Alocasia, a plant that looks like an elephant ear and has an exotic charm for your home

Alocasia is a beautiful indoor plant native to the tropical jungles of Southeast Asia. One of the most impressive exotic plants that we can choose for living and professional space, the alocasia stands out with its unique heart-shaped leaves that have given the plant special names such as “elephant ear” and “African mask”! The leaves of alocasia are green or gray with characteristic dark or lighter ribs and show slow growth.

There are many species of alocasiawith different size and shape of leaves with the best known being Alocasia amazonica, Alocasia zebrina and Alocasia Stingray. Let’s look at the most important tips for the care of alocasia and how we can keep its leaves green and healthy in our home.

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What position do we choose for alocasia at home?

Alocasia wants bright places in the house, without receiving direct sunlight, as direct sunlight can create burns on its foliage. If the alocasia is in a very shady environment, its leaves will not have such a glossy color and will acquire a blur. Alocasia thrives in temperatures of 16-25 ° C and a relatively cool environment. We must avoid placing the alocasia near radiators and fireplaces

Although transplanting is not often needed, as it is slow growing, the best time to transplant it into a larger pot is in the spring or early fall. For the transplantation of alocasia, we choose a special soil for indoor plants that ensures good drainage of water.

How often does alocasia need watering and fertilizing?

Alocasia does not have very high water needs, however it requires frequent watering in small doses. In addition, we can spray the leaves with a little water or wet them with a damp cloth to retain their moisture. In the spring and autumn period we water once a week while in the warm summer period every 4-5 days. If we water more, we will notice yellowing and browning of its leaves. During the winter, let the soil dry before re-watering.

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In order for the alocasia to grow well, we add liquid fertilizer for green plants once a month in the spring period and once a month in the summer and autumn period. The additional addition of iron in the spring period to the alocasia will help significantly.

What other care does alocasia need?

Alocasia does not need pruning, unless we want to remove a yellowed or dried leaf. To protect against the meligra insect and the nightshade that infects the leaves of the plant, we can spray with an improvised preparation that we make by dissolving 20 grams of grated green soap and 5ml of alcohol in 1 liter of water.

Alocasia is not particularly affected by fungal diseases, only in cases of excessive moisture in the soil where rots appear on the rhizome.

How we create new alocasias plants?

To create new alocasia plants, the best way is by separating rhizomes. Alocasia is a rhizomatous plant whose shoots emerge from the underground rhizome of the plant. Remove the plant from the pot and remove rhizomes that have been created in the underground part of the plant. The rhizome is planted in a pot at least 20 cm in diameter that is placed at a temperature of about 20 ° C in a high humidity environment to take root quickly.

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And a secret for alocasia

Alocasia is very similar to the colocasia plant, which belongs to the same family and are both referred to as “elephant ears”. A key difference is in the characteristics of the leaves, as the leaves of the Alocasia are more glossy, they stand horizontally and the edges of the leaves point upwards. In contrast to the colocasia where the edges of the leaves point downwards and the shape of the leaves is less round.