Anthurium Scherzerianum: An Excellent Anthurium Plant With A Funny Name
Anthurium Scherzerianum that just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? I know, it’s a very long and funny name for such a remarkable plant. It is also known as the Flamingo Flower. It produces lovely flowers that can be red, orange or reddish-orange. Its most distinctive feature is that it produces a spadix that is curlier than a pig’s tail. So why is it called the flamingo flower instead of the pig flower? Who knows?
Basic Facts
Family: Araceae
Genus: Anthurium
Species: Scherzerianum
Latin name: Anthurium scherzerianum
Common name: Flamingo Flower
Climate: Tropical
Minimal temperature: 59-64°F, reduce watering at these temps
Best temperature: 78-86°F
Recommended place: bright morning or evening light, with partial shade
Soil: peat-humus, porous, loose
Flower color: red, orange or reddish-orange
Repotting Frequency: every 2 years
Country Of Origin: Costa Rica
Background Information
This species is originally from Costa Rica where it grows in rain forests. It is grown all over the world and there are now more than forty cultivars. The easiest way to distinguish this species from the Andraeanum species is to look at the spadix. The spadix of Andraeanum is straight, while the spadix of the Scherzerianum is very curly.
Growing Conditions
The Flamingo Flower likes tropical conditions, but it can also tolerate winter as long as it is kept above 65 degrees, though the ideal temperature for it is 75 to 85 degrees. It prefers high humidity and a great deal of moisture, but you must be careful of standing water, which can cause root rot. If you live in a dry climate, misting it twice a day can provide the humidity that it requires. It also requires partial shade, full sunlight can burn it. But if the light is insufficient it will grow slower and produce few flowers. During the cooler times of the year, you should reduce the amount of water that you give it.
Propagation
There are three ways to propagate this species. The first and easiest method is via cuttings. These plants can be cut in half, provided that each half retains three or more growing nodes and each half will continue to grow if potted separately. The second and slightly more difficult method is via seeds. Creating seeds will usually require manual pollination. If you only have one plant, self pollination is possible if you are willing to store pollen in the freezer, though it takes much longer to propagate via seed. Seeds do not keep for very long, so you have to plant them as soon as they ripen. Finally, if you have a lab, you can also propagate these plants with tissue culture, but this is definitely beyond the reach of most enthusiasts.
A Common Mistake
The “flower” is not really the flower of these plants. It is a modified leaf or spathe. It is essentially a leaf that is a different color. The true flower of the plant is found on the spadix or nose of the “flower”. The spadix holds microscopic inflorescences which consist of the both the stigma and the stamen of these plants. These flowers are perfect in that each flower has male and female parts; however, these parts are active at different times, so self pollination rarely occurs without human help and the storage of pollen in the freezer until the stigma is ready to be fertilized.