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Anthurium crystallinum, also known as the Crystal Anthurium or Crystal Laceleaf, is a truly striking Anthurium (but then again, aren’t they all?). In this post, learn everything you need to know to care for the Crystal Anthurium, plus, how to propagate it!
Where can I buy an Anthurium crystallinum?
You can easily find an Anthurium crystallinum for sale on Etsy. Check out these absolutely STUNNING crystallinums!
Is Anthurium crystallinum hard to care for?
Anthurium crystallinum is actually pretty easy to care for. Its foliage might be intimidatingly gorgeous—but that doesn’t make a plant difficult to care for.
The one place where there’s a higher risk of slipping up is maintaining proper soil moisture, which is key for this plant. Read on to learn how you can maintain proper moisture and prevent overwatering.
How do you take care of Anthurium crystallinum?
The crystallinum’s very basic care requirements are:
- Give it bright, indirect light or bright, filtered light
- Keep it consistently moist
- Use a well-draining, loose potting mix that holds some moisture
Read on for a full care guide!
How much light does Anthurium crystallinum need?
Provide your Anthurium crystallinum with bright, indirect light or bright, filtered light. This is because they love bright light, but they grow naturally in environments where they would still be receiving some shade.
Do not give them any direct light or this could damage the foliage.
Grow lights are a great option if you don’t have enough light to keep your plant happy. I actually keep nearly all of my plants under them and they have done wonders!
Below is one of my absolute favorite sets of grow lights. The two adjustable gooseneck lights and the fact that it can clip onto a shelf make it SO convenient.
Watering Anthurium Crystallinum
Anthurium crystallinum likes to remain consistently moist. Now, it’s important to remember that MOIST does not mean WET.
To maintain the proper amount of moisture, water your Anthurium crystallinum when the top inch or two of the potting mix is dry. You should always stick your finger down into the potting mix to actually check for moisture before watering.
Getting into the habit of doing this will prevent overwatering and root rot—the number-one way to kill a plant.
Does Anthurium crystallinum like humidity?
Yes, since the crystallinum is native to the humid environments of Central and South America, they will like higher humidity.
The easiest way to do this is by simply using a humidifier. I love the humidifier below because it has a 96-hour runtime!
Temperature
While this plant will still do fine in normal household temperatures, it prefers warmer temperatures.
Don’t let it get too cold, so remove it from any drafty areas or cold windowsills. Try to keep it in the 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit range (about 16 to 27 degrees Celcius).
What kind of potting mix does Anthurium crystallinum need?
Anthurium crystallinum is an epiphyte, so it does not need to be tightly packed into soil. Rather, it needs a well-draining, loose potting mix that holds some moisture.
I know, this sounds contradictory! This just means the potting mix needs to keep some moisture, but the majority of the water should still drain out so your plant won’t be sopping wet.
A mixture of about one-part orchid bark, one-part perlite, and two-parts indoor plant potting mix will work well for this plant.
Fertilizer
To fertilize this plant, use a balanced houseplant fertilizer, diluted by half, once a month during the growing season (spring and summer).
When should you repot Anthurium crystallinum?
Anthurium crystallinum is a relatively slow grower, so you won’t need to repot it frequently. Instead, repot this plant when it becomes rootbound. Signs of a rootbound plant include:
- Roots coming out of the pot’s drainage holes
- Slipping the plant out of its pot and checking if the roots are coiled around the bottom of the pot/around the outside of the soil
- Stunted growth and a general sad-looking plant
When repotting, use a pot the next size up from its current pot that has good drainage. If possible, try to repot during the growing season (spring and summer).
Pruning
The crystallinum doesn’t require much pruning except to remove any dead or dying leaves.
Foliage and Blooms
Anthurium crystallinum has large, velvety leaves that are deep green with striking white veins. The leaves are longer than they are wide and slightly heart shaped.
However, they are not as heart shaped as other Anthuriums like the Clarinervium or Magnificum, which also tend to be wider.
Occasionally, the crystallinum blooms a spathe and spadix, but they are grown for their magnificent foliage rather than their blooms.
Want to add this gorgeous Anthurium to your plant collection? Check these out!
Climbing
As an epiphyte, Anthurium crystallinum will be happy to have some form of support, like a moss pole. As it grows larger, its aerial roots will attach to the pole and help support the plant.
Below is a stackable moss pole I use for my climbing plants—I love that it’s stackable because I can keep making it taller as my plants grow!
Cleaning the Leaves
Plants with large leaves tend to collect dust easily. A layer of dust and grime on top of the leaves can interfere with the plant’s ability to photosynthesize.
When you notice the leaves getting dusty or dirty, use a damp cloth to wipe down the surface of the leaf while supporting the underside of the leaf with your other hand.
