Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Help with Elephant Ear ID please..., 1 by gothqueen

gothqueen wrote:
You just have to realize that Naples is...ummm...way closer to the Tropics than TX and MO.

Alocasia macrorhizza variegata is a plant I have grown for many many years. They like FULL SUN and DAILY WATRE. They can get to be 6 ft tall and totally magnificent in proper conditions. Their variegation is stable, BUT, they can produce plants that throw all white leaves, which should be culled and trashed.

This plant CAN be grown, in summer (read: 85F degrees plus), in a pond as an aquatic plant. It should be removed in winter, as it may rot then.

This plant is daylength dependent. It will go dormant once the light falls off in fall/winter. Do NOT discard it. Keep the pot in a warm, dry place, do not water or fertilize. In spring, place it out once temps are above 55F at night. It should resprout fast and produce many babies. While it is dormant it is busy under the soil producing many bulbils that will make new plants.

It is cold tolerant to about 35F. Then it goes down, and stays down. This is okay here where I live as the ground does not freeze. So we can plant it out. But you can't, and you need to keep it in a pot.

This plant is one of the most desirable Alocasias out there. Treat it right and you will be very happy with it. This is one of mine