by Jennifer Poindexter
Have you ever heard of the flamingo flower? It’s also known as anthurium or the flamingo lily.
If you’re unfamiliar with this plant, you’re in for a treat. You can’t miss the glossy leaves and vibrant heart-shaped blooms.
When searching for a great container plant, you shouldn’t overlook this option. Even if you’re uncertain on how to grow or care for the flamingo flower, there’s nothing to fret over.
You’ve landed in the right place. I’m going to walk you through all you must know to have a solid foundation to start from when growing the flamingo flower.
Here’s what you must know when growing this plant.
Growing Conditions for the Flamingo Flower
The flamingo flower may serve as both an indoor and outdoor plant around your home depending upon the time of year and conditions outdoors.
This plant has some very specific growing conditions which must be met to have the best growing experience.
The first thing you must consider when growing the flamingo flower is the amount of sunlight. The plant desires bright, indirect lighting.
It needs enough light to bloom but shouldn’t be left directly in the sun as this will scorch the foliage of the plant. Also, be mindful of the placement of this plant as it’s poisonous. Ensure the growing location has the right amount of light but is safely away from pets or small children.
The next thing to consider are the temperatures. Flamingo flowers prefer temperatures around 70-degrees Fahrenheit with higher humidity.
Anything below 70-degrees Fahrenheit, the plant should be moved indoors. If the temperatures reach above 90-degrees Fahrenheit, the plant should also be moved indoors as it can’t handle too much heat.
Depending upon where you live, the plant might need to spend the cooler portions of the year indoors. Though the flamingo flower is a perennial plant, it’s only hardy in planting zones ten and eleven.
Even if the plant must be moved around throughout the year to keep it happy, there’s good news. The flamingo flower does well when grown in a container.
This makes moving the plant around easier and should ensure it survives for many years under your care regardless of which planting zone you reside. When selecting a planter for this flower, ensure there’s proper drainage and that you select soil that’s well-draining, too.
It’s a good idea to fill the planter with potting soil and peat moss as this will ensure there’s enough aeration in the soil.
As long as you provide the temperatures, lighting, humidity, well-draining soil, and protection this plant needs, you should be able to grow a plant that produces either red, pink, or purple blooms throughout the year.
Now that you know what the flamingo flower needs in a growing location, let’s discuss how to grow this plant.
How to Plant the Flamingo Flower
The flamingo flower can be grown using a variety of methods. If you come across seeds for this flower, don’t be shy about using this method.
As with most plants, you should place the seeds of the flamingo flower into a growing tray with well-draining soil.
If the seeds came straight from the berries the plant produces, be sure to clean them thoroughly by soaking them in water. If the seeds aren’t clean, it could impact their germination rate.
Place the seeds into the soil and gently mist them with a spray bottle of water. This ensures the seeds receive moisture without becoming oversaturated.
Wrap the top of the tray in plastic wrap to help retain moisture and to provide a greenhouse effect to the seedlings.
The tray should be kept in a warm location but out of direct lighting. Keep the soil consistently moist. The seeds should germinate in about a week.
Continue to care for the seedlings until they have true leaves and a strong root system. You can transplant the seedlings into their own containers at that time.
However, ensure you never place the new plants into direct lighting as this can scorch the leaves.
The other methods to growing the flamingo flower are from division or a cutting. Typically, the flamingo flower must be repotted every two years.
These would be appropriate methods to use during this time. When repotting a flamingo plant, use a spade to remove the plant from the container and divide it all the way through the root system.
Transplant the divisions into new containers with well-draining soil. Supply all the necessary growing conditions discussed above to ensure the new plants can thrive.
If you opt for growing the flamingo flower from a cutting, remove at least a six-inch cutting from the plant with a minimum of two nodes.
Dip the cutting in rooting hormone and place it in a pot with well-draining soil. Keep the soil consistently moist until the cutting forms a strong root system.
You can also root the cutting in water by placing it in a shallow glass container with water. Leave the cutting there until it forms roots. From this point, transplant it into a container with well-draining soil.
These are a few different ways to grow the flamingo flower. Pick the method which works best for you and give it a try.
Caring for the Flamingo Flower
The flamingo flower is particular about the type of care it receives. It’s vital to water and fertilize the plant properly. There are also a few other minor tasks which will help this plant thrive. Let’s begin by discussing watering the plant.
