Anthurium Purple Zizou

Bright, indirect light is what keeps this plant blooming and looking its best. Good light is really what drives its flower production.

Keep it out of harsh direct sun, it'll scorch the leaves and fade the purple color out of the flowers. It can handle moderate shade, but too much low light for too long will stop the flowering completely, and new leaves will come in smaller and weaker. A spot a few feet from a bright east or west-facing window, with diffused light, works well.

Watering this plant is about finding a middle ground, not too dry, not too wet. Let the top 1 to 2 inches of soil dry out completely before you water again.

Pour water slowly and evenly over the soil until it drains from the bottom, then empty the saucer right away. Unlike some other tropical plants that like consistently moist soil, Anthuriums don't do well sitting in wet, waterlogged soil, it suffocates the roots fast.

While some rarer relatives in this family need greenhouse-level humidity of 50 to 70%, regular household humidity of 40% or more works fine for the Purple Zizou. Grouping it with other tropical plants or using a pebble tray nearby covers its needs easily.

Keep the room between 65°F and 85°F. Keep it away from drafts, cold windows, and anything below 55°F, and away from the dry air coming off AC or heating vents.

This plant's roots need good airflow, so mix orchid bark and perlite into a regular potting base. A heavy, dense soil holds too much water and will suffocate the roots fast.

Feed it monthly during spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer, diluted to half strength to protect the roots. Stop feeding entirely in fall and winter.

The easiest way to propagate is by dividing the roots or taking offsets during a spring repotting. As the plant matures, it naturally grows small baby plants at its base.

Slide the plant out of its pot and gently tease the roots apart to find an offset with its own roots already formed. Separate it cleanly with a sterilized knife if needed, and pot it up in fresh orchid bark and perlite mix. Keep the new plant warm and humid until it settles in.

Repot this plant every 18 to 24 months in spring to refresh the soil and give the roots room to grow. Move up to a pot just 1 to 2 inches bigger, with drainage holes.

Loosen any tightly bound roots before centering the plant in fresh, chunky soil. Don't go too big on the pot, extra soil holds onto too much water and can hurt the roots.

Keep this plant well out of reach of pets. Like the rest of the Araceae family, it has calcium oxalate crystals in its tissue.

If a cat or dog chews on the leaves or flowers, those crystals cause immediate mouth irritation, burning on the tongue and lips, drooling, and trouble swallowing. Keep it up on a shelf, countertop, or hanging bracket to keep pets safe.

Anthuriums are native to the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, especially in Colombia, Ecuador, and the Amazon basin. In the wild, they often grow as epiphytes on mossy tree branches, or in pockets of debris on the forest floor, shaded from direct sun with steady warmth and airflow.

What people usually call the "flower" on an Anthurium isn't actually a true flower at all. That colorful purple structure is a bract called a spathe, and it works like a billboard to attract pollinators in the dark jungle.

The real flowers are tiny and clustered along the narrow, finger-like spike in the middle, called the spadix.