussions on the eternal question of whether to rinse or not to rinse. I’ve seen the sludge that comes out when you rinse and I don’t want it around my plants’ roots or at the bottom of my reservoirs. So I always rinse until the water runs clear.
I use semi hydro in all kinds of set ups:
- With the nursery pot sitting directly in a reservoir (hummus tubs make the perfect saucer)
- In a purposely designed self-watering pot
- In no-drainage with a small reservoir at the bottom
- I even have a couple of succulents without a reservoir that I water through
Most of my plants are in the first set up and I add water directly to the reservoir rather than watering through. My intention is to flush my plants with clear water once a month (I use the word ‘intention’ to indicate that I know this is what I should do but life gets in the way…).
Substrates for Anthurium rehabs
We’ve all been there. Your plant is growing beautifully and then you notice that the leaves are looking a bit sad. You check the roots and lo and behold: rot. The bane of our lives. If it’s just a little I tend to chop the rot and drench the roots and stem with hydrogen peroxide (1:1 water and 3% hydrogen peroxide). I pot back up in fresh substrate and cut back on the watering for a while.
Where the plant has lost a lot of roots, it’s time to rehab. I unpot, remove all rot and soak the roots and stem in the hydrogen peroxide mix for 24 hours. And then it’s into my rehab mix. I need to water a little more often with this mix but that's a good way of keeping an eye on the rehab so no bad thing.
| Rehab mix | |
|---|---|
| Tree fern fibre | 30% |
| LECA | 20% |
| Pumice | 15% |
| Zeolite | 15% |
| Perlite | 15% |
| Activated charcoal | 5% |
A brief overview of components
| Component | Brief overview of its properties |
|---|---|
| Tree fern fibre | Retains water well but resists becoming water-logged, allowing the roots to breathe. |
LECA (Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate) | Lightweight clay balls that increase the aeration in the soil. They’re also cheap so useful to bulk out your mix. |
| Pumice | Helps with aeration and stops compaction. Holds nutrients to increase uptake. Is heavier than perlite which tends to rise to the top of the pot. I now almost always use pumice instead of perlite. |
| Zeolite | Soil Ninja hails this as a revolutionary product and I’m not arguing! A natural mineral with properties that allow it to retain some of the most beneficial nutrients for our plants, increasing uptake. |
| Activated charcoal | Used as a purifier to prevent build up of gases and toxins and prevent mould. Will absorb nutrients and slowly release them. |
| Semi hydro | The blend I use is proprietary to Soil Ninja so I’ll let you read all about it here. |
I think I say this every time but I do because it's important! What I've written here is what works for me with my habits, with my plants in my environment. I encourage you to have a play and see what works for you. And as always, let me know if you think I've got anything wrong or I could explain something more clearly. I'm always happy to receive feedback. Happy planting!
