Anthurium veitchii

A canopy epiphyte from Colombia

Anthurium veitchii is endemic to Colombia and grows as a large epiphyte in humid montane and cloud-influenced forest. It anchors to trees beneath a filtered canopy, where its roots encounter bark, moss and trapped organic material rather than deep soil. Rain and mist are frequent, but water drains freely from the elevated rooting site.

Care for Anthurium veitchii

• Light: Provide bright filtered light and keep long leaves away from direct midday sun. Light from above helps the crown grow evenly.
• Watering: Water when the surface begins to dry, soaking the open mix completely and allowing rapid drainage around the epiphytic roots.
• Humidity and airflow: Maintain 60–80% relative humidity with free air movement around the hanging leaves and crown.
• Temperature: Keep at 20–28 °C with nights above 18 °C. Protect hanging pots from cold windows and ceiling-level heat.
• Substrate and repotting: Acclimate Anthurium veitchii with the nursery root ball intact long enough to understand its moisture use and the condition of the airy epiphytic root zone; choose the later repotting moment from new roots and steady leaf expansion. Later, use a secure hanging or elevated pot with coarse bark, coco chips, a little coir and pumice.
• Feeding: Feed lightly with a complete fertiliser during root and leaf growth. Flush the open mix with plain water every 4–6 weeks to clear salts from exposed roots.
• Corrugated pendant leaves and propagation: Raise the crown so the long corrugated blades hang freely, and rinse dust from the grooves before drying them with airflow. Propagate from rooted offsets or viable stem sections.

Brown tips, wilting and slow growth

• Droop and yellowing at the same time: A clear drop in pot weight with a dry open mix points to thirst; water through the whole pot, then drain it fully. A heavy-feeling root zone, stale damp mix and limp yellow leaves point to root stress; wait before watering again and examine the root zone.
• Trimming confirmed failed roots: A living root stays solid when gently pressed; surface colour can change between waterings. Remove hollow or slippery sections using a clean sharp cutting tool, keep the crown high and return the remaining roots to a secure close-fitting pot with a coarse airy mix. Before cutting Anthurium veitchii, photograph the root system and confirm failure by texture; preserve every firm section, sterilise the tool between cuts and keep the crown stable while new roots develop.
• Marginal browning and root moisture: Dry tips may begin with a fast-drying hanging pot, mineral-rich water or heat near the ceiling. Compare pot weight at the top and bottom of the watering cycle; use low-mineral water and lower the plant if heat gathers near the ceiling.
• Reading the edge of a dark lesion: A fixed fold usually marks the point where the blade met the floor or furniture. An enlarging yellow-bordered spot needs prompt isolation; keep the full blade dry and photograph the edge each day.
• Growth pauses after stress: Heat gathered near the ceiling may stall growth and dry the pot too quickly. Use a stable 20–28 °C position with light reaching the top of the plant; new root or leaf movement is the recovery sign.
• Inspecting nodes, veins and leaf backs: Thrips feeding shows as pale scars along soft new growth; mites leave much finer pale dots along the length. Look along both surfaces from crown to tip. Isolate, clean the full leaf length, apply a product whose instructions cover that pest, follow the labelled interval between applications and compare newly opened leaves at seven-day intervals for a full month.
• Water and mites in leaf grooves: Dust, water and mites collect in the long grooves. Raise the crown, rinse a hardened leaf from base to tip and dry every channel with gentle airflow.

Anthurium veitchii: safety around pets

• Not pet-safe. This plant contains calcium oxalate crystals that can cause immediate pain and irritation if chewed.

The name Anthurium veitchii

The genus name Anthurium combines Greek anthos, “flower”, and oura, “tail”, referring to the tail-like spadix. Heinrich Wilhelm Schott established the genus in 1829 in Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Litteratur, Theater und Mode, volume 3, page 828.

Veitchii honours the Veitch family of British nurserymen. Maxwell T. Masters described Anthurium veitchii in 1876 in The Gardeners’ Chronicle, new series, volume 6: 772.