Where to Position Anthurium Plants (Essential Guide)

Anthurium plants, affectionately known as Flamingo Lilies or Tail Flowers, are popular houseplants among indoor gardeners and are generally easy to care for. These symbolic, glossy, brightly colored plants bring a topical flair into any room, but what’s the best place to position an Anthurium? Ensuring your Anthurium has the optimal light and humidity levels, and a suitable temperature range can help it thrive. Read on to learn about practical, environmental, and spiritual considerations when deciding where to place an Anthurium plant in the home or office.

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Where to Position Anthurium Plants – The Essentials

In Feng Shui, Anthurium plants are associated with positive energy, good fortune, health, and prosperity. Placing your Anthurium in a southwest corner of the home can optimize this energy. Spots with bright but indirect light, consistent temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees F, and high humidity are ideal.

About Anthurium Plants

Anthurium plants belong to the genus of the same name. Anthurium contains about 1,000 species — all flowering plants — and is the largest genus in the Araceae family. The plants are often called by their Latin name, but common names include flamingo lily and tailflower.

Anthurium plants are native to tropical regions of Mexico, the Caribbean, and parts of Latin America. When growing in the wild, Anthurium may be epiphytic — which means they grow on trees, structures, and wood — vining, climbing, or even arborescent or tree-like.

Botanical Characteristics

The plants are evergreen, with thick, glossy foliage. They bloom with large, heart-shaped spathes or bracts in shiny, waxy shades ranging from light pink to orange to deep red. Often, the spathes are mistaken for flowers, but the Anthurium’s flowers are actually small, pale, and inconspicuous.

A. andraeanum is the most commonly cultivated species. It’s a popular houseplant and garden ornamental in warm regions. Rarer species include the likes of Anthurium crystallinum. All parts of the Anthurium plants are toxic, so they should be kept away from pets and children. Even the sap can cause skin irritation, and they’re poisonous if consumed.

Native Range

Anthurium can be grown outdoors in the landscape in warmer climates, such as found in Florida and Hawaii. When growing outside in tropical areas, they bloom in spring and summer. Indoor plants may rebloom throughout the year.

Though the plants are native to the Americas, their name stems from the Greek for “tail,” or oura, and “flower” or anthos. The name refers to the upright spadix that protrudes, tail-like, from the colorful heart-shaped spathe.

The Meaning and Symbolism of Anthurium Plants

The Anthurium plant is imbued with symbolism and meaning across cultures. It’s often associated with hospitality and placed prominently in entryways to welcome visitors into homes or offices.

The Anthurium is also associated with the Chinese New Year. The red, shiny, heart-shaped spathes signify good fortune and prosperity, making the plant a perfect housewarming or hostess gift at this time of year.

Anthurium Plants and Feng Shui

In Feng Shui — the Chinese practice of item placement in buildings, rooms, and homes — plants play special roles. They may attract (or repel) certain types of energy, making their placement within a home or room very important.

Plants are aligned with “wood,” one of the five elements in Feng Shui. Wood is associated with energy, growth, action, kindness, and compatibility. The color green, as in plant foliage, is also associated with the positive notion of rejuvenation. Plants with rounded leaves are especially valuable.

Anthurium is such a plant. In Feng Shui, Anthurium attracts positive energy. Placing an Anthurium plant in a Kun, or southwest, position in the home may both bring good luck and help prevent bad luck. Within rooms, an Anthurium in the Kun position is thought to help ease poor health or guard against disaster.

Anthurium plants may also bring some ties to economic success, thanks to their red spathes. Red is often associated with good luck and wealth. The plant’s yellow spadices may also be associated with hard work, money, and wealth.

Where to Place Anthurium Plants in the Home

Using a Feng Shui guide known as the Bagua can help you find the right places for Anthurium plants in your home. The Bagua is a map that lays over your home’s (or a room’s) floor plan. The Bagua is arranged into a nine-section grid, laid out in a three by three square.

