PLANT IT
They may look artificial, but Anthurium flowers are both real and local
January 30, 2010
Sonia Day
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Anthuriums Araceae
Anthuriums are an acquired taste. For years, I gave them the cold shoulder because their heart-shaped leaves (called spathes) seem so weird. Covered in shiny wax, with a strange, phallic stalk poking out of the middle, they look – ack! – like artificial flowers made out of plastic.
Yet recently I've warmed to these natives of South American jungles precisely because of their unusual texture and appearance. They're fun and different, particularly in floral arrangements, and come in a rainbow of colours – red, orange, pink, white, green and brown. Also, the cut kind often last as long as six weeks in a vase. While tulips, daffodils and other standard cut flowers can bite the dust after only a few days, odd anthuriums will keep on looking good long after we've grown bored with them.
And here's another plus: many anthuriums sold in GTA florists and garden centres are now – surprisingly – raised in Ontario. That means we're supporting local businesses, not foreign sweatshop greenhouse operations, by going for them rather than more familiar flowers, which are mostly imported. I learned this from my ecoconscious florist buddy, Joe Delarge, who says that anthuriums are in fact a Canadian success story, because they've proven relatively easy to propagate vegetatively here (which means from cuttings, rather than seeds).
However, be warned: keeping a potted anthurium in the average centrally heated home can be tricky. They like bright light (but not direct sun) and high humidity. The growing medium must be kept moist. A tray of pebbles under the pot is a good idea. Delarge says the easiest kind to try is Anthurium scherzerianum, or Flamingo Flower.
But all things considered, I'm sticking to cut anthuriums, now that these peculiar plants have captured my heart – a bit.
www.soniaday.com
Toronto Star