I have a Colocasia esculenta 'Illustris' and i'm not sure if its dyeing or going dormant?? I got it in the mail about sept it got a leaf but never opened, now it looks all dried up and its tan.. Any advice for me... I have this one the same window as 6 other ears and they are all doing great.. ('Black Magic', 'Black Runner', 'Big Dipper', Alocasia odora, 'Variegata', and 'Stingray')
Soil looks too wet. I'd gently dig it up, check for rot, gently scrape away any you find, leaving other root surfaces and roots undisturbed to the extent possible. Then let it dry a bit (eg, till soil left on root surfaces is dry) in a warmish spot. treat exposed flesh with powdered cinnamon, repot gently into fresh soil mix, keep warm, moisten lightly, allow to dry between subsequent waterings. Give it a week or so and see what happens.
LariAnn, bwilliams and others will give more expert advice, but this is what I would do --think you need to get that thing out of wet first and fast.
No the soil isn't that wet its really black dirt.. I checked it and theres not rot.. roots look good
I would guess possible stress. Cut off the dead leaf and let it sit for a while. I'll bet it will come back to life. I have this one as well and it loves the water.
ya i just looked inside th eleaf thats dyeing off and it seems to have a green one inside.. I hope if makes it..
I'm sure it'll be okay. If it doesn't make send me a D-mail and I can send you one of my babies.
catzgalore thank you so much.. I was worried if it doesn't make it i would never find another one... I seen this one and had to have it, took a bit of asking for trades but finally i just bought one.. wasn't alot but still.. I wanted to have a collection for this summer.. I had just the ruffles last year and they did so well for me.. I thought maybe i watered it to much so i stoped for a bit then it just kept looking sick so i thought maybe it wasn't enough so i added some.. Is this one harder to grow then others i have ('Black Magic', 'Black Runner', 'Big Dipper', Alocasia odora, 'Variegata', and 'Stingray') these are all new to me this year and all about the same size baby.. Its just the Illustris thats not doing well
Colocasia esculenta normally grows in water so it can't get too wet. Alocasias on the other hand are the ones that generally would rot.
maybe i should add more water?? does this one need to be very wet??
As a variety it shouldn't be too different to the typical species. I don't have that particular variety, but mine are sitting in water in ponds. They do send out runners and start to grow in nearby soil which gets a good watering. You wouldn't want the soil to dry out, but it's not necessary to have them sitting in water. Just make sure it stays pretty wet.
see thats what i thought so i watered it alot then the leaf never opened so i thought ok watering to much but that just turned it tan and dried up.. The leaf coming up seems to be ok.. I think i will water it as the soil is damp but not wet.. I dont think it can do any more dammage as it looks pretty bad now lol
Once your new leaf opens up you might try misting it from time to time also. They like the humidity, and since you keep them in the house the air tends to be dryer than if outdoors or in a GH. This may also help. That is not true for the alocasias as tropic said.
