Male and female happiness: a photo of indoor flowers, is it possible to put spathiphyllum and anthurium side by side, is it allowed to plant together in one pot, how to care?

A tropical resident of spathiphyllum and its companion, anthurium, are often grown at home. Spathiphyllum is popularly referred to as "female happiness" or "female flower."

It is believed that thanks to the plant, young girls will find their betrothed, and married women will be happy in marriage. According to the same belief, anthurium is called "male happiness", which brings luck and happiness to the male half of the population. This is partly why both plants have become "eternal companions" in home gardening.

Botanical description, habitat and origin

Spathiphyllum and anthurium - in fact, is it the same plant or not? Both belong to the genus of perennial herbaceous evergreens of the Aroid or Aronnikov family. The distribution range of both plants extends from Central to South America, spathiphyllum is also found in the Old World: Philippines, New Guinea, Palau, Solomon Islands.

Both plants are found in various forms, among which epiphytes, semi-epiphytes and chemiepiphytes dominate. In the wild, they grow on trees, releasing aerial roots, descending to the ground and feeding on the litter of the rainforest.

But the “feminine happiness” lacks a stem - the leaves gather in a bunch directly from the soil, the “male flower” has thick, mostly shortened stems. The leaves of plants noticeably differ: in spathiphyllum - the leaf has an oval or lanceolate shape with a distinct median vein, the shape of the leaf repeats the shape of the petal; in Anthurium, the leaf is different in shape from the petal (spade-like, rounded, with blunt apices), has a deep-core base and has an oily sheen.

Inflorescences (cobs) of spathiphyllum have shades from pale green to white and oblong-elliptical shape. Anthurium is characterized by a variety of forms and colors of the cob: cone-shaped, club-shaped, spiral-shaped; red, pink, orange, purple or white, or a combination thereof. Flowers of "male happiness" are more rigid and dense.

The names of both plants came from the confluence of two Greek words. Spathiphyllum: "spata" - a coverlet; "phillum" - a sheet; Anthurium - "Antos" - color, "Oura" - tail. Latin names are indicated in the botanical reference books: Spathiphyllum and Anthúrium.

Reference! Thanks to the white flowers, the spathiphyllum is also called the "white sail", and the anthurium is called the "flamingo flower" because of the bright color of the flowers and the similarity of the shape of the flower to the grace of a bird. Anthurium has another nickname - "wax flower", given for excessive decorativeness, which resembles artificial flowers.

Spathiphyllum was discovered in the 70s of the 19th century by the German botanist G. Wallis in the jungle of Ecuador. Anthurium was discovered in the same period by the French botanist E.F. Andre during an expedition to South America.

In honor of both researchers, the most popular varieties of these plants were subsequently named.

Photo

Further on the photo you can see what anthurium looks like, male happiness, and its companion spathiphyllum, female happiness, these tropical inhabitants who have become indoor plants.

This is anthurium:

And this is spathiphyllum:

In the next photo you can see how the flowers look, if they are properly looked after.

Is it allowed to put next?

Since both spathiphyllum and beautiful anthurium create a harmonious tandem and look good together, the question of whether these flowers can be kept close together disappears by itself. Although some flower growers "plant" flowers because of the light-loving nature of anthurium and the need for shading for spathiphyllum.

Is it possible to plant together in one pot?

Despite the folk signs, experienced flower growers do not recommend growing plants in one pot, since they need different planting and maintenance conditions (different requirements for watering and lighting, the soil for planting spathiphyllum and anthurium is also different) and most likely they will not get along together. With a high degree of probability, a more fleshy and viable "male flower" will not allow the root system of the "female" to fully develop, and the latter will die.

Types of spathiphyllum and anthurium

There are about 45 varieties of spathiphyllum, the most popular:

Chopin - elongated leaves and flowers, peduncle pale green. The most unpretentious "female flower".
Cupido - stands out with large stalks at the base. It blooms briefly and produces few peduncles; it is valued for the creamy color of the flower core.
Blooming - long and plentiful flowering from March to October.
Wallis - a small variety that has become the "mother" for many hybrids.
Mauna Loa - The most common hybrid variety that blooms almost the whole year; the flower has a graceful beige ear.

