Anthurium flowers turning green can be something that happens naturally, but it can also be a result of outside factors like sunlight.
Most of the time, however, it isn’t something that you need to worry about. Let’s go through the main reasons why your anthurium might be turning green, and what you can do about it.
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Where Is The Flower On An Anthurium?
When people refer to flowers on an anthurium, they are usually talking about the large heart-shaped leaves that have a central spike in the middle.
This central spike is called the spadix, and this is where the actual flowers are found (although they are incredibly small!). The leaf that surrounds the spadix is known as a spathe.
This may sound confusing, but it’s important to know the difference because I’m going to explain why each of these parts may turn green rather than the entire ‘flower’ (spathe and spadix together). These reasons do vary, so it’s important to make this distinction.
Now the boring stuff is out of the way let’s dive into the most common reasons for the spathe and spadix turning green.
Anthurium Flower (Spadix) Turning Green
The central spadix that contains the flowers will turn green when it starts to age.
Anthurium blooms usually last between 2 and 3 months, and towards the end of this time period, the flowers will start to decline. I usually leave them until the spadix turns brown, at which point I remove the flower by cutting at the bottom of the stem.
If you take a look at the image below you’ll see one of the spadices on my anthurium andraeanum that has started to turn green. Prior to this, it was a strong yellow color.
The spadix can also be green in certain types of anthuriums as well.
Reasons For Anthurium Spathes Turning Green
The brightly colored spathes that surround the spadix are prone to turning green for more reasons than the spadix itself.
Type
Just like the spadix, the spathe can also be green in certain types of anthurium.
Midori anthurium is a great example of this, and while it’s likely that you would already know if you had this type of anthurium, you’d be surprised how many people receive them as gifts and do no research into what type they have.
So, yes, sometimes it’s completely normal for your anthurium to have green spathes (and spadices) year-round.
Not Enough Sunlight
Spathes have the ability to produce chlorophyll, which means that they will start to turn green if they aren’t receiving enough sunlight.
Chlorophyll is green in color and is produced in greater quantities when sunlight is reduced to help to maintain the rate of photosynthesis. With more sunlight, less chlorophyll is needed and so the spathes will keep their original color.
This is also the reason why if you purchase a plant with lots of variegation it’s important to keep it in an area with enough sunlight otherwise the variegated parts of the leaves will revert back to green to supplement photosynthesis.
Natural Part Of The Lifecycle
As the spathes begin to age and slowly die, they will turn green and eventually yellow and brown. This will look similar to when your anthurium isn’t receiving enough sunlight, but the difference here is that it will happen faster under low sunlight conditions – i.e less than the 2 to 3 months cycle of flowering.
This is completely natural and at this point I would remove the section by trimming at the base of the stem.
Hormones
Anthuriums are much easier to sell if they’re blooming, so some shops will use hormones to force them to bloom in order to sell them.
If you purchase an anthurium that has been forced to bloom it will start to revert when you take it home due to the lack of hormones. This can affect the spathes and make them turn green and die.
What To Do With Anthurium Flowers Turning Green
If the spadix or spathe starts to turn green towards the end of the flowering cycle it is completely normal, and all you need to do is remove the section from the stem when it starts to transition to brown.
If they are green consistently throughout the flowering cycle it’s very likely that you own a variety that is green naturally.
In cases of low sunlight the spathe may turn green quite quickly, and all you need to do is find an area with more bright, indirect sunlight.
