Anthurium warocqueanum and its care.

Anthurium warocqueanum , often called the “Queen Anthurium”, is an unusual green plant known for its long, dramatically drooping, velvety leaves. The leaves can grow large, sometimes over a meter long, making the plant a sought-after houseplant.

Brief description of the species Anthurium warocqueanum.

Anthurium warocqueanum belongs to the Araceae family and is an epiphytic plant from the rainforests of Colombia. This anthurium differs from other varieties with its long leaves that can reach 1.5 meters. The plant is part of the Cardiolonchium subgroup, which is known for its velvety leaves with a covering of small, flat hairs.

It climbs trees at the foot of the Andes mountain range at altitudes between 400-1200 meters.

The leaves of Anthurium warocqueanum are impressively large, ranging from light green to almost black-green with age, often with a beautiful vein structure. In addition to its large leaves, the plant produces a green spadix and spathe, as well as red berries when flowering.

Anthurium warocqueanum care

To be successful with your Anthurium warocqueanum, it is important to try to mimic its natural environment as much as possible. We have divided the care into 7 different points to make it easy.

1. Light:

Anthurium warocqueanum thrives best in bright but indirect light. Direct sunlight can damage the delicate leaves. Many people who grow this tropical plant indoors use grow lights during the winter months when the sun's rays are weak.

If you don't have plant lighting, you can place your potted plant in as much sun as you can during the darkest months of winter.

2. Soil:

A good soil for anthurium is an airy mixture of coco peat, perlite and vermicompost along with coarse pieces of bark mulch. This ensures good drainage while keeping the roots slightly moist at all times.

Since Anthurium warocqueanum is an epiphyte, which means that in the wild it grows on other plants, this cold-hardy plant has therefore developed aerial roots and uses them to cling to tree trunks.

These roots are thick and function much like regular roots in the soil by absorbing moisture and nutrients from the air. However, unlike soil roots, they are very susceptible to root rot without sufficient oxygen supply. This can be achieved with the right soil and good pots.

Stop mixing your own soil and buy our Aroid & Orchid soil here!

3. Pots :

To grow anthurium in general, we use orchid pots. This means transparent plastic pots that are well-draining with many bottom holes. These pots are almost absolutely crucial to getting a healthy green plant like Anthurium warocqueanum.

The reason these clear pots are so great is that they give the grower a way to directly communicate with the plant's roots. With an orchid pot, the roots are visible right through the clear plastic. White roots with little 'fluffy hairs' mean healthy roots which often means a healthy potted plant.

Brown or black roots are not doing well. This can often be an early sign that the plant will soon show signs of ill health above the surface.

In short, transparent pots make caring for many plants easier by directly seeing how the roots are doing and quickly making changes to the care.

Related: You can buy cheap transparent pots for Anthurium here!

4. Moss and moss pile :

Placing sphagnum moss around the stem of your Anthurium warocqueanum can encourage the growth of larger leaves. Alternatively, the plant can be attached to a moss stake, which mimics its natural growth habit and provides support for larger leaves.

Anthurium warocqueanum climbs trees as an epiphyte. Image: Crazy Plant Factory Feb 8, 2023

Anthurium warocqueanum, like many other cold-hardy plants, climbs trees and therefore thrives with a support. However, this variety of Anthurium tends to climb faster than other varieties and therefore often requires a support such as a moss stake to really thrive.

It will also be easier to take top cuttings because the aerial roots have already established themselves in the moss and cuttings can be taken and the plant can be easily propagated.

5. Propagation:

Anthurium warocqueanum can be propagated by dividing the plant or taking cuttings from side shoots that develop their own roots. Be sure to use a clean knife and place the cutting in an airy soil mixture with moist sphagnum moss for best results.

Top cuttings that have already rooted in moss are more likely to establish quickly and grow large leaves. However, it is also easier to cut side shoots that have already rooted in moss, which is why we highly recommend this technique. Just keep the moss around the trunk moist at all times and the roots will thank you.

The flower of Anthurium warocqueanum. Photo: Chris Griggs Mar 18, 2023

6. Humidity :

High humidity is not a must, especially if your Anthurium warocqueanum is in the right soil. However, a humidifier or regular spraying of the leaves can still help the plant thrive. Increasing humidity or spraying the leaves with water is mainly useful for preventing and treating common pests that attack Anthurium warocqueanum.

7. Pest:

Anthurium waorcqueanum is primarily affected by thrips and spider mites. These insects differ in appearance but often end up with the same result, brown, yellow leaves. Of course, not every yellow spot means pests are present. Yellow leaves are just as normal a part of growing plants indoors as getting dirt under your nails.

How do you know that pests are causing yellow leaves?

Thrips: Thrips are black, elongated insects that can often be found under the leaves of the plant. If you don't find any black insects, it's probably not thrips, look for another pest like spider mites.

Spider mites: Spider mites are small spider-like insects that suck nutrients from the leaves of your plant. They thrive at the branches or under leaves that fold to easily build their webs. Spider mites are red 1-3 mm long small red insects that form webs between very close structures.

These webs are often much finer than spider webs and small insects roam the webs, making them easy to distinguish from regular spider webs.

Anthurium warocqueanum is a demanding but incredibly rewarding plant for those who are ready to create the right environment. It is a symbol of beauty and patience, perfect for plant lovers who want an incredibly majestic green houseplant indoors. You can buy Anthurium warocqueanum from us!