Anthurium is the most numerous genus of its family, and has more than 900 varieties. The most famous:

Andre - can bloom from 1 month to a whole year. Varieties and hybrids vary in height, shape and many shades of yellow, orange, red and combinations of several colors.
Crystal - different green velvety leaves with whitish veins and yellow ears.
Scherzer - miniature in size (up to 30 cm), characterized by an unusual ear, twisted into a spiral.
Dakota - popular, least demanding variety
Climbing - forms long shoots (like vines) with oblong-oval leaves, has a pale yellow ear

Read more about the types and varieties of anthurium here.

Comparison in home care

Care	Spathiphyllum	Anthurium
Temperature	In summer + 21-22 °, in winter + 13-16 °	In summer + 25-30 °, in winter 16-20 °
Watering	Abundant watering and spraying in summer, moderate in winter	Moderate watering - not more than once a week in the summer, in the winter every 2-3 weeks
Lighting	Partial shade, diffused light	Bright place, without direct sunlight
Pruning	Peduncle is removed after flowering; dry, old and diseased leaves are removed	Like spathiphyllum
Priming	Slightly acidic soil: turfy, leafy, peaty, humus soil and sand with drainage	Loose substrate from coniferous, leaf and peaty soil, the surface is laid out with moss, the bottom layer is drainage
Top dressing	Liquid fertilizers for aroid during the growth period (March-September), every 2-3 weeks	Once a month in the summer, with fertilizers for decorative flowering plants
Transfer	Once every 3-5 years in early spring	Once every 2-3 years, in the spring
Pot	Clay or plastic pot. Close pot, suitable for plant size	Wide (with a margin for root growth), but not a deep clay, glass or plastic pot
Wintering	Rest period from November to February	Requires additional illumination in winter
Care after purchase	Creating conditions for a mini-greenhouse (cover with a bag) with high humidity in the first month	Immediate transplant after purchase with the removal of store mix and substandard roots

We offer you to watch an informative video about the care of spathiphyllum and anthurium at home:

Read more about caring for anthurium in this article.

Differences

Consider the difference between plants.

Breeding

Spathiphyllum propagates mainly by cuttings or division of the bushless often by seeds. Anthurium can be propagated by dividing the bush, rooting the side shoots, separating and germinating the root, cuttings and also from seeds.

Bloom

Spathiphyllum begins to bloom in the spring, inflorescences last 1.5-2 months. Some species re-bloom in the fall. Spathiphyllum has practically no odor or is light and not intrusive. The flowers of "female happiness" in their mass are white, there may be species that have a greenish tint.

Anthurium is able to bloom from February to November when creating the appropriate microclimate.. All kinds of antarium smell. Flowers of "male happiness" are striking in a variety of colors and shades, most often at home, varieties giving flowers of red shades are grown.

Important! During flowering, water inflorescences are not advisable; otherwise, the flowers may become sick and die.

Disease

Spathiphyllum leaves are susceptible to chlorosis and hommosis. Anthurium leaves are prone to septoria, anthracosis (caused by fungal infections), fusarium wilting, rust, powdery mildew and the bronze virus (caused by thrips infection). Anthurium viral diseases are not treated, the plant is subject to destruction.

If the rules of care are not observed, both plants are characterized by:

the appearance of basal rot;
the appearance of spots on the leaves;
yellowing, drying of the edges;
change of color of leaves.

And read more about diseases and pests here.

What else can you grow with them in the same room?

It is not recommended to grow any other plants in the same container with anthurium or spathiphyllum. On one windowsill, along with anthurium, heat and photophilous plants take root, for example:

Afelander
Coleus
sanchezia;
dieffenbachia and others.

On the contrary, plants that prefer shade and moisture will become good neighbors for spathiphyllums, for example:

dracaena;
violet;
fat woman;
ficus;
ferns and many others.

Attention! It must be remembered that the juice of both plants is poisonous, so you should avoid getting it on the skin and other plants.

Spathiphyllum is a less whimsical and capricious plant than anthurium. "Female Flower" is more versatile and accommodating in unnatural growing conditions. "Male happiness", in turn, is most interesting from a decorative point of view - it is rich in a variety of varieties, shades and unusual shapes of flowers and leaves.