If you’ve ever wondered why no houseplants look like a hand with long fingers, then you have never seen Anthurium Fingers. This plant is more than that shape though because the foliage offers a balanced green color that is perfect for offices, bedrooms, porches, bathrooms, and more.
However, you do have to care for it properly to ensure it stays bright and luscious.
This article covers:
- What Anthurium Fingers is and why it is called that
- How to care for it including proper light, water, soil, and temperature conditions
- Common problems that you may encounter and how to deal with them
Let’s begin!
Table of Contents
What are Anthurium Fingers?
Anthurium Fingers, also called Pedatoradiatum, earns its name from the pinnatifid leaves that meet at the “palm” or base of the leaf that look like long, elongated fingers. As they get older, they keep growing more and more fingers, unlike you and I.
In fact, a single stem can grow up to 13 beautiful fingers, but to do so it does need the right care and environmental conditions.
This plant is similar to other Anthuriums, but it is different in the fact that it isn’t a hemiepiphyte, so it doesn’t grow on other plants during its life cycle.
The slow-growing nature of the plant, native to Mexico, is perfect for homeowners who want houseplants that they don’t have to cut and prune all the time.
While this species is a great houseplant, if you want to learn about other varieties of the Anthurium genus, then check out this informational video:
How to Care for Anthurium Fingers
Anthurium Fingers are unique and so are the conditions that you need to keep to ensure health and color. Things like the right amount of light and water are critical to the success of your wonderful houseplant.
It isn’t difficult to encourage prosperity with the plant, but you do need to know what to do for proper care.
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Light
Anthurium Fingers aren’t too picky about the amount of light they receive, but there are still some things to keep in mind when placing it in the right location. They prefer diffused light, which means they are usually not great for outdoor use in most locations and regions.
The best interior space for them seems to be near a southwest-facing window, but not right next to it.
Too much light and the finger-like leaves will dry out and get brittle, but too little light and the plant will wilt and lose the dark green color you desire. The right amount of light is generally around 7 to 8 hours of diffused sunlight per day.
If the southwestern facing window doesn’t give it enough lighting where you are located, then a northeast or east-facing window can get some early morning sunlight for it.
Water
Water is essential for all life, including your lovely Anthurium Fingers houseplant. However, it may not suck up as much water as other house plant species. Still, you never want it to dry out too much.
Typically, during the growing season, you will want to water it once per week or slightly less, but during the dormant season, you may not need to water it more than once every two to three weeks.
When the top third of the soil gets dry, that is when it needs to be watered again. If it gets extra dry or hot from Summer weather or the use of a heater, then you may need to water more frequently.
You also want to avoid cold water that can stress the plant and strive to use chlorine-free distilled or rainwater.
Soil
Anthurium Finger plants need well-draining soil that is high in peat. This is because peat reduces the likelihood of compaction, which contributes to healthier and more nutritious soil for the Anthurium Fingers.
This type of peat mixture also encourages more water absorption by the root system, which equates to better growth.
An Anthurium soil mix product can work well, but the best option is to make your own homemade mixture. Use 60 percent peat with sand, pine bark, and charcoal to promote a healthy environment for Anthurium Fingers.
Temperature and Humidity
Anthurium Finger houseplants are pretty resilient and tough, so they can usually adapt to most temperatures, especially after reaching maturity.
Still, for proper growth and healthy foliage you do want to find the right balance between temperature and humidity. Typically, you want a warmer temperature for this plant, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Humidity is more of a concern for Anthurium Fingers than temperature, so you want to make sure you do it correctly.
Higher humidity levels between 40 percent and 65 percent are optimal for the growth and health of your Anthurium Finger plant. This isn’t to a rainforest or tropical level, but is slightly higher than most homes, especially during dry seasons.
If necessary, mist the leaves regularly or invest in a humidifier.
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Fertilizer
Fertilizers can encourage boosted growth with Anthurium Fingers, but you also don’t want to over-fertilize because that can cause worsened problems.
Liquid fertilizer once per month during the Spring and Summer works quite well and then you should stop fertilizing at all during the Fall and Winter.
Make sure that you dilute the plant food before you apply it. This will help to prevent root and stem burn. If you fertilize too much, you may notice yellowed or drooping leaves, so that should indicate that you need to cease fertilization for a while.
The best fertilizer is diluted liquid fertilizer to 25% strength with a formulation of time-released 16-5-11.
Common Problems with Anthurium Fingers
There are several common occurrences that can disrupt growth or dampen the beauty of your Anthurium Fingers houseplant. Let’s examine the most common problem that you may encounter as well as their causes and solutions.
Drooping Leaves
Drooping leaves are most likely caused by too much water. When there is flooded soil around Anthurium Fingers, it makes it harder for it to absorb the nutrients and oxygen that it needs for proper, healthy growth. This leads to root rot.
If this happens, remove your plant from the vessel to inspect the root system. If you notice brown, black, or mushy roots, then you need to cut them off. Then, replace the soil for the plant.
Then, after you eliminate the problem you need to follow an optimal watering schedule to prevent a recurrence of the dropping leaves problem.
Yellow Leaves
If the fingers of your houseplant begin to turn yellow or brown, this can be caused by too much heat, too much sunlight, or too much fertilizer. All of these things can scorch and burn the leaves.
When you provide too much fertilizer, it leaves chemicals in the soil that strangles the roots.
Too much heat causes a loss of water known as transpiration. This is especially common if you forget to dilute the fertilizer. If it happens with monthly 25% diluted fertilizer, then you may have to dilute a little more or start fertilizing every 5 to 6 weeks instead.
Finally, too much sunlight can also cause fading, brittleness, or yellowed leaves. If this is the case, then you should examine the amount of sunlight that the plant gets and how close it is to the light source or window.
Try moving it a little farther away from the window or to a window on a different side of your home.
Pests
Anthurium Fingers can attract aphids, nematodes, mites, mealy bugs, and spider mites. All of these can harm the plant’s health. If you can identify the type of infestation, then you can treat it accordingly.
You can eliminate nematodes by increasing the heat for a couple of days or putting it in direct sunlight. As long as it is only temporary, this shouldn’t cause too much harm to the plant.
You can spray the plant with a hose at low pressure as well to remove the pests that you can see on the leaves. Then, you can apply 98& isopropyl alcohol to the leaves to prevent more insects from showing up and ruining the party. Neem oil is always a great idea as well.
Diseases
There are some horticultural diseases that can also impact your Anthurium Finger plant. This can cause poor growth, wilt, leaf spots, and more. Root rot disease causes browning leaves and is caused by too much watering.
Leaf spot fungus will cause, you guessed it, spots on the fingers or leaves. Bacterial blight can spread fast and cause lesions and discoloration.
For severe infections, you may have to get rid of the plant, unfortunately. For more mild cases, try applying fungicides containing copper, Benomyl, or Mancozeb.
These work with fungal infections. You can also spray Agromycin all over the leaves, stems, and everywhere else to get rid of infections, particularly those caused by bacterial blights.
Finally, bacterial wilt can be treated using phosphorous acid fungicide products.
Final Thoughts on Anthurium Fingers
Now that you know how to care for Anthurium Fingers, you may as well give the plant a high-five. You know you want to! Just be sure to keep an eye out for pests, diseases, and other issues and keep the sunlight and water levels optimal for growth. Good luck!