I need help caring for my Lady Love

I had to look up what a lady love is...

This is a cultivar of Anthurium andreanum with pink spathes. Unfortunately, Anthurium andreanum is more difficult to care for than Anthurium scherzerianium, but is a more attractive and impressive plant than the latter.

It needs the following care/growing conditions; average warmth, minimum 55degF in winter; brightly lit spot, away from direct sun in summer; compost must be moist at all times, but never waterlogged, and reduce watering in winter. Water with soft, tepid water. Improve humidity for the plant by misting regularly with water, repot in spring every year.

In theory, following these 'rules' for growing, the plant should produce more coloured spathes; in practice, however, I'm sorry to say that's not been my experience. I never managed to get my red one to produce red spathes again, other than a couple of poorly coloured, small ones, despite following the rules, though the plant itself looked very healthy. I came to the conclusion, after two years, it was too much trouble to look after and got rid of it. I've bought a couple since, but purely as temporary visitors, in much the same way as a Christmas poinsettia.

Yellowing leaves are on the way out, and it does no harm to remove them, but if you're getting a lot of yellowing leaves, perhaps your watering regime needs improving, or the plant is possibly pot bound?

I just had to look up what a "Lady Love" was Donna, to find it was a cultivar of Anthurium andreanum or Flamingo flower. I have no idea what's happening with your plant but someone on here will advise you for sure. It made me smile, you've made my day, and welcome to Goy.

We must have been typing at the same time Bamboo. I knew one of the experts would know what was going on here.

Well, thank you for the accolade, Thornyside, but this 'expert' couldn't get it to bloom again... and I know why you were smiling, that 'lady love' in the title conjured up all sorts of possibilities;-)

Hi Donna - Welcome to GrowsonYou. I don't think your plant is difficult at all to take care of. However, it apparently has very specific requirements in order to thrive. Here is a website that describes the specific care you can use as a checklist against your plant. It's a beautiful plant and certainly worth saving. I've seen them in full glory at the New York Botanical Gardens. They alone were worth the price of admission. Good luck!

Anthurium Plant
http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/anthurium-plant.html

I've had better luck with them with a regular feed of a tropical plant food with high nitrogen, low phosphate, moderate potash, and no urea. High humidity and bright, indirect light are a must: if your bathroom has a large window or a skylight, that is ideal, but it is hard to find a spot for it otherwise. Misting only helps for about 10 minutes after you mist. Hard to keep the humidity up in an office,though!

I had a pebble tray half filled with water round the plant pot too, but I just got a healthy plant, couldn't get it to produce the coloured bracts. Do you manage to get them to produce again with your feeding regime,Tug?

As long as they have enough light. The greenhouses where they are produced commercially are only lightly screened, so they need a lot of diffuse light to bloom.

Plenty of light in my sitting room, probably a bit too much, maybe too bright - but I obviously got the feeding wrong.

Unless it is under a skylight or solar tube, or in a northern exposure bay window, or in direct sun filtered by sheer curtains or pebbled glass, it is probably not getting enough light. Since the human eye adjusts to light levels, a seemingly bright room may only have enough actual light energy to support a Cast Iron Plant.

Are they seasonal Tug? I normally see them in bloom late winter-early spring - at the NY Botanical Gardens, they are grown in a 80 ft. glass greenhouse.

Well, the literature says that the flowers appear all year round, but I remember that the ones that I cared for seemed to bloom more freely October to March.

Ok Happy Thanksgiving. Im heading to Charlotte, North Carolina