Today I planted two bird’s nest anthuriums aka Anthurium hookeri. I sprouted them from seed about 3 years ago and they are still very tiny. Initially I had many that sprouted but only two survived. Since these plants are epiphytic I made sure to add lots of black cinder in the ground when I planted them
We have a big bird’s nest anthurium that we brought with us from our old place and I’m not sure what variety it is. The plant is probably more than 20 years old by now. The flower is small compared to other anthuriums and has a dark purple color and black spadix.
Bird’s nest anthuriums do very well in the understory although they like a lot of indirect sun light. It’s also a very popular landscaping plant at hotels in the tropics because they have this ultra tropical look to them. Once they are big they are easy to take care of.
Occasionally bird’s nest anthuriums will produce white berries that look insane. Like something out of a sci-fi movie and it’s probably not edible.
Hopefully these two guys I planted will make it. If not, I’ll keep trying because I eventually want to grow a bunch of bird’s nest anthuriums and plant them everywhere.
Originally posted on 2021-12-28, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.