How did I come about liking plants?
I have always been a cacti and succulent person. When I first started my instagram page for succulents and cacti, my entire world was just arid plants. Until a single post I saw on instagram of a large velvety leaf with striking shiny markings caught my attention. I read up extensively on them and that was the first time it opened my eyes to the world of plants.
I hunted them down on ebay, on Facebook groups and finally landed myself with a single-leaf specimen. It did not come cheap but it was worth it! It was my first green plant that was neither a cacti nor succulent. Since then.... my collection grew weekly and I was unstoppable.
As it was my first green plant, it had to be special! Hence the first plant mail post was ever created.
28th August 2019 - First plant mail
I could not control my excitement and my constant smile and excitement when I saw that beautiful leaf for the very first time. I had not seen anything like that before! Those smooth velvety feel and those striking leaf marking! ... I was in love.
Before I get anymore excited about my Anthurium post, one advice when buying plants online is to always make sure the seller you buy from is credible. When buying on ebay, always look at their star-ratings. The more positive comments and positive reviews they have means they are very reliable sellers. After all you are spending dollars, so you want to make sure you get them from decent sellers.
Secondly, I will never buy cuttings unless you are very good at rooting cuttings. If I buy cuttings, I always make sure the plant for sale is a "rooted cutting" and not just a cutting. If unsure, send the seller a message and clarify before investing your money in it.
Reason being, rooted cuttings are already established. Having the plant posted from a different state in a dark box with sudden fluctuations in humidity and temperature means that the plants will already be stressed. When you repot the plant in a completely new environment, that further stresses the plant having needing to adapt to a whole new environment. Unless you are great at making cuttings take root, it is always advisable to buy a plant with roots to minimise your heart break.
28th August 2019 - look at the root system!
This was a single leaf-specimen, fairly large (most crystallinums currently sold are tiny) with a decent root system. I removed the sphagnum moss it came with and rinsed the roots clean with normal tap water.
28th August 2019 - Simple yet elegant plant and pot pairing
I repotted this specimen into an anthurium-mix which comprised of 2 parts orchid mix, 1 part peat and 1 part perlite. The orchid-mix and perlite allows for excellent drainage and the peat allows moisture retention without being waterlogged, which is the major cause of root rot and plant loss despite the plant's love for humidity. Potted this gorgeous leaf into a beautiful stone-grey concrete pot so that the leaf could showcase its beauty.
15th September 2019 - Selfie with my first green plant
Couldn't resist having my first plant-mail selfie with this gorgeous leaf. That smile says it all!
15th September 2019 - Green velvet and that shimmer!
So what got me into plants for the first time? It is because of how velvety the leaf feels and that shimmer on the leaf!!! Isn't it gorgeous! How amazing is nature!
30th September 2019 - New leaf coming (Timelapsed Video)!
Approximately 3 weeks after receiving this single-leaf specimen, the Anthurium crystallinum decided to bear its second leaf. This time-lapse video was shot over 5 days. Watch closely how the leaf actually absorb and expel moisture from the tip of its leaf.
5th October 2019 - Anthurium Crystallinum 2nd leaf (Day 5)
The crinkly leaf was brown and lack lustre at this stage. It began to darken up with time.
15th October 2019 - Anthurium Crystallinum 2nd leaf (Day 15)
Look at the reddish copper tone to the leaf. At this stage the markings were just white lines. No shimmer was present on the veins.
17th October 2019 - Anthurium Crystallinum 2nd leaf (Day 17)
That shimmer was beginning to shine through. Look at those iridescent lines!
25th October 2019 - Anthurium Crystallinum 2nd leaf (Day 25)
Plant daddy had to have a selfie with my first new leaf growth! Look at the sheer size of that leaf in just 3 weeks! Was speechless. The size, color, texture and iridescent of those veins was just simply stunning!
15th December 2019 - Anthurium Crystallinum 3rd leaf (Day 1)
3 months after the 2nd leaf was born, a new baby was emerging.
23rd December 2019 - Anthurium Crystallinum 3rd leaf (Day 8)
While the 3rd leaf was growing rapidly, I stopped daily to appreciate how bold and beautiful the 2nd leaf was.
29th December 2019 - Anthurium Crystallinum 3rd leaf (Day 14)
Look at how rapid the 3rd leaf grew in 14 days!
2nd January 2020 - Anthurium Crystallinum 3rd leaf (Day 18)
By Day 18, she had grown and surpass the size of the second leaf. Look at that shear size of the leaf compared to my hand!
19th January 2020 - Anthurium Crystallinum 3rd leaf (Day 36)
By Day 36, the third leaf was so big, I had to have another selfie with it to show you the sheer size of this beauty! Isn't she stunning?
9th February 2020 - Anthurium Crystallinum siblings gathering
DO-RE-MI-FA
A friend of mine was leaving for Japan for a long holiday and she entrusted me to take care of her little ones for her. Needless to say, I had fun doing some photoshoot of them together. This was one of the simple yet beautiful shots of them together.
19th March 2020 - Anthurium Crystallinum 4th leaf
As the plant was becoming root bound, I decided to repot the anthurium into a pot 3-times larger than its previous pot as I had a feeling it will grow fairly rapidly and fill the entire pot with its root system in no time.
22nd March 2020 - Anthurium Crystallinum 4th leaf
As you can see the sheer size of the new pot compared to the old pot, it is 3-times larger. Similarly, I have repotted the entire plant into an anthurium mix comprising of 2 parts orchid mix, 1 part peat and 1 part perlite.
I do not use any fancy lighting system but just normal LED-tube light from Bunnings and I have it switched on from 0830hrs to 0030hrs daily. I water the plant once every week depending on the moisture level. If I dig my finger into the soil mix and it feels moist to the touch and the soil falls off my finger without making a mess, I will give it another day or two before i start watering it again.
The next post on my anthurium is when the 4th leaf is all grown up and will do a selfie with the big pot then. Hopefully you have enjoyed the journey I took with my Anthurium as much as I did.
Until then, enjoy the rest of my blog posts and wait for my update on this beauty!
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