How long does it take for Anthurium crystallinum to grow?
If you want instant gratification, Anthurium crystallinum probably isn’t for you! It’s a relatively slow grower. In fact, you might find that it only grows one new leaf a month.
They can grow to be nearly three feet tall, although this may take a while!
Problems and Pests
Why are my Anthurium crystallinum’s leaves turning yellow?
More often than not, overwatering is the cause of yellow leaves. Other common causes include underwatering or too much direct light.
Brown, crispy leaf edges
Your plant’s conditions are most likely too dry, either the moisture level of the soil or the humidity in the air. Other possible causes include overwatering or too much direct light.
Root rot
Root rot is common for plants that like to remain consistently moist, because it can be difficult to distinguish “moist” from “wet.”
Some common signs of root rot are black, mushy roots, stunted growth, and a sad-looking plant. I wrote a post on root rot to help you if you’re dealing with this!
Pests
Pests are generally not a huge problem with this plant, but you might encounter aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, or scale.
For general pest control, I really like Bonide Systemic Houseplant Insect Control. Be sure to read the instructions first and use caution around pets and kids.
How to propagate Anthurium crystallinum
Division
One easy way to propagate Anthurium crystallinum is by simply dividing two or more plants growing in the same pot.
- Gently slip the entire plant out of its pot and identify a piece with its own root system. Make sure the piece has at least one leaf, but the more, the better.
- Separate the root systems, doing your best not to damage the roots. If you can’t separate them by hand, use a pair of clean, sharp scissors to cut the roots away from each other.
- Pot up the newly divided plants into appropriately sized pots—you don’t want to give them too big of a pot, which could lead to overwatering.
- Water the plants and care for them how you normally would. Keep in mind the mother plant and any newly divided plants will probably go through a period of shock and will not start growing again right away.
If possible, try to do this during the growing season (spring and summer).
Taking a cutting
You can also take a cutting from a mature plant instead of dividing the root systems.
- Follow a stem down to find where it’s growing out from the node.
- Use a clean, sharp knife to cut off the stem below its node, so the node is included on the cutting.
- If possible, take a cutting with a few aerial roots for a higher success rate.
- You may find there are a few leaves coming from a clump of nodes that are all attached. You can take the whole clump if that’s the case!
- Letting the cutting callus over for a day or so will help avoid infection, but it’s not necessary.
- Place the cutting into moistened potting mix or sphagnum moss.
- Put it in bright, indirect light, and keep the potting medium moist and the humidity high as the roots develop.
- After a few weeks, give your cutting a very gentle tug to check for resistance. If you feel some resistance, that means a root system has developed and you can start to care for it like a normal plant.
Using Anthurium crystallinum seeds
If your plant fruits, you can take the seeds from the fruit and use them to grow new plants. This is a very complicated process, but it could be a fun experiment if you’re up for the challenge!
To do this, your plant needs to be pollinated. The blooms start out as females and then turn male, so you’ll need to either:
- Have more than one plant—one in the female stage and one in the male stage and pollinate the female with the male’s pollen
- Use the same plant by collecting the pollen from the male, storing it in the refrigerator, and waiting until it blooms another female to pollinate it
You’ll notice some drops of liquid on the female when it’s ready for pollination.
Is Anthurium crystallinum easy?
As you can see from this guide, yes, Anthurium Crystallinum care is relatively straightforward.
The most complicated part is maintaining proper potting mix moisture—be sure to feel the potting mix before you water your Anthurium to make sure you’re not overwatering it.
Is Anthurium crystallinum toxic?
Yes, Anthurium crystallinum is toxic, so be sure to keep it away from your pets and children!
Anthurium Species and Varieties
A few similar Anthuriums that are often confused with the crystallinum or with one another include:
- Anthurium clarinervium
- Anthurium magnificum
- Anthurium red crystallinum (yes, a red version of the crystallinum!)
This photo provides a really helpful guide to similar-looking Anthuriums!
What is the difference between Anthurium crystallinum and Magnificum?
The leaves of Anthurium magnificum are typically more heart shaped and larger than the crystallinum.
What is the difference between Anthurium clarinervium and Crystallinum?
The leaves of the Anthurium clarinervium are typically wider and more heart shaped than the crystallinum.
Anthurium Crystallinum Care Summary
- Give it bright, indirect light or bright, filtered light
- Keep it consistently moist
- Provide it with humidity and warm temerpatures
- Use a well-draining, loose potting mix that holds some moisture
- Use a balanced houseplant fertilizer, diluted by half, once a month during the growing season
- Repot when rootbound
- Remove any dead or dying leaves
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