The beautiful and long-lasting blooms of Anthuriums are an important factor in the popularity of these distinctive plants. And they make fabulous additions to arrangements of cut flowers. This article will walk you through the basics of harvesting and preserving these gorgeous blooms, as well as offering some tips on using them in decorations.
Live Anthurium blooms last a long time before fading. You can leave them on the plant for a few weeks after they emerge to get the most out of your Anthurium’s flowering cycle. If you want the flowers to remain fresh after you cut them, trim them in the morning. Use gloves when cutting to avoid skin irritation from the sap.
Anthurium blooms can last for a while in water without needing plant food and look great in sparse arrangements that show off their long, leafless stems. You can also dry them in silica gel to preserve them even longer or hang them to dry for a more classic look. Keep reading for more information on incorporating Anthuriums into your decor.
Anthurium Blooms: The Basics
Part of the reason Anthuriums have such a distinctive appearance is that their blooms aren’t arranged in the same way as more familiar flowers like roses. The colorful, exotic-looking “petal” on an Anthurium bloom is, in fact, a special kind of leaf called a spathe. That’s part of the reason it’s so robust and fleshy – it has the same basic structure as the ordinary leaves, but a different color scheme.
The actual flowers are the little bumps on the rounded spike that grows from the spathe; that protrusion is called a spadix. The whole combo of spathe and spadix is called an inflorescence. For more information on Anthurium blooms, read this article.
When Are Anthurium Blooms In Season?
Winter is pretty much nonexistent in the steamy jungles where Anthuriums evolved, so they don’t have a built-in seasonal cycle. When they have plenty of light, moisture, and warmth, they can flower throughout the year. Yes, that means that with proper care, you could get vivid tropical blooms even in wintertime!
In practice, it’s often hard for Anthurium owners in temperate climates to keep their plants flowering in the winter. The shorter days make it hard for them to get enough light, and heating systems tend to dry out the air. So don’t be alarmed if your plant won’t bloom during the colder months.
When Anthuriums do flower, they’ll generally stay in bloom for 2 to 3 months, with each inflorescence remaining healthy for 4 to 8 weeks. If you’re planning to cut the blooms for display, you’ll have plenty of time to figure out how you want to arrange them!
How to Cut Anthurium Flowers
The best time of day to snip the blooms from your Anthurium will depend on whether you want to preserve them by drying or place them in water to keep them fresh.
For vase displays, make your cut in the early morning, when the plant hasn’t yet released much moisture through transpiration. Water your Anthurium the day before to ensure that it’s hydrated. If you’re going to dry the inflorescence, harvest it in the afternoon or evening instead.
The best way to ensure a clean cut – essential for minimizing the risk of infection – is to use a sharp pair of pruning shears. We also recommend wearing garden gloves; the sap from cut Anthuriums contains calcium oxalate, which can cause an uncomfortable rash. Snip off each inflorescence near the base of the petiole, the long stem connecting the bloom to the plant’s central stalk.
Wipe down your shears with disinfectant between cuts to reduce the risk of carrying germs to your Anthurium. You can use isopropyl alcohol, a household cleaner like Lysol, or ordinary bleach diluted to 10% strength.
Preserving Anthurium Blooms in Water
You can help the blooms remain fresh longer by trimming the petioles a bit more once you remove them from the plant. This reduces the distance that the water has to travel to reach the spathe.
Wash your vase thoroughly with soap and water before using it, since the cut stem can still be invaded by bacteria. Then fill it with cool tap water. It’s not necessary to add flower food, but if you want to use some for the sake of other flowers in the bouquet, it won’t hurt your Anthuriums. Set the vessel someplace cool and out of direct sunlight so that the spathes take longer to dry out.
Change the water every 2-4 days, and when you do, snip off another centimeter or so off the stem. A freshly cut end will allow the petiole to keep taking up water.
Drying Anthurium Blooms
Drying flowers out is a popular way to preserve them over the long term. It’s a fun way to extend the shelf life of your Anthurium blooms.
Air drying works well if you want to give your flowers a romantic, faded look. Wrap the stems together near the base with twine or a rubber band. Make it tight enough that they won’t slip out, but not so tight that you’re bending or crushing the petioles.
Hang your Anthurium blooms (or your mixed bouquet) upside down in a warm, dark, and dry space. Try to make sure there’s good air circulation to prevent mold; place the flowers at least six inches below the ceiling, and provide some ventilation. You can make an inexpensive hook out of a paper clip, bending one end around the twine and the other around a nail. Hang the flowers there until they’re crispy – 2-4 weeks is a typical timeframe.
You can also bury the blooms in a desiccant, an absorbent substance that will draw the water out rapidly. This method causes less color loss than air-drying. We recommend using silica gel crystals, which are reusable and have a handy color-changing function that lets you know when they’re saturated.
Pour the desiccant into a resealable plastic tub and bury your Anthurium blooms inside, covering them completely. Then put the lid back on and stash it in a warm place for a week or so. You’ll know the crystals have soaked up as much as they can when they’ve turned a dark green. At that point, you can gently remove the inflorescences and brush the powder off them.
Decorating With Cut Anthurium Flowers
There’s no single right way to use Anthuriums in a display or bouquet, so feel free to experiment and let your creativity run wild. But we can give you a few suggestions for taking advantage of their distinctive and fascinating appearance.
Anthurium blooms have a naturally spare and elegant look: a slim, leafless petiole ending in a single tapered spathe. That streamlined vibe lends itself well to minimalist displays that show off the stems as well as the blooms. They’re popular choices for the meticulous Japanese flower arranging discipline of ikebana.
A few graceful Anthurium stems look lovely protruding from the tapered neck of a vase or rising up above a mix of shorter flowers. And a single bloom slipped into a napkin ring adds an attractive touch to a place setting.
Often the spathe and spadix of an Anthurium both point upward, giving the whole bloom a dynamic feel. Consider pairing these flowers with other slender, pointy ingredients, like lavender wands, eucalyptus stalks, ferns, or feathers.
The slightly wild appearance of Anthurium blooms also works well with decorative elements that look rough and unadorned. Emphasize the natural world by including rocks, seashells, or crooked twigs in your display. They’ll make your Flamingo Flower’s inflorescence look like a delicate splash of color in the wilderness. Dried Anthuriums also look great in frames of coarse-grained or unpainted wood.
Final Thoughts
Cut Anthurium blooms can create a unique and unforgettable decorative statement. Their tropical, colorful spathes manage to look rugged and delicate at the same time, making them useful in displays of all kinds.
The tips above will help you preserve your harvested blooms for as long as possible. That way, you’ll have more time to experiment. Before long, you’ll find your own favorite ways to use Anthurium blooms in your decor.
