Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Your advice.., 1 by ExoticRainforest

ExoticRainforest wrote:
This is the cultivation information taken directly from the published description of Alocasia melo as provided by Pete Boyce tonight . The original material was published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 14 (2), pages 82 to 86, in 1997. The drawing was created and copyrighted by Mary Grierson and may not be reused without permission from the copyright owner.

The plant grows naturally around Sabah, Borneo.

Cultivation. Alocasia melo is found in rocky places on the floor of tropical lowland rainforest, so requires high temperatures and humidity and protection from direct sunlight. At Sepilok it has been successfully maintained in pots in ordinary loam under shady conditions. At Sydney it is growing under glass in an open soil mix incorporating 75% perlite and 25% composted pine needles with gypsum, epsom salts, iron sulphate, agricultural lime, dolomite and a little copper sulphate added. The plants are liquid-fed about fortnightly and occasionally dressed with poultry manure. No specific provision is made for the fact that the species grows in ultramafic sites in nature and the plants are healthy, although they have not yet flowered. Alocasia melo A. Hay, P.C. Boyce and K.M. Wong

Steve



This message was edited Dec 28, 2010 5:16 PM