Anthurium: root suffocation in dense potting mix — what does it look like?

Steady yellowing of older leaves, no new growth, no flowers, soil staying wet for over a week. Repot into chunky orchid bark with some perlite. This single change reverses most cases.

Anthurium: root rot — what does it look like?

Brown mushy roots, base of stem soft, leaves yellowing rapidly. Trim to firm white root and repot dry. Anthurium recovers well if any healthy root remains.

Anthurium: low light — what does it look like?

Healthy green leaves but no blooms for a year or more. Not dying — under-lit. Needs bright indirect light to flower.

Field Guide/Anthurium

What went wrong

Anthurium

Anthurium andraeanum

Sold in flower. Sulks for a year afterward.

Anthuriums are usually bought in full bloom from a supermarket, potted in dense peat that holds far too much water for an epiphyte. The plant stops flowering, the leaves yellow, and the owner assumes it is finished — when in fact the potting medium was wrong from the day it was bought.

An anthurium in bark-based mix with bright indirect light will flower on and off for years. In the potting mix it arrived in, it slowly suffocates.

Usually one of these

3 Likely Causes

Ranked by how often it is actually this.

01
Root suffocation in dense potting mix
The underlying cause of most anthurium decline
What you saw
Steady yellowing of older leaves, no new growth, no flowers, soil staying wet for over a week.
What it means
Repot into chunky orchid bark with some perlite. This single change reverses most cases.
02
Root rot
Follows from the above
What you saw
Brown mushy roots, base of stem soft, leaves yellowing rapidly.
What it means
Trim to firm white root and repot dry. Anthurium recovers well if any healthy root remains.
03
Low light
Common cause of not flowering
What you saw
Healthy green leaves but no blooms for a year or more.
What it means
Not dying — under-lit. Needs bright indirect light to flower.

The question you actually have

Dead or dormant?

Check the crown where the leaf stems converge. Firm and green means alive, and an anthurium with even two healthy leaves will rebuild. Aerial roots on the stem are normal and a good sign, not a problem. Only a soft, brown crown is terminal.

If it did not make it