Anthurium humidity is crucial for the growth of your plant, but how much humidity do Anthuriums really need?
The humidity for an Anthurium should ideally be around 60% and 80%, with a minimum of level of 50%. This is crucial because Anthurium leaves and aerial roots absorb moisture from the air in order to grow, as they would do in the wild.
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Why Do Anthuriums Need High Humidity?
Anthuriums require high humidity because of where they originate from.
They are native to places in South America such as Colombia and Ecuador and are most often found in jungle environments where the humidity is very high. They are also epiphytes, meaning that they grow on other plants, and in this case most commonly other trees.
This is important because epiphytes have root systems (mostly aerial) that are adapted for absorbing moisture both from the air and from organic matter such as damp tree bark. It’s also the reason why Anthuriums are not suited for many soil mixtures including those used for cacti.
Anthurium leaves also absorb moisture from the air, and the lack of this can cause leaf damage in the form of crispy leaves and yellow or brown marks.
How To Measure The Humidity Around Your Anthurium
Before you make any changes to the humidity levels around your Anthurium you’ll need to first determine what the humidity levels are.
This is very simple. All you need to do is use a hygrometer, which is a specialised tool for taking humidity readings.
These can be purchased in most houseplant shops or online for less than $20 in most cases, so it’s a worthwhile investment especially if you have more than one houseplant. Once you’ve taken a couple of readings of the humidity you can confirm that the humidity is too low and implement some easy techniques for improving it.
How To Increase Humidity For An Anthurium
Increasing the humidity around an Anthurium is very easy.
I personally opt for using sphagnum moss as a top layer on the soil mix of my Anthurium Andraeanum, but all of the tips below will work well.
Pebble Tray
Pebble trays are a super easy way to increase humidity at a low cost. The theory behind pebble trays is that the water in the tray will evaporate slowly increasing the humidity above it.
All you need is a tray larger than the footprint of your Anthurium pot and some pebbles. Add pebbles or stones to the tray and fill the rest with water so that the water level is below that of the pebbles.
The trick here is to ensure that the pebbles provide a solid foundation so that your pot can sit on top of them without the possibility of it falling over.
Humidifier
Humidifiers are probably the best way to increase humidity to a constant level, but they are of course quite expensive to buy and also cost money to operate.
There are different types of humidifiers ranging from cool mist to warm mist to ultrasonic and they all differ in operation but achieve the same result. I would only recommend using a humidifier if you have a lot of tropical plants that require high humidity so you can get more bang for your buck.
Other Plants
If you put your Anthurium next to another houseplant it will create an increase in the local humidity as both plants transpire, releasing water.
Ideally, you’ll want to do this with another plant that thrives in high humidity, such as pothos.
Sphagnum Moss
Sphagnum moss can be added as a final layer to the soil mix of your Anthurium to maintain the humidity levels of the roots below.
This is a great option and one that I currently use.
Move The Plant
Bathrooms and kitchens have higher average humidity levels and are great options to move your Anthurium.
You can use a hygrometer to confirm the higher humidity levels first and then switch the location.
What If The Humidity Is Too High?
There are very, very few situations where the humidity is higher than 80% inside a house and I cannot personally think of any scenarios where a level this high could be maintained for a long time.
If the humidity is too high, make sure you stop using any tactics to increase humidity and instead move your plant to a different location. Kitchens and bathrooms tend to have higher humidity levels, so avoid these areas.
If the humidity is constantly too high it can lead to some issues and is something you should be aware of, however uncommon it is.
Avoid Misting
Misting is quite a polarizing topic in the houseplant community and is recommended for a wide variety of plants from Anthurium to Pothos.
Some plant keepers like to mist their plants to keep humidity levels high, but this only works for a short amount of time. If you want to rely solely on misting you would need to mist multiple times per day to see any real effect.
What Happens If The Humidity Is Too Low?
If the humidity is too low it can cause a wide range of issues for your Anthurium.
These range from yellowing or browning of the leaves, to a lower overall growth rate and less frequent blooms.
Final Thoughts
Keeping the humidity high is crucial in caring for an Anthurium.
Use a hygrometer to get an idea of what level the humidity is, and from there you can choose from the tactics listed in this article to improve the humidity in no time to a suitable level. Once you improve the humidity you should see an improvement in a matter of weeks.