To water a flamingo flower, it’s best to practice the deep watering method. This means applying water to the plant for a longer period of time but fewer days of the week.
When watering this plant, ensure you don’t stop until you see it pouring from the bottom of the container.
Where the flamingo flower is typically grown in a container, you may have to water it more frequently than plants you water deeply in an inground garden plot.
However, be sure to test the soil before adding water. The flamingo flower should be thoroughly dried between waterings.
When testing the soil, insert your finger and ensure the dirt is dry to your second knuckle before having another deep watering session.
The next thing you must do when caring for a flamingo flower is to fertilize your plant. It should be fertilized at 25% potency one time per month.
Be sure you don’t over fertilize the plant as too much nitrogen can cause more harm than good for this flower.
Humidity is another important ingredient in caring for and providing the right growing conditions for the flamingo flower.
When growing the flamingo flower indoors, try placing it in naturally humid areas of your home such as the kitchen or bathroom.
You may also mist the plant, daily, with a spray bottle of water. Another great way to increase the humidity around the plant is to place the planter (with the flower) inside a larger planter.
The larger planter should have small pebbles in the bottom and have a small amount of water covering them.
However, the water shouldn’t reach the planter which contains the flamingo flower. This will help avoid over watering the plant while still increasing the humidity around it.
If you notice the leaves of the plant start to become dull or begin to drop, that’s a sign that your growing location is lacking humidity.
The final steps to caring for the flamingo flower is dusting the plant, handling dead leaves, and removing the center yellow bloom.
As the flamingo flower grows, it will produce a yellow flower in the center. Remove this to encourage a longer life span of your blooms.
By providing adequate care of this plant, it should bloom about six times per year assuming you provide all the necessary growing conditions.
If you see any discolored leaves, when caring for the plant, be sure to remove them. It’s also a good idea to dust the leaves of the plant once per month.
Place the plant inside the shower and spray it gently with water. This should remove any debris from the foliage.
These are the steps you should take to provide ample care to the flamingo flower. Hopefully, these tips will help your plant thrive under your care.
Garden Pests and Diseases Which Might Impact the Flamingo Flower
The final items we must discuss, when growing a flamingo flower, are the diseases and pests which might impact the health of this plant.
The pests which commonly impact the flamingo flower are aphids, thrips, scales, mealybugs, and spider mites.
If you suspect a pest issue, the first thing you should do is move your plant to the kitchen sink and spray it with water.
This should remove the pests from your plant, destroy any homes they might have made, and remove any sticky substance they might have left behind from sucking the sap from the plant’s foliage.
The next thing you should do is apply an insecticide which treats all the above-mentioned pests. This should help you protect your flamingo flower from bugs which would like to make a meal and home out of it.
There are also a few diseases which might impact the flamingo flower. This includes bacterial wilt, bacterial blight, root rot, and black nose disease.
If you suspect bacterial wilt, there isn’t much you can do to save the plant. However, if you suspect bacterial blight, you can treat the plant with a fungicide.
Be sure the fungicide is meant to treat this disease and follow the instructions pertaining to application.
Root rot is typically caused from a plant growing in soil (or a container) that doesn’t drain adequately. It can also occur from too much water being applied to the plant.
Eventually, the roots will become too saturated and begin to rot. To avoid this disease, be sure you plant in well-draining soil and use a planter that drains sufficiently.
You should also practice the deep watering method but be sure to test the soil prior to watering the plant each time.
The flamingo flower has a floral spadix (or nose) which sticks out of the center of the flower. If you notice black dots on the nose of the plant, you have a problem.
This is a fungal issue and should be treated with a fungicide to save your plant. These are the few threats which could impact your growing experience when raising a flamingo flower.
However, by remaining alert to these issues and treating them at their first signs, you should be able to turn things around quickly and grow a healthy plant to beautify your space.
You now know what you must to grow a flamingo flower successfully. Hopefully, this information has equipped you to try growing this plant using different gardening methods.
Also, you should feel better equipped to handle specific challenges that may arise when growing this plant. By taking these tips into consideration, you should be ready to grow the unique and gorgeous flamingo flower around your home all year long.
More About the Flamingo Flower
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/anthurium/
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FP042
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