Alocasia Care Guide
Don´t we all love Alocasia... when they´re growing well.
They can be quite a pain, but they do reward us with producing its own corms/bulbs.
The giant Alocasia, can grow up to 4-5 meters tall! But most, just grow up to 1 meter.
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WATERING
Now here is where it gets a bit tricky : Alocasia like to be moist, but are really easy to overwater. Overwatering doesn´t mean too much water, it just purely means thayt the roots remain wet if the soil retains too much moisture. Therefore, use a chunky soil mix (we´ll talk about that later).
I water my Alocasia about once a week when the soil is about 75% dry. You can measure this with a soil probe, moisture meter or just a simple wooden stick. To measure, just stick the stick in the soil, and if the stick comes out moist, with soil and dirt on it, it does not have to be watered yet. Otherwise, let him have a drink! You can give Alocasia footbaths (bottom watering, aka putting the pot with drainage holes in a source of water, so the soil/roots can suck up the water), or just water the plant with a watering can. Keeping the soil moist, can trigger corms/bulbs in the soil to sprout and grow.
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PROPAGATION
When repotting, make sure to search for those corms! They´re usually made by the mature mother plant, and can be all around the soil. When you found these corms, carefully pick the outer brown layer off while wearing gloves, then put the corms in a layer of water, and they will sprout. The reason you need to wear gloves for this, is when i was 11, i was peeling my Alocasia amazonica corms, and suddenly, my entire neck started to itch unbearably. Turns out, i touched my neck while my hands were covered in poisonous Alocasia sap. That could´ve been fatal if the sap reached my bloodstream. The second picture you saw is an Alocasia corm. they come in various sizes. Remember, the bigger the corm, the easier it is to sprout the corm and grow it.
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BLOOM
Alocasia usually flower around spring/early summer. Alocasia blooms are a sign of good health, and is amazing! i recommend not cutting the inflorescence. I´d let the Alocasia complete its flowering cycle. Flowering Alocasia are quite rare, since the conditions needs to be pitch perfect.
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LIGHT REQUIREMENTS
This really depends on how you water your Alocasia. I have my Alocasias either in a terrarium with high humidity (They THRIVE in high humidity), or under a grow light. Since grow lights are expensive to buy, and can make your jaw drop after looking at the electricity bill each month, i´d try my best to give it bright indirect light. Sure, the plant can handle some direct sunlight, but being in the sun for hours, when it is hot oustide can cause massive burns on the plant
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MEDIUMS
I grow my Alocasia in a soil mix, with of course soil, perlite, coco peat, coco chips and LECA. They absolutely thrive in that.
You can grow them in LECA/perlite/water/fluval stratum as long as the water doesn´t get in the crowns of the plant.
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Pictures :
