The plant sold as flamingo flower or tailflower is Anthurium, usually Anthurium andraeanum hybrids. NCSU: that is the anthurium in floral arrangements, with a straight spadix. Anthurium scherzerianum is smaller, with a coiled spadix. Those names belong here. Painter's palette, laceleaf, and Hawaiian love plant stay here.
Iowa State's houseplant table marks flamingo flower for division only. NCSU A. andraeanum: division or stem cuttings. UF/IFAS FP042: cuttings or seed, and notes the plant is suitable indoors. UF/IFAS EP159 (interiorscape): seed or division. Almost all cultivars now come from tissue culture. That is commercial, not a home step. RHS: pull apart a multi-stemmed plant, or a stem or rhizome cutting.
Offsets, leaf cuttings, and air layering are not named for anthurium on those sheets.
Indoor only. Florida landscape spacing stays off.
For mix, see soil propagation.
Division
Iowa: flamingo flower is marked for division. Early spring through summer is the best window for most houseplants.
RHS: pull apart a multi-stemmed plant.
NCSU A. andraeanum names division. UF/IFAS EP159 names division alongside seed.
Iowa's separate division how-to (not anthurium-named on that page): early spring is the ideal time. Wait a few weeks before fertilizing.
These sources don't give a piece count, pot size, or weeks-to-root for anthurium division.
Stem cuttings in mix
NCSU A. andraeanum: stem cuttings as well as division. NCSU genus page: stem cuttings or seeds. UF/IFAS FP042: cuttings or seed. It does not name division. Iowa does not mark stem cuttings for flamingo flower.
These sources don't give a cutting length, a node count, or a week count. Where the node sits on a stem, with a diagram: what is a node on a plant.
RHS is the sheet with a numbered setup: insert a stem or rhizome cutting in peat-free acidic compost, in a closed, heated propagator at 21 °C (70 °F). New roots and shoots come from dormant buds on the rhizome.
UF/IFAS EP159: rooting is best in a well-aerated mix of 1:1:1 peat, perlite, and bark. Substrate pH 6.0 to 6.5. Air 70 to 90 °F, high humidity. That is interiorscape production, not a windowsill recipe.
None of these indoor sources names a rooting hormone for home anthurium cuttings.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a set cutting length or rooting time. Extension sources don't give one.
- Treating Iowa's division-only table as the same list as NCSU's division-or-cuttings line, or as FP042's cuttings-or-seed line. They disagree.
- Treating water as the standard method. Only RHS stands a stem with aerial roots in water.
- Tissue culture as a kitchen method. EP159: almost all cultivars are produced that way in the trade.
- A separate guide for flamingo lily or tailflower.
Indoor flamingo-flower anthurium belongs here.
People also ask
Can I root it in water?
RHS: a stem with leaves and aerial roots, stood in water in a warm, bright place. No other source names water for anthurium. No week count.
Can I grow it from seed?
UF/IFAS FP042 and EP159 name seed. NCSU genus page names seed. NCSU A. andraeanum: indoor plants rarely produce fruits. Iowa: houseplant seed is generally impractical because houseplants rarely flower and pollinate indoors. Not a home how-to here.
How long until roots?
These sources don't give weeks for anthurium cuttings or divisions. RHS names 70 °F in a closed propagator, not a calendar.