Each section corresponds to an area of life or energy, one of the five Feng Shui elements, and a color. Starting in the upper right corner and moving clockwise, the nine sections encompass:

Kun: Love and relationships; earth; pink
Li: Fame and reputation; fire; red
Xun: Wealth and prosperity; wood; purple
Zhen: Family and new starts; wood; blue, green and teal
Gen: Knowledge and personal growth; earth; deep blue
Kan: Career and life path; earth; black
Qian: Travel and helping; metal; gray
Dui: Children and completeness; metal; white
Tai Qi: Health and center; earth; brown, orange and yellow

Using the Bagua Map

To use the Bagua, lay it over your home’s main floor or the floor plan of a specific room, with the main entrance door at the bottom center of the grid. This means Gen, Kan, and Qian should be aligned with the wall that contains the main door to the space.

Do your best to evenly space the sections of the grid, so it’s spaced equally. Of course, not all floor plans fit neatly into a grid. You may want to start with just one room, such as a bedroom.

Now you can determine which areas of your home or room have the strongest flow of energy for your Anthurium. For instance, placing the plant in the Kun area may help with relationships. Placing the plant in the Xun section may complement prosperity, wealth, and good fortune.

Utilizing the Bagua correctly and effectively requires training, study, and practice. But it’s a good place to start, and placing an Anthurium in specific Bagua areas can help activate the energy associations of that section.

Environmental Consideration and Feng Shui

Along with Feng Shui principles, it’s also essential to keep the plant’s preferred environmental conditions in mind. For instance, Anthurium thrives when they are placed in spots with:

bright but indirect light
protection from both heat and cool drafts
a temperature that stays between 65 and 85 degrees F
humidity levels from 40 to 60 percent

That means avoiding south- or west-facing windows, spots close to a heating vent or register, or places that receive cold drafts. If you’re set on following specific Feng Shui placements but environmental conditions aren’t quite right, consider providing artificial light and offering extra protection to your Anthurium.

Keep an eye out for yellowing or brown anthurium foliage which can be a sign of care problems.

Where Not to Position Anthurium Plants in the Home

Anthurium plants are often associated with wealth and prosperity. That means avoiding placing the plants in the bathroom, as the money energy may simply be flushed (along with the toilet) or run down the sink or tub drain.

Take the plant’s favored growing conditions into account, keeping plants away from bright, unfiltered light exposures, such as those found in south- and west-facing windows. Don’t place plants near vents or heat registers, either which can lead to a droopy anthurium. Recently repotted or propagated anthurium plants can be particularly susceptible.

Poor environmental conditions can also lead to common anthurium bugs, pests, and diseases.

Where to Position Anthurium Plants Outdoors

If you live in a warm climate — like USDA hardiness zone 10b or up — you can grow Anthurium outdoors. Choose a shaded place where the plant won’t be exposed to direct sun.

Growing in containers on a patio or porch is a good idea; that way, you can move the Anthurium to find the ideal spot. Just ensure containers have proper drainage.

Essential Anthurium Plant Care

Anthurium plants grow best in well-draining, moist soil that’s high in organic matter. When they grow indoors, they prefer bright but indirect light, such as that found in an east-facing window, in a room with a south- or west-facing window that’s covered by a sheer curtain.

The plants thrive in a temperature range between 65 and 85 degrees F. Ideal humidity ranges between 60 and 80 percent. Still, they can also grow well in 40 to 60 percent humidity, which is more realistic for typical home interiors.

Water Anthurium plants only when the top half of the soil feels dry. Otherwise, they may become waterlogged, which can lead to root rot.

Anthurium plants grow slowly and don’t require much fertilizer. Only fertilize during the plant’s growing season, which is spring and summer. Apply a phosphorus-rich formula every four to six weeks, such as 10-30-20, diluted to one-quarter strength.

Since the plants grow slowly, you should only need to repot anthuriums about every two to three years. Of course, if you notice signs the plant is outgrowing its container (like roots protruding from drainage holes, coming up through the soil surface, or circling the pot), go ahead and repot sooner. You can also prune anthurium plants periodically as needed.

The Final Word on Where to Position Anthurium Plants

Anthurium plants add a splash of tropical color and shine to any room. Placing them in the right spot can help attract positive energy and increase fortune and prosperity. Using the Bagua map can help you choose the perfect placement for your Anthurium plant.

If you’re looking for your next anthurium plant, see our in-depth guide to the best plants shops delivering anthuriums nationwide.

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