Anthurium Soil - All You Need to Know

Introduction

We’ll run through all you need to know to about anthuriums soil, whether mixing your own or buying the right soil mix for your anthuriums. In general they like a loose, light, course and well draining soil based mix. You want to try to replicate their natural environment as much as possible, they are epiphytic or hemiepiphytic (they grow on on trees and root in their bark at least for part of their life cycle), so they do not want to sit heavy wet soil, but a light and loose and chunky growing medium that allows air to the roots is essential, and preferably has plenty of composting organic material in it. Some parts of the mixture will be dry and some damp, but you don’t want it to be wet or sodden. We cover 3 different types of soil: a store bought epiphyte mix, an easy DIY anthurium mix and a ‘pro’ DIY mix!

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Best Commercially Available Anthurium Compost

If you’re looking to buy a compost from a store, you can order an orchid mix, as orchids are also epiphytes and mixes for them will do well.

You can actually find some good pre-mixed anthurium soils on Etsy.

Buy Anthurium Soil on Etsy

Cheap And Easy DIY Anthurium Soil Mix

If you’re looking for a cheap and easy soil mix for your anthuriums…

Use a mix of:

3 parts orchid bark
2 parts perlite
2 part potting mix

Best Anthurium Soil Mix

Here’s our recipe for the best anthurium soil mix, mix them in these quantities:

3 parts orchid bark
2 parts perlite
2 part potting mix
1 part charcoal
1 part tree fern

You will need:

Steps to take:

Firstly wash the perlite, rinse it it in a sieve under a tap to get rid of the chalk residue.
Put all the ingredients in a large bin or bucket.
It is best that it is twice the volume needed so you have room to mix.
I use a round trash bin with a lid that clips shut, then add all the ingredients, close the bin, and put it on it’s side, then roll it to the mix the ingredients. I turn the bin upside down a couple of times in between rolling to help it mix well.
Bag it up and you’re done.

Can Anthuriums Grow In Regular Soil?

You can grow anthuriums in regular soil, but be really careful as they can get root rot easily. It’s a good idea to add some perlite and orchid bark to get air to the roots and make the mix airier and much better draining.

Anthurium Soil pH

The ideal pH for anthurium soil is 5.5 to 6.5.

Anthurium In Water Vs Soil

You can root and grow some anthurium in water and they can grow there, but you are far better off growing it in soil where it will get better nutrients and can thrive.

Do Anthurium Like Cactus Or Succulent Compost?

Anthuriums will do ok in cactus compost, as they do well in a well draining mix. Ideally you want a chunkier mix with orchid bark in it, see our soil recipes elsewhere in this article. They want a more airy rather mix, although good drainage is essential.